Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Iowa Learning Farm hosts 'Troubled Waters' event at Black Hawk Lake

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June 16, 2010

AMES, IOWA—Rivers and streams connect all of us. Sources of abundance and destruction, life and death, creativity and imagination, rivers, and the fresh flowing waters, are at the heart of human existence.

An event commemorating rivers and other water bodies will be held at Black Hawk State Park near Lake View, Iowa, on Thursday, July 1, beginning at 5:30 p.m. “A ‘Troubled Waters’ Evening” will feature speakers discussing watershed and water quality issues, tours of the ILF Conservation Station and will culminate with a showing of “Troubled Waters,” all against the backdrop of beautiful Black Hawk Lake.

The evening’s events begin with tours of the Conservation Station and a complimentary meal provided by the Carnarvon Inn. Children are especially encouraged to visit the Conservation Station. An Iowa Learning Farm educator, with help from the “conservation dogs,” will lead kids through the learning lab, using multimedia and three-dimensional interactive displays, to teach them how they can help preserve and protect our natural resources. The back of the big, blue trailer has a rainfall simulator that demonstrates the effects of rainfall on the land, collecting surface water runoff and subsurface drainage.

The program will begin at 6:30 p.m. with Iowa State University (ISU) Extension Water Quality Engineer Matt Helmers who will discuss watershed concerns; Carroll Kuemper educator Mary Koester will talk about IOWATER and the classroom. Also ISU Extension Program Coordinator Tom Duncan and Sac Soil and Water Conservation District Chair Jim Frederick will discuss the watershed planning grant that the District will be receiving from the DNR. In conclusion, video producer Jacqueline Comito will talk about issues facing our waters and will show “Troubled Waters,” winner of an Iowa Motion Picture Association (IMPA) award for excellence in educational production.

The event is sponsored by the Iowa Learning Farm and the Black Hawk Lake Watershed Action Group. An RSVP for the meal is requested; please call the Sac County Extension Office, 712-662-7131, by June 25.

The Iowa Learning Farm takes a grassroots approach offering innovative ways to help all Iowans have an active role in keeping our state’s natural resources healthy and not take them for granted. A goal of the Iowa Learning Farm is to build a Culture of Conservation, encouraging the adoption of residue management and conservation practices. Farmers, researchers and ILF staff are working together to identify and implement the best in-field management practices that increase water and soil quality while remaining profitable.

Iowa Learning Farm is a partnership between the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Iowa State University Extension, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Iowa Department of Natural Resources; in cooperation with Conservation Districts of Iowa and the Iowa Farm Bureau. 

For more info contact:

Mark Licht, ISU Field Agronomist, 712-792-2364

Tom Duncan, ISU Extension Program Coordinator, 712-662-7131

Carol L. Brown, communications specialist, 515-294-8912 

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