Following the theme of the bicentennial anniversary for the State of Illinois, the Volunteer Miller program for April focuses on the native grasslands that at one time dominated this Midwest landscape. Likewise, the Tallgrass Prairie Ecosystem once covered 80% or 28 million acres of present day Iowa. Today, only 0.1% of that original ecosystem is left in the state.
This presentation will focus on the history of how the prairie formed, as well as the how and whys of its subsequent demise. It will also discuss where you can still find some of these prairies locally, why they are still there, and some of the local resource management and reconstruction efforts being done to help preserve these areas.
Speaker, Ryan Welch, will share his expertise on this subject. Welch has been a full time faculty member at Clinton Community College for seven years teaching a variety of natural sciences including: Environmental Science, General Biology, Plant Biology, Conservation Biology, and Wildlife Ecology. Prior to being an instructor at CCC, Ryan was the Outreach Coordinator at the Tallgrass Prairie Center at University of Northern Iowa. He received his bachelor’s degree from UNI in the area of Ecology and Systematics. In 2009, he also received a Master’s degree working with prairie conservation and ecology. In addition to his degrees, he has had the opportunity to study native ecosystems throughout the US and abroad.
All programming is sponsored by the Volunteer Millers of de Immigrant Windmill with financial assistance of a grant from the D.S. Flikkema Foundation. This month’s presentation will begin at 6:00pm on Tuesday, April 17 at the Windmill Cultural Center at 111 – 10th Avenue in downtown Fulton, across from the authentic Dutch windmill. The event is free and open to the public. The facility is accessible to persons with disabilities. Light refreshments will be served following the presentation. For more information, visit the Windmill Cultural Center and de Immigrant Facebook page, www.cityoffulton.us or call 815-589-3925.
