2026 Event Schedule

Friday

3-4 PM

Doors Open for Drop-Offs and Set Up

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4-7 PM

• Public can enter and view silent auction items, exhibits, and vendor booths.

• West Monona High School - Doors Open at 4PM

• Food Truck - JUGGs BBQ, Silent Auction Bidding, Vendors

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7-9 PM

Children's Programs

• 7-8PM Bird Bingo – Northwest Iowa Sierra Club

• 8-9PM Gardening is Fun! - Cheryl and John Bunstma 

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7 PM

Welcome to this year's seminar! Thank you for joining us and for your continued support!

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7:05 PM

Loess Hills Organizations Updates

• The Nature Conservancy - Amy Crouch

• Iowa DNR Private Lands Update and G.R.A.S.S. - Megann Schmidt

• Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation – Kody Wohlers

• Iowa DNR Private Lands Forestry - Sarah Bell

• Golden Hills RC&D – Lance Brisbois

• Loess Hills Alliance – Rich Pope

• Loess Hills State Forest - Jeff Seago

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8:20-8:45PM 

Loess Hills Prairie Seminar: Photos of the Past and Present - Don Poggensee and Dianne Blankenship - Don Poggensee will share a slideshow of old seminar photos following an introduction by Dianne Blankenship 

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8:45 PM

• Ending Announcements and Adjourn

• Visit Vendors, Ask Questions to Agencies, Bid on Silent Auction Items (Silent Auction ends at 7:15PM Saturday night)

9:00 PM

Head to the Campsite
Parents, please collect your children from our children’s programming at this time.

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9:30 - 11 PM​​

• Campfire and S’mores 

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11 PM

Campsite Quiet Hours Begin

LHPS offerings resume on Saturday morning at 6 AM.

Saturday

6-7 AM

• Birding Walk for All Ages - Mark, Ed, and Lee Brogie and Tucker Lutter

• Meet at the campground parking lot for a short bird walk. Some binoculars are provided; personal binoculars and cameras are welcome.

7-8 AM

• Yoga - Melissa Beerman, Enjoy a morning yoga class in the heart of the Loess Hills.

• Breakfast - Pre-registered rolls and pastries. Coffee for Free Will Donation. Menu information available under the Meals tab on our website. 

8:15-10:10 AM

Breakout Session 1

• Bird Tour by Auto - Sessions 1 & 2 (with option to return to camp at 10:15 AM) - Ed, Mark, & Lee Brogie and Tucker Lutter [short walk/driving, hands on, all ages] 

• Sylvan T. Runkel: Citizen of the Natural World – Larry Stone (camp, older students and adults) 

• Prairie Photography - Don Poggensee [short walk, hands on, older students and adults] 

• Loess Hills Bryophytes - Bill Zales [short walk, youth, older students and adults]  

• Woody Plants for Beginners – Brian Hazelett [short walk, all ages] 

• Conservation, Collages, & Creative Writing - Amie Adams [campsite, hands on, all ages] 

• Who’s Your Neighbor? A Plant’s-Eye View of the Prairie – Deb Lewis and Rich Pope [short walk, youth, older students and adults] 

• Building and Maintaining Sustainable Trails in the Loess Hills – Matt Moles [campsite, older students and adults] 

• Owls – Mariah Myers and Woodbury CCB Intern [campsite, all ages/kid friendly] 

• From Fragile Giants to Fragile Earth:  A Retrospective – Connie Mutel [youth/older students and adults, camp] 

• Primitive Techniques – Shayne Benett [Campsite, youth/older students and adults] 

• Collect and Grow Your own Prairie- Tim Youngquist (campsite, hands on, older students and adults)   

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10:15 AM - 12:10 PM

Breakout Session 2

• Bird Tour by Auto - Sessions 1 & 2 (with option to return to camp at 10:15 AM) - Ed, Mark, & Lee Brogie and Tucker Lutter [short walk/driving, hands on, all ages] 

• Connecting with the Landscape; Expressing a Sense of Place - Cheryl Buntsma and Kathy Koskovich [short walk/camp, youth/older students and adults] 

• Reptiles - Mariah Myers and Woodbury CCB Intern [campsite, all ages/kid friendly] 

• Soils of the Loess Hills – Rich Pope [drive/short walk/campsite, older students and adults] 

• Digital Images - Don Poggensee [campsite, youth/older students and adults] 

• Loess Hills Mammals - Bill Zales [campsite, hands on, kid friendly/all ages] 

• Milkweed Seed Balls – Nancy Crews [campsite, all ages, hands on]   

• Mann Country School Day – Judy Ehlers (Please sign up ahead of time online) [drive/short walk, hands on, youth, older students and adults] Note: Presenter will lead caravan from seminar site. 

• Restorative Recreation: Exploration Intersection between Nature Deficit Disorder, Nature Prescription, Avocation, and Creation Care to Human & Ecosystem Health – Patrick Swanson [older students and adults, camp] 

• Water: Lakota Spirituality and Science – Jerome Kills Small [kid friendly/all ages, camp] 

• Frogs and Toads of Iowa – Terry VanDeWalle and Marlene Ehresman [campsite, youth, older students and adults] 

• Butterfly Nature Garlands - Anna Stoysich [campsite, hands on, all ages] 

12:10-1:10 PM

• Lunch

• Pre-registered and provided by Lidderdale Country Store Catering

1:15-4 PM

Breakout Session 3​

• Kayaking a Loess Hills Pond (Madigan Pond) – Andrea Porter [drive/short walk, hands on, all ages] 

• Fishing Clinic (Madigan Pond) – Katie Hoeppner and IA DNR Seasonal Staff [drive/short walk, hands on, all ages] 

• Slope, Rise, Smoke, Wise: A Reading of New Work by Loess Hills Writers (Madigan Pond) – Kelly Madigan, Amie Adams, Megan Renshaw, Robert Bauer, Kathy Timperley, Jane Daniel, Bridget Lillethorup, Todd Robinson, John Price, Patrick Swanson, Jeff Olson, Kara Grady, Angie Vorhies, Deb Lewis, Glenn Pollock [campsite, older students and adults] 

• Introduction to Archery – Butch Bowman [campsite, hands on, youth/older students and adults] 

• Prairie Flora of the Loess Hills - Dr. Tom Rosburg [long walk, hands on, older students and adults] 

• South Jordan Cemetery (Drive to Cemetery) – Judy Ehlers [drive/short walk, older students and adults] Note: Presenter will lead caravan from seminar site.  

• Half Sessions 1:15-2:45PM:  

  • Talkin’ Turkeys - Connie Betts [campsite, hands on, kid friendly/all ages] 

  • Growing Your Relationship with Creation – Michael O’Connor [camp, older students and adults] 

  • Hands-on Handweaving – Natalie Jackson [campsite, hands on, all ages] 

• Half Sessions 2:45PM-4PM:  

  • Birds and Binoculars – Morgan Sauer [short hike, hands on, kid friendly] 

  • Hands-on Handweaving – Natalie Jackson [campsite, hands on, all ages] 

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4:00 PM

• Travel for Dinner

• Dinner at the West Monona High School

4:30-6 PM

• Dinner provided by Lidderdale Country Store (pre-register). Take time to view exhibits and vendor booths and to bid on items in our silent auction to support LHPS.

• Silent Auction Bidding ends at 7:15PM, be sure to pay and pick up items before leaving by 9PM. (Cash or Check)

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6-8:30 PM

• Children's Programs

• Children’s Programing – Commons Area

• 6PM-6:50PM: Fantastic Fireflies! - Harrison County Naturalist Connie Betts 

• 6:50PM-7:40PM: Children’s Program – Amy McDermott, Onawa Public Library 

• 7:40PM-8:30PM: Children’s Program - Ida County Naturalist Dakota Popp

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6 PM

• Welcome - Auditorium

6:05-7 PM

• Keynote Presentation: Love for the Hills through Adventure, a Prelude to the West and Grassroots Education – Dr. Tom Rosburg 

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7-7:30 PM

• Break

  • Take time to visit with other attendees and presenters, view exhibits, and visit vendor booths.​

  • Reminder: Silent Auction ends at 7:15PM tonight, please pay and pick up items before leaving. Checkout begins at 8:15PM-9PM. Please plan to pay with cash or check.

7:30 - 8:15PM

• Loess Hills Prairie Seminar: Looking Back, Moving Forward – Join Dianne Blankenship as we reflect on 50 years of history at the Loess Hills Prairie Seminar and hear seminar coordinator Tyler Ruge share the planning committee's vision for the future of the seminar. 

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8:30PM

• Head to Campsite - Loess Hills Prairie Seminar Campsite 

• Parents, please collect your children from our Children’s Programming at this time.  

• West Monona High School building will close at 9PM at the latest. Everyone needs to be out of the building before 9PM. 

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9 PM

• Campsite Activities -

  • Campfire Music - Kevin Harrington and Walt Peterson

  • Campfire and Smore’s 

11 PM

Campsite Quiet Hours Begin
LHPS offerings will resume on Sunday at 6 AM.

Sunday

6-7 AM

• Birding Walk for All Ages - Mark, Ed, and Lee Brogie and Tucker Lutter

  • Meet at the campground parking lot for a short bird walk. Some binoculars are provided, personal binoculars and cameras welcome.

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7-8 AM

• Yoga – Melissa Beerman 

  • Enjoy a morning yoga class in the heart of the Loess Hills Landscape. 

• Breakfast - Pre-registered rolls and pastries. Coffee for Free will Donation. Menu information available under the Meals tab on our website.  

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8:15-10:10 AM

Breakout Session 4

• Prairie Ecology - Dr. Tom Rosburg [short walk, older students and adults] 

• The Decline of the King of the Great Plains – David Hoferer [camp, older students and adults] 

• We Are the Buffalo, and the Buffalo are Us! – Renee Sans Souci [campsite, hands on, all ages] 

• Tourin’ around Turin (Bike Ride) – Lance Brisbois [bike ride, hands on, older students and adults] (Please provide own bike and personal equipment.) 

•  A Pane in the Glass: How to Prevent Bird Window Strikes at Home – Marla Kerr and Sharon Polifka  

• Retracing the Dragoon Trail in Iowa: Environmental Transformation Along the Des Moines River  - Kevin Mason [camp, older students and adults] 

• The Loess Hills Quest for the Creepy, the Crawlers, and the Imposters:   – Andrea Porter [ short walk, all ages, kid friendly] 

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10:30-11:30 AM

• SOAR Raptor Program – Kay Neumann
  Join Kay at this year's S.O.A.R. Raptor Program and meet her birds, learn about bird-of-prey behavior, and
  learn about some of the raptors that call the Loess Hills home. There is a possibility S.O.A.R. will bring a raptor to release at the seminar, but this is subject to the availability of a suitable raptor in good health needing release at the time.

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11:30-11:45AM

• End of Seminar Programming Final Thank you and Ending Announcement