CERA Curriculum

| Upcoming Events | Past Events |

What goes on throughout a typical year at CERA? Click here to see a year-at-a-glance.

CERA will be CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC.
Saturday, Dec 6 - Wednesday, Dec 10, 2008.
Hunters with prior permission from the CERA manager will be helping us control our deer population.

CERA will be CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC.
Monday, Dec 22, 2008 - Sunday, January 4, 2009.
Hunters with prior permission from the CERA manager will be helping us control our deer population.

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Tuesday, November 4, 2008. 4:15 - 5:30 pm. Prescribed Burn Training for CERA Volunteers. Anyone interested in assisting with or just learning about prescribed burns of prairie, savanna, and forest habitats at CERA was invited to attend. The training was led by Larissa Mottl, CERA manager.

Saturday, Nov 1, 2008. 12:45 - 2:15 pm. Tallgrass Bioneers Conference Tour. Led by Chris Bair.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008. 4:15 -6:15 pm. Prairie Seed Hand Harvesting. Volunteers are invited to help us collect seed from various prairie species at CERA. The seed will be used to diversify other plantings at CERA. Transportation to CERA will be provided; RSVP to Larissa Mottl at mottll@grinnell.edu. Gloves and bags and light refreshments will also be provided.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008. 1:00 pm. Stewart Library Book Club CERA Tour.

Friday, September 26, 2008. North Mahaska 5th Grade Class Field Trip. The students learned how to catch and release fish, identify trees, and various orienteering skills.

Saturday, September 20, 2008. 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm. CERA 40th Anniversary Celebration (during Family Weekend). We celebratd this special anniversary with presentations, tours of the facilities and surrounding landscape, and refreshments. We had slideshows highlighting CERA's past and present and research posters by students on display. Click here for more information and a schedule of the afternoon's activities at CERA.

Saturday, September 13, 2008. 9:00 am - 4:00 pm. HHMI Interdisciplinary Science Retreat.

Wednesday, July 9, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm. Prairie and EEC Tour for Grinnell Area Teens. Organized by Grinnell’s Stewart Library.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008. 6:30-8:30 pm. Prairie Tour.

Friday, June 27 and Saturday, June 28, 2008. Sedge Identification Workshop. This 2-day workshop included both classroom and field components. Instructors: Dr. Bill Norris, Dr. Tom Rosburg, and Scott Zager, experts on Midwestern sedges. Sponsored by the Grinnell College Center for Prairie Studies, Iowa Valley RC & D, Iowa Native Plant Society, and the Iowa Prairie Network.

Saturday, May 31, 2008. 7:00 – 9:00 am. Reunion Weekend Tour: commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Conard Environmental Research Area. Led by Jonathan (Jackie) Brown, Professor of Biology.

Friday, May 30, 2008. 9:00-11:00 am. Reunion Weekend Tour: commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Conard Environmental Research Area. Led by Peter Jacobson, Associate Professor of Biology and Co-Director of CERA.

Sunday, May 4, 2008. Migratory songbird mist-netting and banding.

Monday, April 28, 2008. 4:15 pm – 6: 15 pm. Woodland Wildflower Walk.
An 0.5-mile hike in our oak-hickory forest to observe a myriad of spring wildflowers in bloom. Led by Larissa Mottl, expect to see mayapples, wild ginger, toothwort, false rue anemone, prairie trilliums, woodland plox, Virginia bluebells, Jack-in-the-pulpits and much more.

Thursday, April 17, 2008. 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. American Institute of Architects, Iowa Chapter Meeting.
AIA members only.

Monday, April 14, 2008. 1:15 pm. Prairie Tour for Central Iowa Christian School.

Note new date: Monday, April 14, 2008. 4:15 pm – 6:15 pm. Woodland Wildflower Walk.
Led by Larissa Mottl, an 0.5-mile hike in our oak-hickory forest to observe a myriad of spring ephemeral wildflowers in bloom: Dutchman's breeches, trout lilies, spring beauties, mayapples, toothwort, false rue anemone, trilliums, and much more.

Saturday, April 5, 2008. 10 am - 12:30 pm. Savanna/Woodland Restoration for Volunteers.
We're seeking volunteers to help with savanna and woodland restoration. We're removing native and non-native invasive trees and need assistance piling branches of culled trees and carrying firewood-sized logs out of the areas being restored. No experience necessary! RSVP for transportation to Larissa Mottl at mottll@grinnell.edu or x4717.

Saturday, February 17, 2008. 10 am - 12:30 pm. Savanna/Woodland Restoration for Volunteers.
Volunteers helped with savanna and woodland restoration by assisting with removal of native and non-native invasive trees, piling branches of culled trees, and carrying firewood-sized logs out of the areas being restored. (No experience necessary to volunteer with this restoration event.)

Friday, February 1, 2008. 2:15 - 5:00 pm. Prairie Seed Cleaning.
A winter retreat in our new Environmental Education Center. Attendees learned how to use a variety of seed cleaning equipment to remove hand-collected native seeds from fruits and other flower parts. The EEC seed cleaning laboratory offers a beautiful view of the surrounding prairie landscape.

November – December, 2007. Prescribed burning of prairie, savanna, and woodland habitats at CERA.
A volunteer training session was held Tuesday, October 30, 4:15 pm – 5:30 pm in Noyce 2021.

Friday, October 26, 2007. 9:30 am – 10:30 am. EEC Tour and LEED Presentation for the Iowa Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, led by Rick Whitney and Larissa Mottl. The group of about 15 also toured two other LEED-certified buildings in eastern Iowa including Lowe Park in Marion and James Van Allen Elementary School in North Liberty.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007. 9:15 am – 10:30 am. EEC Renewable Energy Building Audit Tour. Newton First Lego League 6th grade students. Led by Larissa Mottl and Chris Bair, Grinnell College Environmental and Safety Coordinator.

Team photo, in greenhouse, learning about exterior and interior features, solar power, natural lighting.

Saturday, October 20, 2007. 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm. Bioneers Conference tour of the LEED gold-rated Environmental Education Center and surrounding prairie and savanna landscape. Tour led by Larissa Mottl, CERA manager, and Chris Bair, environmental and safety coordinator for Grinnell College. More details about the conference at http://gotoplanb.net/bioneersconference/tallconf.html.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007 (Postponed from October 2).
4:15 pm – 6:15 pm. Prairie Seed Hand Harvesting.
Seeds collected from various grasses and forbs in our prairie plantings will be used to diversify other plantings at CERA. Volunteers were taught how to identify several prairie species in fruit.

Sunday, October 7, 2007. 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm. Prairie Hike and Pie Tasting.
Prairie enthusiasts hiked at the Reichelt Prairie Remnant off Hwy 6, just north of CERA. This high quality remnant contains several very rare prairie species. Iowa Prairie Network members were on hand to help identify plants. After the hike, all enjoyed pie tasting at the EEC in honor of Martha Skillman’s birthday.

Saturday, September 29, 2007. 7:30 am – 9:30 am and 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm.
Family Weekend Tours of CERA.
A faculty-led tour of the research area and environmental education center.

Monday, September 17, 2007. 4:15 pm – 6:15 pm. Prairie and Savanna Tour. This tour highlighted the diversity of plants in our prairies and bur oak savannas. Some of the species often seen in bloom include showy goldenrod, sky blue aster, hairy aster, upland white aster, rigid goldenrod, saw-tooth sunflower, great blue lobelia, and bottle gentian.

Friday, September 7, 2007. 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm. Prairie Night Sights and Sounds. A rare adventure at CERA to learn the sounds and habits of nocturnal prairie animals and to interpret the stars in a prairie night sky. A few particular treats were baiting stations for moths and other insects and a telescope to view the night sky in greater detail. Sponsored by the Center for Prairie Studies, Biology Dept, and Physics Dept.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007. 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm. New Student Orientation Tour of CERA.

Saturday, June 2. 7:00 am – 9:00 am, or 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm. Tour of CERA and our LEED certified Environmental Education Center for Reunion weekend. Led by Jackie Brown, associate professor of biology, or Larissa Mottl, CERA manager. Space is limited.

Saturday, May 12, 2007. 1:00 – 5:00 pm. Festival on the Prairie: A Celebration of Art, Music, and the Land.
This event was free and open to the public. Throughout the afternoon there were arts and crafts activities for children sponsored by Studio 6. Local restaurants provided refreshments. Click here for PDF flier.

Tuesday, May 1, 2007 (MAY DAY). 4:15-6:15 p.m. Woodland Wildflower Walk.
A 0.5-mile hike in our oak-hickory forest to observe a myriad of spring wildflowers in bloom: mayapples, wild ginger, toothwort, false rue anemone, prairie trilliums, woodland plox, Virginia bluebells, Jack-in-the-pulpits and much more.

Monday, April 23, 2007. 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm. Iowa Valley Community College Environmental Science Class Tour of CERA.

Saturday, April 21, 2007 (morning and early afternoon). Bird Banding.
Rob Bradley, a licensed bird bander, and Bob Van Ersvelde, president of the local Tallgrass Prairie Audubon Chapter, helped us mist-net and band non-game birds in savanna and woodland habitats at CERA. This was an exceptional opportunity to learn natural history about birds and see migratory songbirds up close and personal. Our bird observations will be contributed to a national depository at the U.S. Geological Survey Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Bird Banding Laboratory.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007. 4:15 pm - 6:00 pm. Forest Scavenger Hunt for Grinnell Cub Scouts.

Monday, April 16, 2007. 4:15-6:15 p.m. Woodland Wildflower Walk.
A 0.5-mile hike in our oak-hickory forest to observe a myriad of spring ephemeral wildflowers in bloom: Dutchman's breeches, trout lilies, spring beauties, mayapples, toothwort, false rue anemone, trilliums, and much more.

Saturday, April 7, 2007, and Saturday, February 17, 2007. 10 am - 12:30 pm. 10 am - 12:30 pm. Savanna/Woodland Restoration for Volunteers.
Restoration of the savanna and woodland areas included removing native and non-native invasive trees. Volunteers were sought to help with piling branches and carrying firewood-sized logs out of the areas being restored. No experience necessary!

Thursday, October 26, 2006. 4:15 – 5:30 pm. Prescribed Fire Training for Volunteers. Noyce 2021.
Anyone interested in helping with prescribed burns of prairie, savanna, and forest habitats at CERA must attend this training session. The session provides an overview of why, where, and when we use prescribed fire, and how we conduct prescribed burns, including an introduction to the equipment we use.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006. 4:15 – 6:00 pm. Prairie Seed Harvesting at the Reichelt Prairie Remnant.
Volunteers helped hand collect prairie seed from a DNR prairie remnant located west of Grinnell on Hwy 6. The seed was given to the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge near Prairie City, Iowa for prairie reconstruction efforts there.

Monday, October 2, 2006. 4:15 – 6:00 pm. Prairie Seed Harvesting at CERA.
Volunteers helped hand collect prairie seed for planting at CERA.

Saturday, February 17, 2007. 10 am - 12:30 pm. Savanna/Woodland Restoration for Volunteers.
We're seeking volunteers to help with savanna and woodland restoration. We're removing native and non-native invasive trees and need assistance piling branches of culled trees and carrying firewood-sized logs out of the areas being restored. No experience necessary!

Friday, February 2, 2007. 2:15 - 5:00 pm. Prairie Seed Cleaning.
A winter retreat in our new Environmental Education Center. Attendees learned how to use a variety of seed cleaning equipment to remove hand-collected native seeds from fruits and other flower parts. The EEC seed cleaning laboratory offered a beautiful view of the surrounding prairie landscape.

Friday, September 22 and Monday, September 25, 2006. Prairie Insect Field Trips.
Grinnell-Newberg fourth-graders visited CERA for their annual prairie insect activities.

Saturday, September 16, 2006. 10:00 am – 1:00 pm. Iowa Native Plant Society Field Trip.
Iowa Native Plant Society members led a tour of our remnant prairie and savanna restorations. The tour also included a look at field experiments on seeding woodland herbaceous species and the effects of fire, mowing, and season of fire on reconstructed prairie.

Saturday, September 16, 2006. 7:30 – 9:30 am and 1:30 – 3:30 pm. Family Weekend Tours of CERA led by Biology Faculty.
One of the highlights of the tour was the Environmental Education Center, the first building in Iowa to receive a gold rating by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

Thursday, September 14, 2006. 5:00 -6:30 pm. Prairie and Savanna Tour.
A tour of reconstructed prairie and oak savanna restorations. Wear long pants and sturdy shoes.

Saturday, September 9, 2006. 9:00 am – 3:00 pm. Workshop: Drawing for the Naturalist.
Instructor: Wendy Hollender. Environmental Education Center. Visit the Center for Prairie Studies for more information.

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Multidisciplinary Uses

Student Employment

Visitors & Volunteers

Woodland Restoration