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Ruth, Amy, Ed.Iowa's Environment.Iowa State Historical Society, Iowa City.

ISSN-0278-02089433p.; For related items, see ED 370 864, ED 349 215,ED 348 273, ED 346 014, and ED 344 809.State Historical Society of Iowa, 402 Iowa Avenue,Iowa City, IA 52240-1806 ($10 for four issues).Guides Classroom Use Instructional Materials (For

Learner) (051) Collected Works Serials (022)

Goldfinch; v15 n4 Sum 1994

MFOI/PCO2 Plus Postage.Childrens Literature; Elementary Education;*Environmental Education; Geography; LearningActivities; Local History; Natural Resources;*Physical Environment; Pollution; Puzzles; *SocialStudies; *State History*Iowa

This theme issue explores the changes in Iowa'senvironment. When Native Americans lived in Io,a hundreds -f years

ago, the land was rich in tall grasslands, fertile soil, wildlife,wetlands, and unpolluted waters. When European-American pioneers

settled Iowa in 1833, they changed the environment in order to

survive. The first article in this issue discusses recycling. Another

article describes the wildlife that used to be plentiful in Iowa, the

loss of soe species, and the reintroduction of others. Articles are

devoted to pesticides, heirloom seeds, and bird watchers. More

extensive articles describe Iowa wetlands, Iowa's flood history,

erosion, and recycling. A learning activity on making compost is

included along with a quiz on compost mcterials. Iowa's prairie

history is explored in another article. Sections discuss breaking the

prairie, prairie fires, and prairies today. Other learning activities

include a word find, a word scramble, and carLoon, all dealing with

the ervironment. A short story about recycling is included. The last

article describes the activities of different youngsters in

celebrating Earth Day. A list of four books is offered as additional

reading. Four pamphlets available from government agencies or private

organizations are included. (DK)

***********************************************************************Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made

from the original document.***********************************************************************

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Wild Rosie's Map GindfinchWhen Native Americans lived in Iowa hundreds of years

age, the land was rich in tall grasslands, fertile soil, wildlife,wetlands, and unpolluted waters.

When European-American pioneers settled Iowa in 1833,they changed the environment in order to survive. Settlers cutdown trees to build houses and barns. They farmed Iowa'sprairies to grow crops to feed their families and livestock, andthey drained the wetlands and turned soggy soil into rich farm-land.

Today, all decisions concerning the natural environmentcan be good or bad for Iowa's land and the humans and animalswho live here.

This issue of The Goldfinch explores the changes inIowa's environment. To learn more about Iowa's environmentalhistory, visit.the "Delicate Balance" exhibit at the State HistoricalSociety of Iowa in Des Moines.

Sono of the Magas You'll VisitIn This Immo of The Goldfinch

MononaCountyThe LoessHills. some ofIowa's largestremainingprairies.

-etch alongMissouri

Riser inwestern Iowa.

Winneshiek County - Twelveyearold BathshebaRose Demuth saves and grows heirloom seeds.

.211011Plir Sherman built a 28-tixa-tall tower in 1915 to

Bird watcher AltheaClayton County -

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study birds.

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1111111Milliihr-Ar,Adair and Ringgold Counties -Prairie chickens have resettled in their nativegrasslands.

Johnson County -? mother and son"History Makers"remember Earth Day.

Iowa County - Amana fifth- graderslearn about wetlands in their community.

2 The Goldfinch

Parent's Choice Award Winner

Volume 15, Number 4Summer 1994 OlZ="Pr.

1:17:41:t. IC OS

INTERIM EDITOR: Amy RuthDIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS: Christie DaileyFICTION EDITOR: Steven BlasklDESIGN: Mary MoyeRowleyEDITORIAL ASSISTANT: Sherri DagelCONSULTING EDITORS: Daryl Howell, IowaDepartment of Natural Resources (IDNR); BillJohnson. curator of natural history, SHSI; andJean Prior, IDNR/Geological Survey.EDUCATORS ADVISORY BOARD: Jan Carlson,South Clay School, Gillett Grove; Margie Hood,Horn Elementary, Iowa City; Pat Rod, North HillElementary, Burlington.CHILDREN'S ADVISORY BOARD: Audrey AnnCoffield, Montezuma; Mathew Kendall and JacobKnoll, Toddville; Amber Massa and JillPennington, Iowa City.

SPECIAL THANKS TO: John Anfinson, Army Corpsof Engineers; David and Bob Braverman,Theresa Carbrey, Justin Webb, Iowa City;Bathsheba Rose and Steve Demuth, Decorah;Jeff Flagle, Ross Harrison, Mel Moe, JohnPearson, Tim Thompson, IDNR; KhosrowKhojasteh, Iowa Agricultural Statistics; MarlinIngalls ar.- Steve Lensink. Office of the StateArchaeologist; Andy Recklick, Bullhead City,Arizona; Mike Shoup, Amana; Joe Winters,meteorologist, KCRGTV, Cedar Rapids; Thecharacters of Wild Rosie end Goldie by JerryBrown, exhibit designer. State Historical Societyof Iowa.

COVER DESIGN: Kris Atha, Art a la Carte,Newton

The Goldfinch (ISSN 0278.0208)'; publishedquarterly by the State Historical Society of Iowa.402 Iowa Avenue, Iowa City, Iowa 52240.1806(319/335-3916). Second-class postage paid atIowa City, Iowa. Subscriptions are $10 for fourissues.

Postmaster: Send address changes to: TheGoldfinch, State Historical Society of Iowa, 402Iowa Avenue, Iowa City. Iowa 52240.1806.

0 State Historical Society of Iowa, 1994No portion of The Goldfinch may be producedwithout prior permission except for classroomuse.

Wild Rosie's MapEnvironmental NewsWetlandsFloodsSoil ErosionRosie's RichesPrairiesWord FindGoldfinch Fiction:

Adventures in Recycling 22Word Scramble

Departments

27

History Makers 28What Next? 30Answers 30The Roost 31

Y.

c

4The Goldfinch 3

About Zewat'S EnvirorrftentNIL MI UM

Ready, Set, Recycle!IOWA What would you do withan empty drink bottle? Toss it inthe garbage? Maybe slam-dunk itinto a recycling bin, or trade it infor a nickel?

If you lived in Iowa 150 yearsago, when glass was veryexpensive, you would wash thebottle carefully, and reuse it until itbroke beyond repair.

In later years, when tin andaluminum containers replaced glass,you probably would have thrownyour pop containers in the garbage.

All this changed in 1979 whenIowa became the fourth state to passa "bottle bill," requiring a five-centdeposit on many glass, plastic, andaluminum beverage containers. Likethey de today, Iowans received fivecents for every empty soft drinkcontainer returned for recycling.

When the bill was just a year old,Iowans had reduced and bottlelitter along roads and highways by79 percent, Jeff Fiagle of the IowaDepartment of Natural Resources(IDNR) told The Goldfinch.

4 The Goldfinch

Now the bill encourages Iowansto recycle. A law passed in 1990outlawed disposal of five-cent-returnbeverage containers in landfills.

Because Iowans are so "into"recycling, an estimated 66,955 tonsof plastic, glass, aluminum, andsteel soft-drink containers wererecycled in 1991. Not bad for a statethat consumes an estimated 792soft drinks a year. (That's a littlemore than 285 containers a year perperson!) Some Iowa legislatorswant to expand the bottle bill toinclude fruit juice containers. Tenother states have bottle bills similarto Iowa's.

Paper and some plastics also canbe recycled. They are made frommaterials that can be broken downand used again and again. Often, lessenergy is required to make productsout of already recycled materials.

Today in Iowa, recyclednewspaper is reused for animalbedding, and crushed glass is usedfor building roads.

Amy Ruth

Iowa's first Native Americanresidents made very little garbage.They put ashes, animal bones, andbroken pottery in empty, under-ground food-storage pits. They usedmuch of their "waste" in sacredceremonies, said Marlin Ingalls of theOffice of the State Archaeologist.

Early pioneers also didn't makemuch trash. They dumped or burnedfood scraps, wooden items, clothing,and glass in open fields.

"If you look back 175 years ago,people raised their own food," LavoyHaage of the Iowa Department ofNatural Resources (IDNR) told TheGoldfinch. "They didn't throw awaynearly as much."

Iowa Wildlife:KEOKUK COUNTY When E.D.Nauman (NEW -muhn) was learningto count, his mother called him tothe east window of their home inKeokuk County to count the wildturkeys pecking in the orchard. Thatday in the late 1860s, Naumancounted 22 birds.

Young Nauman also may haveseen prairie chickens playing in thetall grassiands, white-tailed deer andAmerican Elk roaming woodlandmeadows, grouse feeding in theforest, and barn owls nesting inhollow trees. If he was lucky, hemight have seen a few buffalo.

ExcPS* 9°,"42* 67(4,00kNe. 1.0"::`

owa's rcaShY HabitA manufacturing boom in the

1860s spurred the production ofthrow-away items such as tin andcheap glass, and the expandingrailroad brought these items west.

Many farmers dumped their ar.eon their property, sometimespolluting streams.

Incinerators were built to 'elmgarbage but were expensive tooperate. Des Moines was the thin:city in the country to build anincinerator in 1887, after New YOXCity and Pittsburgh.

Urban waste went to open &nipsoutside city limits where it was sane -times covered with soil or burned

Dumps were used to controlwaste in Iowa's cities until about .

twenty-five years ago, Bill Johnson,curator ei natural history at the StateHistorical Society of Iowa, told TheGoldfinch. The dumps smelled ofrotting food and wet, moldinggarbage. It wasn't unusual to seerats, possums, raccoons, and farmhogs rummaging through the trashfor their next meal, Johnson said,

Many of the hogs passed harmfuldiseases to humans when theanimals were slaughtered and eaten.It wasn't until 1955 that legislatorsmade it illegal for farmers to feedtheir hogs at city dumps.

Modern landfills were developedin the 1960s and have layers ofplastic and clay between the garbageand the ground. These layers blockthe poisons in the garbage fromsinking into the soil and pollutingthe water under ground. But landfillsare not 100 percent safe. Unnoticedleaks in the plastic liners allowpoisons to seep into the ground.

Iowa's first modem landfillopened in Des Moines in 1972. Allopen dumps were closed and coveredwith soil by 1975. Today, there areseventy-five landfills in Iowa.

Amy Ruth

Lost and FoundThese animals lived on Iowa's

prairies, meadows, and woodlandslong before European pioneerssettled in Iowa in the 1800s.

As pioneers from the East starternew lives in Iowa by plowingprairies, hunting animals, and cuturgdown trees to build houses and barn!.the natural environment changed.Owls lost their wooded nesting areal.and the farmed prairies no longerprovided food or nesting sires forprairie chickens once the largestpopulation of game birds in the state.

' Wild turkeys and grouse couldn't fin:food in the cleared woodlands. The

Irienel'ate S ercioseJoXeck tqfpere qaYLiat.

American elk moved west in searchof grass, leaves, and twigs.

Although Iowa has lost some ofits species, conservation effortshave reintroduced some of Iowa'snative animals to the naturalenvironment.

Since 1987, Iowa Department ofNatural Resources (IDNR) workershave brought more than 450 prairiechickens to Iowa from Kansas.

These birds have settled in privategrasslands in Adair and Ringgoldcounties. Grouse have resettled inwooded areas in south-central Iowa.

After wild turkeys disappeared

from Iowa in the early 1900s, noother animal took over its habitatand food supply, said TimThompson, wildlife biologist withthe IDNR. Because of this, theIDNR successfully restocked Iowawith wild turkeys in the mid-1960s.

Today, there are many wildturkeys in Iowa so many thatsome farmers claim the birds dig upseeds in their fields, much like theydid in E.D. Nauman's orchard morethan 100 years ago.

Amy Ruth

Lartgll % 9;ant hole7"cas 94

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The Goldfinch 5

IOWA CITY Atrazine. Alachlor.Metolachlor. Simazine. These mightsound like scary space monsters, butthey are really names of pesticidesfarmers use on their crops.Pesticides are chemicals that aresprayed on farm fields in Iowa todestroy weeds or insects that harmcrops.

Farmers haven't always usedpesticides to grow crops. Beforepesticides were invented, farmersplowed their fields t destroy weeds.Old stalks and plants also kept theweeds from growing. Little could bedone, however, to stop hungry in-sects looking for tasty corn or beans.

In the 1940s, when pesticides wereinvented, farmers could grow morecrops, and fewer unwanted weeds.Pesticides caused corn-and bean -eating insects to move away, too.

Some of the earliest pesticideswere harmful. Instead of destroy-ing only pesky insects, animals,or plants, they harmed otherliving species they touched. Birds,fish, and tiny animals living in thesoil moved from sprayed areas orwere killed. Pesticides were evenfound in drinking water.

The government began to study thepesticides that stayed in the envi-ronment and couldn't be broken downby water or air. These pesticides were

6 The Goldfinch

banned and laws were passed to keepIowa's drinking water and food freefrom dangerous chemicals.

State Pesticide Bureau ChiefChuck Eckermann told TheGoldfinch about laws that requirefarmers to go to school to learnabout pesticides. Farmers also mustdocument the kinds and amounts ofpesticides they use. Pesticides arealways being studied to see if theyare safe or harmful to theenvironment, said Eckermann.

A small number of Iowa farmersdon't use pesticides at all. Thesefarmers are often called organicfarmers. Instead of using human-made pesticides, they let naturecontrol weeds and pests.

Eight-year-old David Bravermanof Iowa City helps his dad, Bob, anorganic farmer, hoe and plant their14-acre farm in the summer. TheBravermans rely on insects, like ladybugs, to control pests. They use hayand straw to control weeds.Decomposed kitchen garbage, likeeggs shells, is used as fertilizer.

Many Iowa farmers are nowusing smaller amounts of chemicalson their crops, Eckermann said.Some still plow their fields tocontrol weeds, just tike theirancestors in the 1930s might havedone. Sherri Dagel

tmarene4 t Os(gan;e t gownfo'fb4tierl by taw with natural

fertith.eTs

DECORAH When twelve-year-old 7Bathsheba (Bath-SHEE-buh) RoseDemuth of Decorah reaches into herbucket for a mangel to feed her tenrabbits, she's also reaching deep intoIowa's history.

She started growing mangels ayear ago, planting in May andharvesting in September. She storesher crop in a root cellar where theykeep throughout the winter.

"It's kind of like keeping part of atradition alive that people haveforgotten about," Bathsheba Rosetold The Goldfinch.

SAVING IOWA'S

SEEDS

4

Mangels are inexpensive to growand store, and were commonlygrown in Iowa in the 1800s to feedlivestock. At the turn of the century,many farmers began using corn asfeed, and stopped growing mange's.

In the 1800s, Iowa farmers alsogrew many other crops corn,wheat, sorghum (SOR-gum), andapples to 'led their families andlivestock.

Sorghum was used as a sugarsubstitute. The juice from this grassplant was made into a thick, syrupysugar, similar to molasses.

With advances in technology,factory-made goods replaced manyhome-made goods, and products likerefined s3gar and feed corn becamereadily available.

After WW II, farmers began tobuy seeds from seed companies,instead of saving their own seedsfrom year to year and replantingthem. This led to the loss of manyold varieties of seeds, includingthose once grown in Iowa.

So Iowa's seeds aren't lostforever, Seed Saver's Exchange(SSE) in Decorah collects heir-loom seeds. Members throughoutthe country exchange more than16,000 varieties, keeping them aliveby growing them in their gardens.

Bathsheba Rose's father, SteveDemuth, who works for SSE, saysgrowing heirloom seeds is good wayto preserve Iowa's agriculturalheritage. He has passed this traditionon to his daughter, who is doing hershare to save Iowa's seeds.

Amy Ruth

Matiget lase,TeJ sweet beet

Althea Sherman:.owa Bird Watcher

NATIONALAlthea Sherman lovedbirds. As a young girl, she watchedbarn swallows dive and swoop overher parents' farm in Clayton County. One summer, she and other childrencollected more than 200 prairie chicken eggs. The kids hoped the eggs wouldhatch into 200 prairie chicken pets. The eggs hatched after a few weeks, butall of the chicks ran away. Despite this early disappointment, Altheacontinued watching birds throughout her life.

Born on a farm in northeastern Iowa in October 1853, Althea was thefourth of six children. Her parents, Mark and Melissa Sherman, were pio-neers who turned Iowa's natural prairies into farmland. The family's success-ful farm provided enough money for the Shermans to educate their children.

Althea attended high school in nearby Fayette. After graduating, shetraveled with her two sisters to Ohio's Oberlin College where she studied art.After college she became an art teacher.

In 1895, sire moved to her parents' home in National, Iowa, to care for heraging father. In her free time, Althea watched the same kinds of birds she hadloved as a child. She began to draw and study them.

Althea also kept journals. In her notebooks she recorded the kinds,numbers, and actions of birds she saw each day. She used her art skills todraw pictures of birds and their babies.

Althea wrote more than seventy magazine articles about birds. She became. widely known after many of her bird studies were printed in sciencemagazines. She worked hard to develop better bird-watching methods.

In 1915, Althea had a 28-foot-tall tower built in her backyard in National,Iowa so she could study birds without frightening them. People came frommiles around, over muddy and dusty dirt roads, to see Althea and her tower.

Althea was sad to learn the numbers and kinds of birds in Iowa haddecreased since she had returned to Iowa. Birds were forced to leave whentheir habitats were destroyed by settlers' fields and houses.

Before she died in 1943, Althea bought many of the houses in her town sothe birds had a permanent place to live. Although the plan was never carriedout, Althea wanted to build a bird sanctuary in National so birds of Iowacould be watched and enjoyed forever. -- Sherri Dagel

Althea Shermanbuilt her birdobservation towerIn 1915. Today, theJohnson County5on51-11rds arerestoring the toweso the public canenjoy It once again

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SamtuaVya safe dace 8 The Goldfinch 7

Three Iowa Kids

Wonder about WetlandsWhen the last glaciermelted off Iowa thou-sands of years ago,

large and small openings in theland filled with water. Theseareas, known as "prairie pot-holes" and wetlands, are acombination of soggy soil andstanding water. Mosquitoes,frogs, beavers, muskrats, andmany types of birds make theirhomes in these wet environ-ments.

European-Americans enter-ing Iowa in the 1830s found

Andy Grimm,Kathryn Croco,

Annie Trumpold,and their teacher,

Marty Reihman,inspect an Iowa

County map withMike Shoup in the

Amana SocietyFarms and For-

est?), Office. Theylearned how fieldscan be restored toa natural wetland

state.

8 The Goldfinch

(that at least one-fifth of thestate was wetlands. Theirwagon wheels got stuck in themarshy ground and much ofthe soil was too wet to plant. Inthe 1880s, farmers took themoisture out of the land bydraining it. They dug long,narrow ditches that allowed thewater to run off into waterways.They buried clay pipes, calledtiles, under the ground to carryaway even more water.

Today, fewer than 30,000wetland acres remain. Many

organizations and individualsare trying to protect Iowa'sremaining wetlands. ThreeAmana fifth-graders discoveredfarm fields h their communitythat will be returned to theirnatural marshy state. AnnieTrumpold, Kathryn Croco,Andy Grimm, all eleven, talkedwith Mike Shoup of AmanaSociety farms about fields theAmana Society will restore andkeep as a wetland.

"The wetlands we're planningwill cover 136 acres," Shoup

-__4 '.

Ag.

.4t44e2e41.1mr

said. The two large fields thatwill become wetlands weremarshy pastures when Shoupattended school in Amana inthe 1960s. "Itwas planted withbeans and corn rometime afterthat," he said, and crops havebeen there ever since.

The Amana ElementarySchool students were happy tolearn that wetlands help reduceflooding. Much of their com-munities were effected by theflood of 1993. Andy said heremembers a foot of water inhis family's basement When alevee in Main Amana broke lastsummer, he filled sandbags toprotect Amana businesses.

The Goldfinch listened in asShoup, Andy, Annie, andKathryn talked about restoringwetlands.

Why do you want to put in awetland?

Water quality is one of theprimary reasons. Wetlands givewater a place to stay before itfilters down into the groundwater. Soil and vegetation arevery good filters.

Wetlands provide habitat forwildlife, giving them a place tonest, hunt or pass throughduring migration.

Flood prevention is anotherreason for restoring wetlands.The wetlands store water. Byincreasing the area for storing

the water, we actually decreaseflooding. Wetlands are also agood area for people to go andenjoy and learn about nature.

How will you build thewetland?

We're going to put dikesaround the entire area. Anytiling that was done for drain-ing the land will be removed.Control structures will allow usto lower or raise the waterlevel.

Since wetlands existednaturally in Iowa beforeland was farmed, why dothey now have to be man-aged by people to survive?

Today people are every-where. We're influencingeverything. We've put bound-aries around things andchanged things to a certainpoint where they have to bebrought back closer to abalance again. People have alsointroduced a lot of differentplants and animals that have animpact on what used to be"natural."

How was the land originallychanged from wetlands tocrop land?

What has happenedthroughout Iowa and through-out the United States is thatfarmers have wanted to farm

more ground. As they'vedrained and farmed the wet-land areas, problems such asflooding have gotten worse.We've also lost a number ofanimal species. Migrationpatterns for birds havechanged. Many animals losetheir habitats when wetlandsare drained. People are realiz-ing that we need wetlands tomaintain a balance.

Iowa' s first European-Americansettlers used underground claytiles to drain wetlands.

The Goldfinch 9

/

*.241:&2

How long will it take tomake the wetland, and whatwill it look like?

Probably two to three years.The area will be sixty to eightypercent covered with shallowwater. There will be cattail andbulrushes growing up throughthe water. You'll probably beable to see a number of musk-rat nests in the water that looklike little mounds. Around theedges there will be nativeprairie grasses. As the yearprogresses, there will be a lotof birds out there.

Will we see new kinds ofbirds?

There will be a wide varietyof birds. Some will hunt andnest here. Others, such aswhite pelicans, will comethrough during migration.

10 The Goldfinch

AP'MN!

Will converting fields towetlands lead to a shortageof crops?

I see people and theirtechnology remaining ahead ofany reduction in crop acres.The improved varieties of seedsthat farmers plant will make upfor any difference in the num-ber of acres planted.

0

As the wetland develops,there are many ways Andy,Annie, and Kathryn can help.First, they will go back to theirclassmates and share whatthey've learned about wetlands

stories of birds and plants,water and mud, and how it allcomes together as a balancedecosystem.

Then they can all get in-

4.

yJ

Wetlands clean thewater and help stopflooding. Ponds,marshes, swamps, bogs,and other water areasare all wetlands.

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

volved. Kids can help keep thewetland area clean and partici-pate in nature studies as thewetland takes shape.

Millie K Frese

What You Can DoMay is American Wetlands

Month a good time to studywetlands in your community.Observe plant and animal life ina pond or swamp. Comparewetland soil and water samplesto samples you take from yourbackyard or a riverbank. Howare the samples different? Howare they the same?

eLostgtern2 (111.

Twin, fk;"'s Inentone environr"

Six-year-old Andy Reddick rode piggy-back on his uncle's shoulders, wrapping hismuddy feet tightly around his chest as theywaded across the flooded, cocoa-colored DesMoines River. "Keep your feet out of thewater," warned his uncle, Aaron Fellows.The summer heat and flies were attracted tothe flooded, swamp-like river, and to Andy,who held on as tightly as he could.

It was summer, 1947, and Andy and hisuncle were caught in the rages of a state-wideflood. Andy had broken his arm earlier inthe day while playing in his Grandmother'syard in Douds, Iowa. The closest doctor was'n Ottumwa about 18 miles away. Andyand his uncle traveled by rowboat, wadedthrough flood waters and finally drove milesout of their way on winding back roads toreach Dr. Cooper's office.

"I was such a tiny thing and so afraid,"Reddick, now 53, told The Goldfinch. "I dvasso scared and wanted my momma."

Throughout Iowa's history, floods haveravaged the state, taking many lives andcausing billions of dollars worth of damageto homes, businesses, roads, and crops.

Flood FactsFloods occur for several reasons. Heavy,

constant rains soak into the soil, fill rivers,and overflow waterways. Large quantitiesof snow during the winter melt easily withhigher spring temperatures and cause rapidflooding. This is what happened in 1880when the state received record amounts ofsnow that quickly melted with warmApril temperatures.

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

IOWA SFLOOHISTORY

..111Las livor

Heavy flooding often turns city streets into canals,like this Dubuque street in 1916. For years, Iowaflood victims have relied on rowboats and canoesto travel through flood waters.

The Goldfinch 11

Levee WAS 1'16%.

hoto.cx wofer

Cultivation also causes floods, because itspeeds up the now of water across the land.Plowing and planting loosens the soil, andrah: washes the soil downhill. This soilcollects in streambeds.

Flooding also can be good for the envir-onment. Flood waters have carried fertilesediment to Iowa's riverbottoms for thou-sands of years, making it some of the state'srichest soil.

But flooding also damages theenvironment. Flood waters can cover thesoil with sand deposits, making it hard togrow crops. Trees are pushed over or splitfrom the force of flood waters.

Flood waters can kill water plants thatducks and other water animals depend onfor food and shelter. Fish living in shallow,clear water can't survive in deep, murkyflood waters.

Floods effect business and industry, too.

Located on the Mississippi River in northeasternIowa, the town of McGregor floods almost everyyear. In 1909, flooding left garbage, dirt, and lotsof water on this downtown street.

12 The Goldfinch

SIISI

Wet and soggy soil prevents farmers fromplanting crops. Construction workers can'tbegin to dig basements of new buildingsuntil the soil is !_ry.

First FloodIowa's first major recorded flood struck

the state in 1851, devastating the property ofIowans who had settled low areas by riversand creeks to be close to fresh water suppliesand timber. Spring rains in 1850 had beenheavy, and by spring 1851, the soil was somoist, it couldn't hold much moreprecipitation . Heavy May rains quicklyoverflowed waterways in two-thirds of thestate, flooding roads, homes, businesses, andfarms. fhe streets in Keosauqua, Bonaparte,and Farmington in the southeastern part ofthe state turned into canals. Many familiesevacuated their homes and found relief fromthe rising waters on higher ground. As therain continued to pour through their townsin June and July, food supplies ran short.Flood waters swept away supplies of cornstored in silos and destroyed the fields thatheld crops for the coming year.

Like they did in the flood of 1993, Iowanscaught in the flood of 1851 filled sandbagsand built levees to protect their towns.

Controlling FloodsAlthough floods can't be controlled

completely, precautions can prevent someflood damage. Iowans have built bridgeshigh enough to handle rising waters, andstrong enough to bear the force of ragingwaters. Many people have built their homesaway from r: ers. For Iowans with homesand businesses near rivers, building leveescan sometimes keep flood waters out

seihalerri-t Sand andStreamheil 4611-0,77 .; eft that cottectSof *Tar; .1' " at bottom of `(;veTS

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Dams and reservoirs control waterlevels. These structures store and hold backriver water, which is released slowlythrough gates, depending on how muchwater the riverchannel can hold. Iowa'sfour reservoirs Coralville, Rathbun, RedRock, and Saylorville were built between1938 and 1977.

More FloodingIowa has experienced many major floods

in its history, particularly in the early 1900s,the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. The flood of 1993devastated many states in the Midwest. TheMississippi and other rivers across the Mid-west slowly began to rise in March and April,and began overflowing in the summer.

"The big thing with last year's floodingwas we got a lot of rain in a short period oftime," Joe Winters, a Cedar Rapids weather-man, told The Goldfinch. "The constant rainand clouds don't allow the sun to drythings out." More than forty-eight inches ofprecipitation fell on Iowa in 1993, Winterssaid. That's almost fifteen inches more thanthe state's annual average of precipitation.

The flood of 1993 knocked out watersupplies in Des Moines for nineteen days. Ineastern Iowa, the citizens of Chelsea wereforced to evacuate their town. Cities andtowns all over the state faced constant rainand flooding as Iowa's rivers raged on.Many Iowans relied on rowboats andcanoes for transportation. Flood victims andvolunteers from around the countryprepared thousands of bags of sand, builtlevees, and shared precious resources, likebottled water and food. When the floodwaters finally died down, seven Iowanshad lost their lives, and millions of dollars

Jaw a wattacross a VATtakaukie&hatts

Use Vgokt an oX+Meat to Iwhere uraitf ;$ Stati

Leonard Hentges (left) and his uncle NicholasHentges of LeMars inspect the street corner where

their house once stood. Heavy flooding in 1900washed it away.

worth of homes, businesses, crops, andpersonal property were lost.

Floods are like no other natural disaster.Tornadoes and blizzards come and go. Snowcan be shoveled. But flood water stays infields, roads, and buildings until it flowsout, evaporates, or is puthped out. Iowanscan learn from the floods of the past toprepare for future natural disasters.

"The areas that normally flood everyyear will experience some flooding againthis year," Winters said. "The soil moistureis still pretty high and if we get a lot ofheavy spring rains we could get some moreflooding. But it's really too soon to predict"

Amy Ruth, with special thanksto Andy Reddick.

What You Can DoMany Iowans are still struggling with the

effects of the flood of 1993. Call the Red Crossoffice in your community and ask what youcan do to help. Volunteer to fill sandbags ifflooding returns to Iowa this year. tz>

14ne Goldfinch 13

.

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a.

It was happening while you were in the firstgrade. It was happening while you were at afriend's house last week. It is happening as youread this issue of The Goldfinch. Soil erosion isa part of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Soil erosion, the wearing away of the earth'ssurface by wind and rain, has built and istearing down many land forms we see today.Think of a hill you've climbed or seen recently.A glacier, the wind, or water may have helpedshape that hill thousands of years ago. Everyday, a little piece of it gets carried away by windand water. This is natural erosion.

A Recipe for Healthy SoilNature makes soil every day to replace

what is carried away by erosion. First, wind,and water break rocks into tiny grains. Tiny airpockets form between these grains. Then re-mains of dead plants and animals add nutrientsto the newly formed soil. Finally, new plantsgrow in the soil. Roots take in the air andnutrients while helping the soil remain in place.

A good batch of soil attracts earthworms,ants, spiders, and even rabbits and micelooking for underground homes. Humansdepend on soil to grow food and store water.

14 The Goldfinch

Sometimes old soil is blown or washedaway before new soil can take its place. This .

less of soil is called accelerated erosion. Manyconsider accelerated erosion one of Iowa'smost serious environmental concerns.

Farming the Soil in IowaAmerican Indians were the first Iowa

farmers. More than a thousand years ago,they grew crops in the soft, sandy soil alongIowa river bottoms.

When pioneers came to Iowa in the 1830s,they cut down trees and broke through thesoil. They plowed up the native prairie vegeta-tion. The strong roots of these plants snappedand popped as plows broke them. Iowa's soil

once protected by trees and prairie grassesstood exposed to wind and water.Over the years, more and more land was

used to grow crops. The amount of Iowa landplanted with corn and beans increased fromone million acres in 1860, to 21 million acresin 1989. The amount of topsoil on thisunprotected land decreased. Land that wasonce covered by sixteen inches of rich soilnow is covered by as little as one or twoinches in some areas.

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BEST COPY AVAILABLE

After every rain storm or wind gust, Iowa'sland lost more soil. Soil clogged ditches. Soil-filled streams killed fish and polluted drinkingwater.

Soil in the Air and in the WaterIn the 1930s, Iowa did not get enough rain.

Wind and water easily carried away the drysoil. People were concerned because so muchsoil was being lost. Donald E. Fish, who livedin Iowa in the 1930:. ever forgot how muchsoil dust was in the air one day in 1933.

"I remember one warm day in May 1933. Idrove all over the country with my lights onand my windows rolled up because of a duststorm. All that day you couldn't see the sun.Sometimes the clouds were almost red. If itrained, the first rain that came down lookedlike red paint," he said.

Today, the Soil Conservation Servicestudies the causes and effects of soil erosion.Wind and water cause most of the ennion inIowa. Crops grow less food when ric:inutrients and water needed by are lostby soil erosion. More and more s ail standsexposed to the wind and water.

Other programs control erosion and helpIowa farmers protect the soil. The Iowa Soil2000 Program shows farmers how to protectthe soil so it stays in place rather than erodingaway. The 1992 Cost Sharing Program helpsfarmers find and pay for ways to protect soil.

Protecting Iowa's SoilConservationists recommend that

farmers plow and drive over their fields aslittle as possible. Leaving old plants on thefield during winter protects the soil and addsnutrients to it. Growing grass or hay on steep,

Coort5tVgat7O4S+5:itolle who /Tthevethe etw;Yoroment

Above: Iowa's first European American settlers cutdown trees and tall prarie grasses to build housesand farms. This field was left exposed to wind andwater that wore away its topsoil.Page 14: Erosion leaves the ground looking like thisPella, Iowa field in 1955.

easily eroded hills instead of crops alsoprevents rain from washing away the earth.

Farmers aren't the only people who need tocontrol erosion. According to Bill Brewer ofthe Iowa Department of Agriculture and LandStewardship, erosion also occurs near townsand construction sites. Water runs rapidly offsidewalks, roads, and pavement, rather thansoaking into the ground. Construction sitesleave large amounts of soil uncovered,resulting in soil loss.

Every Iowan should be concerned andlearn about soil erosion. Soil is a valuableresource that provides us with food and water.It provides a place for animals and insects tolive. Soil that is protected today will providewhat we need for many years to come.

Sherri Dagel

What You Can DoLearn more about soil erosion in your

part of the state. Write the Soil ConservationService, 210 Walnut Street, Des Moines, Iowa50309.'

The Goldfinch 15

6

taig.omposting is anatural way to makeorganic waste into

rich, fertile soil that won'tharm the environment.Although people have beencomposting for thousands ofyears, it is relatively new inIowa. Composting is good forthe soil because it helpsprevent erosion and peskyweeds. And it's good for youbecause you'll save money bymaking your own fertilizer.Finally, it's good for Iowabecause your compostedwaste won't take up spacein landfills.

0 In your backyard,choose a flat, grassy spotaway from the houseand out of the sun.

,'

0 Start a pile of yard waste (leaves, mowed grass, andshrubbery trimmings). Add other waste to your pile: eggshells, tea bags, stale bread, pasta, spoiled fruit andvegetables, shredded newspaper,and vacuum cleaner lint.You won't want to attractanimals to your pile, so don'tcompost meats, dairyproducts, fish, or oils.

This activity is adapted from: Going Green: A Kid's Handbook to Saving the Planet by John Elkington

17

Once every few weeks, turn your compost pile witha sho,;e1, mixing the waste well. This will circulate air

throughout your pile. When the weatheris hot and dry, sprinkle your

pile with a bit of water.

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0 Don't worry if your pilebegins to smell a bitit's supposed to! To reduceodors, sprinkle the pile withcat litter, and mix well.

0 In a few months, your pileof garbage will turn into rich,fertile soil that you can use inyour garden or to pot houseplants. The composted soil isready when it crumbles outof your hand and is a darkbrown color.

18

Composting is a goodway to break downorganic materials, butyour backyard is nota good place to compostitems that will attract .

animals who carry,,diseases. Which of theitems listed below shouldnot be composted?Turn to page 30 for theanswers.

1. Chicken wings2. Raked leaves3. Leftover cheese omelet4. Egg shells5. Weeds6. The last bite off-

a hot dog7. The last bite of a

hot dog bun8. Tea bags9. Fish fingers

10. Double chocolatefudge ice creamsundae

Iowa's Prairie HistoryThe grass grew so tall that a child walkingthrough it seemed to disappear. Brightflowers and singing birds added color and

music to the land. Almost all of Iowa was once aprairie, covered with grasses and plants. Therewere few bushes and trees except for forestsalong rivers and streams.

Native Americans often lived in the rivervalleys where they could find wood and water. Onthe prairies, they hunted deer and elk and gath-ered plants for food and medicine.

In the 1830s European-American settlersstarted moving west towards Iowa. When theywere allowed to enter Iowa in 1833, they avoided

European-American settlers adapted to Iowa's prairie environment. They learned how to plow the prairie and built homes

and shelters for their families and animals.

18 The Goldfinch BEST COPY AVAILARIE 1QPreirieg (laf,ystsy area14,1.1), Few frees

the prairies. They built their homes along riversand streams. Like Native Americans, they neededwater and timber for houses, fences, and fuel.

Some settlers thought that prairie soil was notrich and fertile enough and would not grow goodcrops. If trees did not grow there, how could cornand wheat survive?

When settlers had purchased all the woodedland along rivers and streams, only prairie landwas left to buy. Settlers then discovered thatprairies could befarmed and that theblack soil would growgood crops:

Breaking the PrairieBecause the prairie

had never been plowedbefore, breaking theland was the firstpriority, The tallgrasses and plants hadtough and tangledroots. The settlers hadto cut the tall grassand then plow throughthe mass of roots.

Breaking the prairiewas hard work. Some settlers hired special crewsof workers who brought their own oxen andplow. A dozen oxen pulled the huge, heavybreaking plow. The moist soil clung to the plow-share. Thick roots dulled its edge. Every few feetthe workers stopped to scrape off the soil and tosharpen the share.

Breaking the prairie was easier after a new

plow was invented. The new plow was smallerand could be pulled by only two or three horsesand oxen. The plowshare was made of polishedsteel that cut through the roots easily. The soildid not stick to the steel. Now one person coulddo the work of an entire crew.

A Land of FireThe settlers soon discovered that fires burned

the prairies in the autumn when the grass wasdry. The fires were good

\`-;-.

Fires spread across Iowa's prairies in the fall. Settlersand travelers who depended on the prairies for food andshelter did not welcome the fires.

Powiitaret fieof lie plow

for these grasslandsbecause they allowed theprairie plants to growback stronger in thespring.

But prairie fires werebad for settlers, theirhomes, and farms. Asthey worked, settlerswatched the horizon forsmoke or a reddish hazethat signaled a prairiefire.

A prairie fire couldstart easily from aforgotten campfire,lightning, or a careless

person. Prairie fires often were started on pur-pose to clear the land, and could easily burnbeyond control. If there was no wind, the fireburned slowly. It looked like a red line creepingalong the countryside. But on windy days, the fireroared across the prairie for miles.

Settlers protected their property by plowingfire strips around them. When the flames reached

2 0The Goldfinch 19

the strip of plowed ground, there was nothing tocatch fire. The fire could not burn on bare soil.

More Fields, More FarmsEach year the settlers learned more about

living on the prairie. Better farm equipmentmade plowing and planting easier. Each yearfarmers stayed in Iowa, they plowed and plantedmore fields. As trains brought lumber to towns,families bought wood and built bigger houses.They planted trees to shade their houses in the

summer and to stop the winds of winter. Theprairies were almost gone. Without miles ofdriedgrasses in autumn, fires did not start so easily orburn so much. By the 1880s, Iowa was coveredwith farms, towns, and cities.

Ginalie Swaim

Editor's note this article was adapted from articles inthe November 1985 Goldfinch, Volume 7, Number 2.

PrairiesToday

In 1846, the year Iowa becamea state, more than 30 millionacres of prairies covered theland. The tall prairies were hometo more than 300 different kindsof plants that thrived in the thickgrasses. Big Blue Stem, littleBlue Stem, and Indian Grassgrew as tall as six feet and hadroots tha grew deep under thesoil.

The prairies prevented soilerosion (see story on page 14)and many animals lived off itsgrasses and plants.

Today, roughly 30,000 acresof native prairies exist in Iowa,John Pearson of the IowaDepartment of Natural Re-sources (IDNR) told The Gold-finch. These preserved nativeprairies, which have never beenplanted or used to graze farmanimals, survive mostly in the

Loess Hills in western Iowa, andalong the Little Sioux River innorthwest Iowa. The Loess Hillsprairies are big tracts of land,sometimes as large as 1,000acres. Smaller prairies (less than10 acres), are scattered aroundthe state.

Restored prairies are areasthat have been farmed or heavilygrazed and are now beingreplanted to a native prairiecondition. *Restored prairies aregreatly lacking intheir native spe-cies," said Pearson.

"The prairieswere a source of anative species andas we learn moreabout them we findthat they can serveus in many differ-ent ways," he said.We'll never knowwhat has beenlost"

Today, govern-ment agencies like Prairies, like this one, once covered almost all ofIowa.

the IDNR and private organizationsprotect Iowa's remaining prairies sothat all may enjoy and learn fromthem.

Amy Ruth

What You Can DoVisit a prairie in your part of the

state. Is it a restored or preservedprairie? Write a story about what lifewas like for the early settlers wholived on Iowa's prairies. 0

20 The Goldfinch21

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

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Circle thewords in thepuzzle thatare listedhere.

The wordsgo up, down,and diagonally.

Answers onpage 30.

Oventtoes

"itecyIn

Rain fell on ten-year-old Joe Rhodes in dulldrops. as he lugged two bulging bags ofaluminum cans and a bundle of newspapersacross his backyard to the storage shed.

"It would have to rain," he grumbled as hisfoot struggled with the shed door. Once inside,he dropped the cans and papers to the floor.The shed was almost bursting with therecyclable materials he'd collected in the lastweek.

He hated dirty cans and newspapers. He'dothy been out of school for an hour and a halfand already he was sticky and grimy. Hehadn't wanted to get involved with the schoolrecycling program in the first place, but hisparents wanted him to get to know theneighbors and kids in his class.

22 The Goldfinch

By .7Amy Ruth

The Rhodes family had moved to Ames,Iowa six months ago when Joe's motheraccepted a teaching position at the stateuniversity. Joe hadn't made any friends yet.He met with the recycling group before schoolevery Wednesday, but still felt like the new kidin town. The truth was, he missed his friendsback in California. Most of all, he missed thefun they had swimming, water-skiing, andsurfing.

Sighing, Joe pushed his wavy brown hairfrom his eyes. He wiped his hands on hisdamp jeans and decided to get it over with. Itwas Friday afternoon, and he was lookingforward to sprawling on his bed with a bowl ofpopcorn and an adventure novel. Moving tothe door, he pulled a piece of crumpled paperfrom his pocket. He glanced at it and groaned

23

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

!Ay

before he quickly balled it up and stuffed itback in his pocket.

"Oh well," he said aloud. "Better get going.''

He walked out of the shed, back through thetangled wet grass in the backyard, and downthe driveway. He was going to see the lastperson on his list. Every day after school forthree weeks, Joe had visited the families in hisneighborhood with a notebook and pamphletsstuffed in his pocket and a pencil tuckedbehind his ear.

He would sit politely on their couches.explain the importance of recycling, andpersuade them to let him pick up theiraluminum cans and newspapers. EverySaturday morning, he and his father wouldload the pickup truck with the recyclablematerials and drive to the recycling center. Hisfather would back the truck up to the bins andswing Joe up on the truck bed. Side by side,they'd toss newspapers and cans into the bins.When they were done, they'd treat themselvesto a breakfast of pancakes topped with syrupystrawberries.

But right now, Joe had to go see Mrs.McGrath.

He thought Mrs. McGrath was weird. Shewore bright pant suits splashed with boldflowers and almost always went barefoot. TheRhodes often saw her working in her garden,pulling long weeds from the ground, or gentlypruning her pink roses. She'd always smile andwave from under floppy hats. Sometimes shetalked to her cats. Once, Joe thought he heardMrs. McGrath talking to herself.

Joe walked slowly up the front path to thesmall, ranch-style house. He hesitated at thedoor and drew in a deep breath beture he rangthe bell.

f

In an instant, Mrs. McGrath appeared at thedoor in fuzzy pink slippers and a purple pantsuit dotted with white daisies.

"Oh child," she fussed, sweeping Joe inside."It's raining out there. You're soaking wet."Mrs. McGrath smiled broadly and led Joe intoa large living room, stuffed to the corners withthick, dark furniture and plush chairs. Stacksof old newspapers tied with strings, bundles ofenvelopes, and dozens of jars filled withpennies lined the floor and tables.

Joe settled himself in a green easy chair inthe middle of the room. "Now you just waitright here, dear," Mrs. McGrath said. Shedisappeared out of the room, singing softly,"Hey, diddle-diddle-hey-ho, hey, diddle-diddle-hey-hum."

"Oh boy," thought Joe as he looked aroundthe crowded room. "Mrs. McGrath sure needsa lesson in recycling. Good thing I showed uptoday."

The living room was large but seemedsmaller because it was so cramped. A baywindow looked out into the front garden andJoe smiled at a gray cat curled up happily onthe window seat. A small, green bird chirpedloudly in a cage in the corner of the room, butthe cat only stretched lazily and resumed hisnap.

Mrs. McGrath returned a few minutes laterwith two steaming mugs of tea. Actually, theywere old jelly jars made of thick glass, like theantique pop bottles Joe's dad collected.

Joe accepted the jar and took a tiny sip.Setting his drink on the coffee table, hecleared his throat and began his rehearsedspeech.

"My name is Joe Rhodes," he saidmechanically. "I'm helping the planet by

2.; The Goldfinch 23

recyzimg newspapers and aluminum cans."He reached across the coffee table to thecoucr. and handed Mrs. McGrath a pamphlet."But = can't do it alone," he continued. "I needyour :elp. If you'll agree to participate in theGreerood Elementary School recyclingprognm, I'll come to your house once a weekand 7.1ck up your recyclable goods."

lit took another sip of tea. Mrs. McGrathsmile± and shook her head.

"Thank you, child. But as much as I'd liketo ht.?. I have to say no."

9

1"

Joe couldn't believe he had been turneddown. Everyone else he'd visited had agreed tohelp. He thought for a 11,,-..sment, quicklyskimming a pamphlet. He wasn't prepared forrejection.

"But-Mrs. McGrath, " he sputtered."Recycling is so-oo important. Without it, ourplanet will soon run out of its naturalresources, and then we'll all be in trouble."

"Oh my, child," Mrs. McGrath said, crossingher long, purple legs. "Now you can't put allthat on me. I do my part, you know. Recyclingmeans reusing, and I reuse everything! I usemy newspapers to line m" bird cage and forpacking material when I send gifts to mygrandchildren in Canada."

Then she motioned to the jars of tea on thecoffee table. "You see those? I haven't boughtnew glasses or cups since 1947. These jars areso thick, they keep lemonade nice and icy coldin the summer, and hold tea and coffee justfine."

Before Joe could respond, Mrs. McGrathstood up and walked across the room to a deskpiled high with papers and knick-knacks.She'd almost emptied two drawers when shefound what she was looking for. She returnedto the couch and placed a topless cigar box onthe coffee table. She pulled a handful ofrubber bands from her pants poc et andstrung them around the box. She ran herfinger across the bands. "Twang, twing, wrang,wwong."

Mrs. McGrath laughed and laughed, andJoe couldn't hold back a smite.

"This, my dear, is a home-made guitar. Usedto keep me and my five sisters and brothersentertained for hours."

"sciiiret.125

Joe was getting curious now. His teacherhadn't told him about this kind of recycling."Where did you learn how to do all this?" heasked enthusiastically. "No one told me aboutreusing old jelly jars and making guitars."

Mrs. McGrath laughed, her slim frameshaking till she almost teetered over. "Oh child,oh child. I grew up in the Great Depression.The worst times this country has ever seen.Bacx home in Nebraska, times were hard forfarmer families like mine. We were poor, child,but we were smart, too. We put our headstogether and didn't want for anything."

Joe reached for his tea and rearrangedhimself in the chair. He was gettingcomfortable because he wanted to know more."What else did your family do?" he asked,shyly.

Mrs. McGrath settled back in the couch,stroking a black and white kitten who hademerged from the cushions. "Well, in thesummer, we didn't wear shoes. We saved themfor winter when we really needed them. But Iremember one fall, our shoelaces wore out,almost all at the same time. We couldn't affordnew ones. Momma would tie them backtogether as best she could, but they'd justbreak again. One day, on our way home fromschool, my oldest brother, Erwin, spotted a bigred and yellow kite in a pine tree. Now mybrother Erwin was a smart one. He grabbed th,trunk of the tree and shook and shook. Sureenough, that kite fell to the ground. Erwinknew that kite string is made of strong, durablematerial. The next day, we all had newshoelaces."

Joe pulled his notebook out of his pocket.He didn't want to forget a word Mrs. McGrathwas telling him. "Tell me more," he begged.

Mrs. McGrath was happy to reply. "Do youever get nifty cards in the mail on yourbirthday?"

Joe nodded, his pencil perched above hisnotenook in a ready position.

"Well," continued Mrs. McGrath. "If there'sno wrieng on the back of the side where thepicture is, you can cut the card in two, alongthe spine and viola! You have a postcard."

Joe crinkled his forehead until his eyebrowsalmost touched. "I always throw my cardsaway, so do my parents."

Mrs. McGrath r added knowingly. "Lots ofpeople do, you know. But it's never too late tostart recycling and reusing."

Joe wrote "postcards," "cigar box guitar,"and "jelly jars" in his notebook while Mrs.McGrath stood up and stretched her legs. She

26 The Goldfinch 25

smiled and motioned for Joe to follow her outof the living room.

"Come with me and I'll show you somemore," she said over her shoulder. Joe leapt upand followed her into the kitchen. It wasequally as cluttered. Glass jars, newspapers,and coffee cans covered with pretty paperstood on the counters.

"What do you use the coffee cans for?" Joeasked.

Mrs. McGrath reached for one and took offthe lid. "This one is for sugar." She snappedthe lid back on and pointed to the other cans."That one is for flour. I keep tea bags in thethird one, and I fill the fourth one with cookieswhen my grandOildren visit."

While Joe wrote "coffee can canisters" in hisnotebook, Mrs. McGrath opened a door andflipped on a light. They walked down the stairsto the cellar and Mrs. McGrath pointed to rowsand rows of boxes bursting with bunches oftwigs and tree branches. Joe felt as if they hadjust walked into a forest.

"This is my firewood," Mrs. McGrathexplained, patting the boxes. "I gather thesein the fall and they dry out real nice downhere. Bundle them together tightly with vines,and they'll burn longer. These twigs fall fromthe trees in my backyard. Many people cutdown trees for firewood. Not me! By the time

26 The Goldfinch

.41

it gets cold, I know I'll be toasty warm with mytwigs crackling in the fireplace."

Joe flipped to a blank page in his notebook,writing, "Tell mom to cancel firewood guy."

The two returned to the first floor. Joe'sclothes had dried out, and he realized ne wasalmost late for dinner.

As Mrs. McGrath walked him to the door,Joe had an idea.

"Hey, why don't you come to my schooland give a talk about recycling! The kidswould love hearing about the jelly jars and theguitar and the postcards!"

"Well, okay," said Mrs. McGrath, "but onlyif you promise to keep visiting. Come by nextweekend, and I'll show you how I makefertilizer for my garden."

Joe agreed enthusiastically and hugged hisnew friend before scurrying home. The rainhad stopped, and he ran happily up thedriveway, singing, "Hey, diddle-diddle-hey-ho, hey, diddle-diddle-hey-hum."

He banged in through the kitchen door withsuch energy that his mother came running outof her study where she had been gradingpapers. "Hi, honey," she said, "anythingwrong?"

Joe answered her with a wide grin, and hismother's face relaxed into a smile. "Did youget Mrs. McGrath to help with the recyclingprogram?"

"Did I ever:" Joe answered, pulling hisnotebook from his pocket. "You know thosejelly jars we never reuse, and the birthdaycards we throw away? Well, do 1 have someneat ideas for you!" ®

41

TeaSUTeS the rfckSh,), WORD SCRAMBLE

ail

Unscramble the following words which are all related to recycling. Thentake the circled letters and unscramble them to discover the mystery word.Answers on page 30.

LPATSCI 0MAULNIMU ANCS

1 11102

ENSWASPPRE

TLAEMS 0VEINORMEMTN

MYSTERY WORD

Hist ry Makersremembering

Theresa Carbrey of rural Johnson Countywas one of 20 million people across thecountry who spent April 22, 1970, con-centrating on the environment. This firstEarth Day was organized to encourage Amer-icans to think about environmental issues.Earth Day is still celebrated on April 22.

Theresa described the first Earth Day asan assortment of speeches, rallies, treeplantings, and pranks.

"Back then you could easily gather acrowd of 3,000 people for rallies in IowaCity," Theresa said. "I was a hippie then.Hippies are who brought us Earth Day."

Hippies were people in the 1960s and1970s who were concerned with manyissues, including war, the environment,and Americans' dependence on materialthings like cars and money. Theyquestioned the belief that making moneywas the number one goal.

Environmental concerns quickly spreadbeyond the hippie community."Environmental issues became importantto a wide range of people after the firstEarth Day," Theresa remembered.

Demonstrations on April 22, 1970, drewattention to pollution threatening land,

28 The Goldfinch

water, and air. People began to think moreabout saving the earth's natural resources

trees, oceans, soil, and plants andanimals. Theresa said she grew moreconcerned about the environment afterparticipating in the first Earth Day.

"I found peace and harmony andwished to align myself with what I sawin nature," Theresa said.

Like Mother, Like SonToday, Theresa and her nine-year-old

son, Justin Webb, live in a little cabin in thewoods along the Iowa River. As theytalked to The Goldfinch on a snowy Januaryafternoon, icicles dripped from the frame ofthe cabin, and Canada geese honked noisilyas they fltw above the churning river.

Theresa and Justin's front yard is ariverbank full of living things, even in thedead of winter. Rabbit and squirrel tracksdoted the newly fallen snow. Theresapointed out young trees scarred by beaverswho sharpen their long teeth on the trunks.When they're done, the trees look likesharpened, stubby pencils.

1 4

Justin and his mother, Theresa Carbrey, inspectbeaver markings on a tree in their front yard.

28

A hollow cottonwood tee is Justin'shideout. He shares it with wildlife, like themice whose tracks he found when hecrawled inside. Nearby is an ancient silvermaple tree where raccoons gather.

While other kidshis age hang out atmalls and arcades,Justin prefers thepeaceful riverbank,the hunt for tracks ofdeer and coyote, andthe excitement ofseeing an eagle soarabove him.

At Work and at PlayTheresa's de-

votion to the environ-ment also can befound in her choice ofcareers. She directseducational programs,writes a newsletter,and researchesenvironmental issuesfor New Pioneer Co-op, a fresh food marketin Iowa City.

In addition to her job, Theresa also isinvolved in many other environmentalactivities. She participates in organicgrowersworkshops and water-qualityseminars, and helps with creek clean-ups andeducational recycling programs. Last year,she won a Governor's Volunteer ServiceAward for her efforts to preserve nongamespecies in Iowa.

Together, Theresa and Justin help Iowa'senvironment by attending local rallies andEarth Day celebrations.

For one of her recent Earth Day projects,Theresa and an environmental group plant-ed a small tall-grass prairie near the Co-op.

We're a prairie state, yet few people luiovthe native prairie species," she said.

The volunteers putsmall signs in the prairieto identify the plants antgrasses that once coveredIowa.

"Our little prairieattracts butterflies,"Theresa said proudly."Now we're just waitingfor buffalo!"

For the last twenty-fouryears, Earth Day hashappened just once ayear, but the ideas andconcerns behind itencourage people tohelp the environmentevery day.

People like Theresaand Justin.

Millie K Frese

Justin Webb of rural Johnson County shareshis tree-trunk hideout with mire and otherwildlife.

harjanlel Pert irorhuntsh,

What You Can DoFind people in your community who

participated in the first Earth Day in 1970.What did they learn about the environment?What kind of environmental changes havethey seen over the years? Write their storiesand share them with your friends and family.

3f)The Goldfinch 29

What Next?To learn more about the

natural environment, spendtime outdoors. How has theenvironment changed in theyears since Althea Sherman

and E.D. Nauman were kids? Record yourobservations in a journal or sketchbook.

If you want to read more about the environ-ment. ask for the following books at a library:

"Recycle! A Handbook forKids" by Gail Gibbons

A "50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Savethe Earth" by The EarthWorks Group

"Going Green A Kid's Handbook toSaving the Planet" by John Elkington

A "The Goldfinch: Life on the Iowa Prairie,"November 1985

AnswersPage 16-17 (Composting Quiz):

(1) Chicken wings (3) Leftover cheese omelet (6)chocolate fudge ice cream sundae

Page 21 (Word Find):

COMPOSTEROSIONEXTINCTFLOODSLANDFILLNATUREPLANETPRAIRIERECYCLINGREDUCEREUSESOILTALL GRASSWETLANDS

30 The Goldfinch

Information also is available from govern-ment agencies and private organizations.These places will send you free or almost-freepamphlets. booklets, or other information tohelp you better understand Iowa's naturalenvironment. Write for the following:

"Lines on the Land" and "It's a Whole NewWorld" IA Departmert of Agriculture andLand Stewardship, Wallace Building, DesMoines, IA 50319

A "Living on the Edge Coloring Book," "Recycling Guide," and "Fishing is Funtastic,"IDNR, Wallace Building, Des Moines, IA50319

A "Attracting Backyard Wildlife" (cost is $1)IDNK, Wallace Building, Des Moines, IA50319

A "Consumer's Handbook for ReducingSolid Waste" Consumer Services Branch,U.S. EPA, 401 M Street, Washington, D.C.20460

The last bite of a hot dog (9) Fish fingers (10) Double

Page 27 (Word Scramble):

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The Goldfinch 31

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What's wrong with these pictures?You are a time-traveling garbage inspector visiting Des Moines in the 1940s. Your mission?Teach residents about proper garbage disposal methods. What would you tell them aboutleaving trash piled on the street? Do you think its a good idea to let animals feed off of opendumps? Read this issue of The Goldfinch to find out.

GoldfinchUS ISSN 0278-0208State Historical Society of Iowa402 Iowa AvenueIowa City, Iowa 522404806

Second-class postage paidat Iowa City, Iowa

uu 47408UEVCENS28010HSOCIAL STUDIES DEV CENTER CIALMTN JANE t HENSON2805 E 10TH SI SUITE 12oBLOOMINGTON IN 47408-2698

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