UNI Biology graduate student Carmen Pellish will present Hartman Reserve Nature Center with a prairie root specimen and describe her research during Hartman's prairie root exhibit opening Sunday, July 28, 4:00 PM at the Nature Center. The 8-foot root will be added to Hartman's prairie exhibit in an effort to help the public visualize and understand how native perennial plants benefit Iowa's roadsides and landscape.
In the last few years, Iowa has experienced both devastating floods and severe drought, causing billions of dollars in damage. In many localities, soil erosion is a much bigger problem than widely believed. Meanwhile, state climate data show that we are receiving more frequent and more intense rain events. Native perennial plants and trees have massive root systems that provide free and irreplaceable benefits to society. Whether in state and county roadsides, CRP fields, state parks or urban landscapes, prairie plants help slow runoff, trap sediments and pollutants, and rebuild the structure of damaged soil.
Hartman Reserve Nature Center is located at 657 Reserve Drive in Cedar Falls. For more information about Hartman exhibits and programming, call 319-277-2187.
This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.
The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?