SER MWGL Chapter Sponsors Tallgrass Prairie Center Event 

SER MWGL Chapter member Daniel Miller from Iowa and Board of Directors member Martha Holzheuer of Michigan were among the over 125 people in attendance at the Iowa Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management (IRVM) Conference in Cedar Rapids, Iowa September 12-14, 2018.

 

The event for designers and managers of living roadsides–many planted with prairie species–was organized by the Tallgrass Prairie Center, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.   Many in attendance were from county highway engineering and transportation departments throughout Iowa.  A long-term IRVM objective is to establish diverse stands of native plants in the right-of-way. These strong, weed-resistant plant communities adapt to all roadside conditions and provide a variety of services: enhancing rainfall infiltration; slowing runoff; trapping sediment; reducing erosion and creating habitat for pollinators, nesting birds and other wildlife.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Roadside Conference program consisted of oral presentations, field trips to a variety of showcase roadside vegetation management projects and a banquet presentation by Doug Tallamy.

 

 

While at the Roadside Conference, Daniel and Martha, talked to conference attendees about the SER MWGL chapter’s mission and activities, advertised the chapter’s recent book, “Ecological Restoration in the Midwest” from the University of Iowa Press, and promoted the upcoming 2019 chapter annual meeting at Central College in Pella, Iowa.   Roadside conference moderator Kristine Named also made a great pitch for the annual conference April 12-14, 2019 in Pella, Iowa.