Meet the Authors of Wolly Dreams & hear an Environmental Learning Center update on Thursday, March 29 from 6:00 – 7:00 PM at the Conservation Center, Russell Wildlife Area. Mahaska Mammoth: Woolly Dreams was written after the bones of three woolly mammoths were discovered in Mahaska County. It is a fictional story enhanced with facts that will inspire readers of all ages to learn more about the woolly mammoth and the Ice Age. Come out to the conservation center at the Russell Wildlife Area from 6:00-7:00 PM to hear a reading of the story by Linda Fox and visit with the authors; Laura DeCook, Mary Jane Sullivan and Linda Fox. This will also be an opportunity to learn more about Mahaska County’s Environmental Learning Center that is being built at Caldwell Park! The MCCB director, Dave Sedivec, will provide this information. The Russell Wildlife Area is located at 2254 – 200th Street, New Sharon, Iowa which is four miles north of Oskaloosa on Hwy. 63 and one mile east on 200th Street. If you have questions, feel free to call the Mahaska County Conservation Board at 641-673-9327.
Family Fishing Day & Kids’ Fishing Derby
It’s an event of free fun for the whole family. The Family Fishing Day & Kids’ Fishing Derby will be Saturday, June 2 from noon – 3:00 PM at the Russell Wildlife Area. From 12:00 – 1:00 PM, there will be a campfire picnic lunch and from 1:00 – 3:00 PM, the fishing will ensue. If you come for the picnic, please bring your own drink and a side dish to share. The Mahaska County Conservation Board will provide the table service and hot dogs.
Moonlight Movie Night at Eveland Access Campgrounds
Want to do something fun with the whole family on Memorial Day weekend? Campers, campground visitors, and the public are welcome to come out and watch a FREE movie at the Eveland Access Campground on Saturday, May 26, beginning at dark (8:30 PM). Free popcorn available. Check the Mahaska Conservation Facebook Page to know which movie will be playing.
Maple Syrup Festival – NEW LOCATION & TIME
The Mahaska County Conservation Board staff and volunteers will demonstrate how to tap trees and boil it to make maple syrup at the Maple Syrup Festival on Saturday, March 17. Bring your appetites for fresh maple syrup on ice cream! (We can’t let you leave without tasting maple syrup).
New Location: Conservation Center at the Russell Wildlife Area – Due to today’s weather and tomorrow morning’s forecast, the Maple Syrup Festival has been relocated to be held indoors at the conservation center at the Russell Wildlife Area. Please note the time change which is now 9:00-10:30 am.
The Russell Wildlife Area is located at 2254 – 200th Street, New Sharon, IA which is 4 miles north of Oskaloosa on Hwy. 63 and 1 mile east on 200th Street. We look forward to see you!
If you have questions, call the Mahaska County Conservation Board at 641-673-9327.
MCCB Bird Food Giveaway Returns in 2018
(MAHASKA COUNTY, Iowa) – The Mahaska County Conservation Board (MCCB) recently announced it will again hold its annual MCCB Bird Food Giveaway later this month.
On Saturday, Jan. 27, from 8:00AM–noon, visitors may take to the east side of the conservation center at Russell Wildlife in New Sharon to pick up cracked corn for feeding birds, free of charge. Although participants must bring their own buckets to fill, a news release sent by the Board states that staff will assist in both filling and carrying buckets.
For more information about the MCCB Bird Food Giveaway, call 641-673-9327.
About MCCB:
The Mahaska County Conservation Board was established in January 1975. According to the MCCB website, the purpose of the Conservation Board is to provide quality parks, recreation, conservation, and environmental education opportunities for the public.
The five members of the Conservation Board are appointed by the Board of Supervisors for five year terms. They serve without pay, but receive their actual expenses incurred while carrying out their duties. The board meets on the first Thursday of each month at 7:30PM, and public participation is welcomed.
The Mahaska County Conservation Board seeks to ensure that future generations have ample opportunity to enjoy parks, natural resources and the scenic beauty that Mahaska County has to offer.
Environmental Education is the cornerstone of the MCCB’s conservation philosophy. Therefore, the MCCB is dedicated to educating the public to better understand, appreciate, and protect the environment that sustains the world.
BY HAILEY BROWN
Promotions/Social Media Director
KBOE 104.9FM/KMZN 99.5FM & 740AM
MCCB’s Bird Food Giveaway
The Mahaska County Conservation Board will be having their annual Bird Food Giveaway on Saturday, Jan. 27 from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM (Noon) on the east side of the conservation center at Russell Wildlife Area. The public may pick up free cracked corn for bird feeding during this time. Please bring your own (10 gal.) buckets to fill up. Staff will be on hand to assist you in filling and carrying the buckets.
The Russell Wildlife Area is located at 2254 – 200th Street in New Sharon, Iowa, which is four miles north of Oskaloosa on Hwy 63 and one mile east on 200th Street. For more information, call MCCB at 641-673-9327.
Community Impact Grant set to bring in Full Exhibit to Environmental Learning Center
Growing pains that once plagued the local conservation center will see a new resurrection. The Mahaska County Conservation Center recently quadrupled its program participation, in attempt to match that of Linn County. There soon came a need for a larger space to house these programs. With a concept that began in August of 2008, the Mahaska County Conservation Board will soon break ground on the new Environmental Learning Center at Caldwell Park, just east of Oskaloosa.
Dave Sedivec, Mahaska County Conservation Board Director, addressed the Mahaska County Board of Supervisors on Monday, July 17. Sedivec thanked them again for approving the new building and that things with contractors have begun. He mentioned that contractors have begun to flood into the Oskaloosa area to reside as the building process begins.
With groundbreaking for this building set to occur next Thursday at 6:30 PM at Caldwell Park, and what better way to start off the celebration events than receiving a grant. The awarded grant is coming from the MidWestOne Foundation, which is awarding MidWestOne the Community Impact Grant. This specific grant will be utilized by the Mahaska County Conservation Center to put toward a specific exhibit in the new Environmental Learning Center east of Oskaloosa.
In 2010, Woolly Mammoth bones were discovered on a farm in rural Mahaska County. This $50,000 grant, from the MidWestOne Foundation, will cover the cost of an articulated life-sized mammoth skeleton, which is all man-made. A St. Louis based company, Taylor Made Fossils, has been chosen for the recreation of the mammoth. Taylor Made Fossils will construct the pieces, deliver them to the center and then assemble the skeleton on-site.
“This will be a display in their exhibit hall so that people can see the actual overwhelming size of the mammoth bones that were discovered here locally in Mahaska County,” said Jane Krutzfeldt, Administrative Associate at MidWestOne Bank.
Though the grant had been awarded to MidWestOne, donating it to the Environmental Learning Center will have such a profound impact on not only Oskaloosa, but many surrounding communities as well. Three different school districts and William Penn University will be impacted by the project, as well as countless conservation groups from the area. But being awarded the Community Impact Grant would not have been possible without the work of the staff at the Oskaloosa branch.
“The staff is very much behind this grant,” said Krutzfeldt. The grant was awarded to the local Oskaloosa MidWestOne branch due to staff involvement. Over 86{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b} of the staff have pledged to volunteer their time at the Environmental Learning Center.
The community supports this project, and has taken steps to add other attractions to promote more traffic to the area.It is our hope that it can be enhanced through MidWestOne’s generosity in bestowing the MidWestOne Community Impact Grant, and allowing the featured attraction, our Woolly Mammoths, to reign once again.
The presentation of the check is slated for Monday, July 31st, at 9 AM at the MidWestOne Bank.
Again, groundbreaking on the Environmental Learning Center is set for Thursday, August 3rd at 6:30 PM at Caldwell Park.
For more information visit: www.mahaskaconservation.com