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NWP Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists - Moorehead Park, Ida Grove, Iowa, USA

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Moorehead Park, Ida Grove, Iowa, USA
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Josh94



Registered: October 2011
City/Town/Province: Ida Grove
Posts: 1
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Eco-Tourism of Iowa (ETI)


ETI is a community service project that creates an inexpensive form of tourism, with the focus being on giving the participants a knowledge of, and appreciation for our nature parks, preserves, and historical sites, hopefully fostering a sense of responsibility for future conservation, and creating networking opportunities for other students.


It is so important that we don’t just have parks and preserves now, but that we train and teach our classmates and further generations about the importance and the beauty of these wilderness areas. If we fail to teach them about fun things and important aspects that the parks are there to conserve, but presently clean up every acre and preserve every habitat for every species today, it would all be for not. If we don’t work to create a community that knows, and a generation after us that understands the importants and beauty of the outdoors, then who would we hand down this gauntlet of conservation to on are way out? So many of the kids today are so enclosed in their technology and distractions of the modern world that they don’t notice the beauty of the world around them, or have a parent that will take the time to teach them the ways of the outdoors man. In the case of my home town, this was our heritage; as a farm community that was settled by the pioneers long ago, we once had those skills and knew the importance of our environment, and we will have them again. My projects main goal is not just to raise the awareness of our parks and preserves, but to raise the involvement with our parks and preserves.


The first thing that I wanted ETI to accomplish in Moorehead Park was the Eco-Education Nature Trail. Because our local county park faces budget challenges, their naturalist position is only part time, so he is not always available to educate the public. The Eco-Education Nature Trail is designed to be a free, self-guided educational hike over 1.3 miles of Moorehead’s beautiful wildlife area. It is my hope that this trail will help to provide easy access to information about the parks flora, fauna, and their interactions.


During my project I spent weeks photographing and researching 100’s of plants, animals, and ecosystem interactions in Moorehead. Once researched, I narrowed them down to a manageable number I could fit into two educational brochures, a Spring/Summer and a Summer/Fall edition.
*I correlated the pictures and facts to the 20 numbered posts that volunteers and I had put along the trail. At the head of the trail I installed a signboard that I built with the help of my father that holds not only the seasonal brochures, but also, an accurate map I was able to create by walking through the park setting GPS way points and transferring them to my computer. I also added a collage of some of the plants and historic sites I had photographed in Moorehead.


While raising funds to complete my project and promoting it to my community, I found another need in Moorehead Park that I thought ETI could address. Interest had been expressed in fixing up the Pioneer Cemetery that is located in Moorehead, while others wanted to learn more about the other historical sites of Moorehead Park. Working with several groups, the Conservation Board, the Historic Society, the NRCS, and others we developed some goals for the cemetery restoration, reseeding of the native short grass prairie habitat that surrounds that area, seating, and creating a self-guided Historic Tour of Moorehead Park. By later that summer ETI raised funds to purchase a new split rail fence, and I built a new gate. With the help of volunteers, both were installed at the cemetery, and seeding additional wildflower seeds is slated for next spring. The Conservation board worked with the Skyes family who purchased a bench in memory of their Great-Great-Grandmother, Mary Comstock, one of Ida County’s first settlers. She is buried in Pioneer Cemetery.


During this project, I was blessed with support from many members of my community. ETI was able to raise over $1,100 for these programs. I worked hard to get as many members of my community involved a possible, from main street businesses, to local organizations like Pheasants forever and the NRCS. While promoting my project the Ida County Supervisors were gracious enough to invite me to do a presentation at their regular meeting, and gave me a letter of commendation for my project.


As with any project it is well and good with what it can do today but what can it continue to accomplish into the future? ETI will be continued on after I graduate by:


* Parks staff will perform up-keep on the trails and keep brochures stocked.


*Local science teachers from my school will take their students on educational hikes through the trails and up-date them as needed.


* The Teachers will also work with the NRCS, the Conservation Board, and the park staff to provide information to kids interested in careers in conservation to gain connections and experience through working with the park staff on their own ETI projects.


* It is also my hope that the success that I have already seen with this project since its opening may be noticed by other park directors and that similar community involvement and interest in the parks system will spread elsewhere.


I encouraging anyone who is driving by Ida Grove, IA to stop in and view the Eco-Education Nature Trail brochures yourself. My favorite time of the year to walk the trails is between mid March and mid April before the trees have leafed out. The spring flowers carpet the ground almost everywhere along the trail!
· Date: October 17, 2011 · Views: 5458 · File size: 18.1kb, 1939.6kb · : 3264 x 2448 ·
Hours Volunteered: 298
Volunteers: 17
Authors Age & Age Range of Volunteers: 17 & 6 to 60
Area Restored for Native Wildlife (hectares): 120
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karijacksono5

Registered: October 2011
City/Town/Province: Nkambe
Posts: 1
October 26, 2011 12:57pm

I also want to take part in this effort!