Senior Programs & Trips
OWLS - Older, Wiser, Livelier, Seniors
Looking for an excuse to get out of the house, make some new friends, and learn about the exciting world of nature? Then join us! These programs are held the first Tuesday of every month.
- Date(s): These programs are held the first Tuesday of each month.
- Time: 11:00 a.m.
- Location: Jester Park Nature Center
- Registration: None
- Cost: Free
- Ages: 12+
September 3, 2024 - Great Trees for Iowa Neighborhoods
Searching for the right tree for your garden? The local nurseries have hundreds to choose from and it can be overwhelming. Join Melissa Burdick, Executive Director of The Brenton Arboretum, for an overview of spectacular tree choices for Iowa neighborhoods. The program will cover a selection of some of the best recommended trees to improve any landscape.
September 11, 2024 - Monarch Migration** held at the Easter Lake Event Center from 1-2pm
Come learn about one of the world’s most talked about butterflies and what makes them so unique! We will also try our hand at catching and tagging monarchs as they migrate to their winter home in Mexico. Come prepared to move around and have some fun!
October 1, 2024 - Sweet Endearing Honey
Owner and Beekeeper Dean Coleman invites everyone to join a conversation about honey bees. Dean and his wife started beekeeping in 2017. Now they manage nearly 100 beehives around the area. They produce 100% pure, raw, local honey, candles, raw beeswax, and comb honey. If you are looking for some information on bees, look at some pictures and short videos of hives, bees, and honey, and ask questions then join us!
November 5, 2024 - Grassland Birds
Owner and Beekeeper Dean Coleman invites everyone to join a conversation about honey bees. Dean and his wife started beekeeping in 2017. Now they manage nearly 100 beehives around the area. They produce 100% pure, raw, local honey, candles, raw beeswax, and comb honey. If you are looking for some information on bees, look at some pictures and short videos of hives, bees, and honey, and ask questions then join us!
November 13, 2024 - Mammal Mania** held at the Easter Lake Event Center from 1-2pm
Some can fly, some can dig, and some can swim, but we all have one thing in common, we’re all mammals, including us. We’ll discuss the characteristics that make mammals a unique class of animals and review the diverse selection of species living here in Iowa.
December 3, 2024 - Native Plants
The plants we choose to grow and nurture in our landscapes are more than simply appeasing ornamentation. They’re the lifeblood of our landscapes, nourishing and sheltering wildlife, intercepting and cleaning water, protecting soils, and literally breathing life into the air around us. But not all plants participate in the same ways! In this talk, Dr. Adam Janke will explore the Nature of Native Plants by exploring the stories of a few native, and a few not native, plants to appreciate how they grow and interact and, when in the right place at the right time, sustain the human and non-human life around them.
Senior Bus Tours 2024
Step on board with Polk County Conservation as we explore the beauty of Iowa and Iowan hospitality throughout the state. Bring a sense of adventure and desire to reconnect with Iowa’s natural resources, while making new friends. Click here to download the 2024 Eco-Bus Trip brochure.
- June 13, 2024 - Barns, Bees, Moos, and Kangaroos to Cedar Falls, Iowa - click here to learn more
- July 11, 2024 - Music on the Mississippi to Moline, Illinois - click here to learn more
- August 22, 2024 - Pearl Buttons & Historic Pine Grist Mill to Muscatine, Iowa - click here to learn more
- September 12, 2024 - Autumn, Apples & Adventure to Jefferson, Iowa - click here to learn more
Senior Bus Trip registration opens up on March 30, 2024 at 8am.