Thank you to everyone who made this year's Loess Hills Prairie Seminar possible and to everyone who attended! Whether you were a newcomer or a longtime attendee, we would deeply appreciate your feedback to continue to improve and grow LHPS for years to come. Click the button below to download a feedback form, which can be emailed to:

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mccbnat@mononacounty.org

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We hope to see you next year!

Loess Hills Prairie Seminar:
Breaking Dormancy

Come explore, learn, and relax in the Heart of the Loess Hills in Monona County, Iowa for the 45th Anniversary of the Loess Hills Prairie Seminar!

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Save The Date:

June 3rd-5th, 2022

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Friday - 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM

Saturday - 6:00 AM - 10:00 PM  

Sunday - 6:00 AM - 12:00 PM

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*Primitive camping & car camping on site. No electrical hook ups. No running water. A solar-powered phone charging station will be available.

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Links to our scheduled events and activities can be found below.

PLEASE NOTE: This year, we will not be utilizing West Monona High School to host Friday and Saturday night indoor events. Instead, we will be meeting at the Onawa Community Center.

"Getting people; getting children acquainted with what's out here will make people concerned about what is happening here. If we get acquainted with natural communities we feel at home. Any place we feel at home, we feel like protecting."

~Sylvan Runkel

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We are looking for silent auction items to help generate funds to run the seminar from year to year. If you are planning on attending, just bring the item(s) with you.

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Please Click the Following Links:

Driving Directions

G.R.A.S.S. Event Map

Weekend Activities:

This seminar was developed to serve students of all ages, educators, families, professionals in the conservation field, and all community members. Each year we see families come back. It has grown to be a multi-generational event.

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Please click on the corresponding buttons below to view this year's scheduled events and activities.

Loess Hills Virtual Seminar 2020

History

Carolyn Benne

Founder of the Loess Hills Prairie Seminar

Larry Benne

Founder of the Loess Hills Prairie Seminar

Dianne Blankenship

Retired Loess Hills Prairie Seminar Coordinator

Andrea Porter

Former Loess Hills Prairie Seminar Coordinator

Tyler Ruge

Current Loess Hills Prairie Seminar Coordinator

The Loess Hills Seminar began in 1977 with a group of approximately 25 people who wanted to study the unique characteristics of this special area. To get an accurate feeling of the “Hills,” and preserve the delicate ecology, the group backpacked into the interior for the first seminar. Since then the increased number of participants has necessitated a more convenient location. The original idea of preserving the “back to nature” concept  of the seminar however, is still a major goal of the organizers.

The Loess Hills are a geological formation created  thousands of years ago during the glacial periods. The Missouri River Valley flooded every summer with the ice melt from these glaciers. During the cool months, however, the flows declined, creating expansive mud flats. Winds dried and picked up this soil causing huge dust storms. Much of the wind-blown soil or loess was dropped near the mud flats in “dirt drifts” exceeding 200 feet in depth.

There are several reasons why the Loess Hills are unique. The soil itself is composed of “silt-sized” particles. This allows water to rapidly pass, which creates an arid or dry condition. South- and west-facing slopes of the Hills are baked in sunlight, while slopes facing north and east are more shaded. These shaded slopes are often wooded with relatively young stands of Bur Oak.

The sunny, steep slopes have remained in native grasses and flowers, genetically tied to the same vegetation that was here before settlers arrived. The combination and quality of both timber and prairie make this ideal for study.