Spillways Cope with Excess Water
April 30, 2020 6:00 pm 3 CommentsWhile it is relatively simple and inexpensive to design and build a grassed spillway to cope with overflow from a... Read More →
Author Archives for Lon Drake
About Lon Drake
This old guy's favorite large-scale conservation projects include integrating soils, water, plants, and animals, especially native species. I still bike through my South Sycamore stormwater management system from 2001.
Tree Roots Damage Septic Systems
April 23, 2020 6:00 pm 5 CommentsOver the past half-century, I have seen several local instances where trees have gotten their roots into rural septic systems... Read More →
The Iowa City Constructed Wetland Stormwater Corridor
April 16, 2020 6:00 pm 2 CommentsWhen you think you have a good green idea, you never know whether it will fly until you offer it... Read More →
Sister Land Trusts? A Proposal
April 9, 2020 6:00 pm Leave your thoughtsConsidered by most as a successful local conservation organization, Bur Oak Land Trust currently owns 11 properties and holds conservation... Read More →
Root Plates Can be Dangerous, and Interesting
April 2, 2020 6:00 pm 1 CommentIn summer 1984, a very narrow storm, probably a tornado, lurched through our rural neighborhood, including our yard. A tall... Read More →
Growing a Carbon Forest
March 26, 2020 6:00 pm Leave your thoughtsWhile any tree planting will sequester some carbon by taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, the volume of growth... Read More →
Iowa City Tackles Climate Change
March 19, 2020 6:00 pm Leave your thoughtsIowa City staff and council have been alert to the City’s carbon emissions for a decade, conducting studies and evolving... Read More →
Rehabbing the TV Dragon
March 12, 2020 6:00 pm 2 CommentsThose of you who know me well, know that we haven’t owned a TV since our children left home 30... Read More →
Stratification of Shrub Seed
March 5, 2020 7:00 pm 1 CommentAs with prairie seed, the purpose of stratifying our native shrub seed is to simulate going through a chill cycle... Read More →
How to Stratify Prairie Seed
February 27, 2020 7:00 pm Leave your thoughtsIn mid-February, as I was prepping some purchased prairie seed for stratification, it occurred to me that this might be... Read More →
