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News & Blog: Family Fun

Keep up-to-date with the latest news and blog entries from Pottawattamie Conservation! For even more news and updates, sign up for our e-Newsletter!

Outdoor Winter Activity Ideas for the Family

Are the kids starting to get cabin fever? The Pottawattamie Conservation Environmental Education team has you covered!

12/29/2023
Environmental Education Team
Environmental Education, Family Fun, Holidays, Winter

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Things to Look for with Your Little Tike: August

Learn how to help your little one engage with the outdoors with our monthly Little Tike Hike tips.

8/2/2023
Kylie Jacott, Promotions & Outreach Coordinator
Environmental Education, Family Fun, Hiking, Summer

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Things to Look for with Your Little Tike: July

Learn how to help your little one engage with the outdoors with our monthly Little Tike Hike tips.

7/11/2023
Kylie Jacott, Promotions & Outreach Coordinator
Environmental Education, Family Fun, Hiking, Summer

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Things to Look for with Your Little Tike: June

Learn how to help your little one engage with the outdoors with our monthly Little Tike Hike tips.

6/12/2023
Kylie Jacott, Promotions & Outreach Coordinator
Environmental Education, Family Fun, Hiking, Native Animals, Native Plants, Summer

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Camp with Pottawattamie Conservation this Spring

Itching to camp and explore the outdoors? Get familiar with Pottawattamie County park campground reopenings and construction updates for 2023.

4/10/2023
Kylie Jacott, Promotions & Outreach Coordinator
Arrowhead Park, Botna Bend Park, Conservation, Family Fun, Hitchcock Nature Center, Narrows River Park, News

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In the News: First ever Bison Fest to be held at Botna Bend

To celebrate National Bison Day, Pottawattamie County Conservation will hold its first ever Bison Fest on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Botna Bend Park in Hancock.

11/4/2021
Emmalee Scheibe, The Daily Nonpareil
Botna Bend Park, Conservation, Events, Family Fun, News

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Join us for a Hitch Hike this Summer

Want to learn more about the trails at Hitchcock Nature Center? Join us for a Hitch Hike this summer & get the guided experience.

4/29/2021
Conservation, Environmental Education, Events, Family Fun, Hiking, Hitchcock Nature Center, Land Management, Loess Hills, Native Animals, Native Plants, Summer

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Litter Busters!

Learn the intrepid tale of the Dump Busters and continue the legacy by busting some litter at Hitchcock Nature Center for Earth Day!

4/16/2021
Rene Stroud, Naturalist
Conservation, Environmental Education, Events, Family Fun, Green Thumbs, Hiking, Hitchcock Nature Center, Holidays, Land Management, Loess Hills, Native Animals, Native Plants, Our Staff, Spring, Volunteering, Zero Waste

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Get Outdoors on a Little Tike Hike this April

Spring has sprung so get outdoors & enjoy some time in nature at Hitchcock Nature Center & Botna Bend Park during this special, self-guided event designed for our youngest nature lovers.

3/25/2021
Rene Stroud, Naturalist and Kate Simmons, Community Relations Coordinator
Botna Bend Park, Conservation, Environmental Education, Events, Family Fun, Hiking, Hitchcock Nature Center, Homeschool, Spring, Summer

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Building Better Birders Workshops Coming March 25th!

Interested in improving your birding skills, learning more about common bird species, or joining in on community science projects in your area? Check out Building Better Birders!

3/4/2021
Bird Watching, Conservation, Environmental Education, Events, Family Fun, HawkWatch, Hiking, Native Animals

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Nature Documentaries for Wintertime Viewing

Want to bring the beauty of nature indoors this winter? We can help!

2/19/2021
Conservation, Environmental Education, Family Fun, Homeschool

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Winter Tree Identification: Part 1

Trees are easiest to identify by their leaves. So how do you identify a tree species in winter? We have the answer!

2/5/2021
Rene Stroud, Naturalist
Conservation, Family Fun, Hiking, Land Management, Loess Hills, Native Plants

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Winter Fun at Your County Parks

Winter is a great time to explore your county parks. Here are some ideas to help you stay active all season long.

1/1/2021
Arrowhead Park, Botna Bend Park, Environmental Education, Family Fun, Hiking, Hitchcock Nature Center, Loess Hills, Winter

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Nature is More Awesome than a Video Game

No matter how great video games are they can't beat the great outdoors!

12/24/2020
Conservation, Family Fun, Loess Hills, Native Animals, Native Plants

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Enjoy a Virtual Fieldtrip!

Take a virtual field trip & explore biodiversity in the Loess Hills with Pottawattamie Conservation.

10/2/2020
Rene Stroud, Naturalist and Kate Simmons, Community Relations Coordinator
Conservation, Family Fun, Hitchcock Nature Center, Homeschool, Loess Hills

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Botna Bend Pancake Feed ... Social Distance Style!

Enjoy breakfast at Botna Bend Park with our annual Pancake Feed done Social Distance Style!

9/4/2020
Botna Bend Park, Events, Family Fun, News

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Head Outdoors for a Birding Scavenger Hunt

Head outdoors on your own birding scavenger hunt, perfect for some weekend fun.

7/28/2020
Kristen Yost, 2020 Environmental Education Intern
Arrowhead Park, Bird Watching, Botna Bend Park, Conservation, Family Fun, Hiking, Hitchcock Nature Center, Homeschool, Loess Hills, Narrows River Park, Native Animals

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Learning is More Fun Outdoors

4/15/2020
Rene Stroud, Naturalist
Family Fun, Hiking, Homeschool

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Environmental Education at Home

4/10/2020
Rene Stroud, Naturalist and Amy Campagna, Environmental Education Coordinator
Conservation, Family Fun, Homeschool

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Book Review: Top Informational Nature Books for Kids

It's time for another book review! As you may remember my daughter & I set out to pick our five favorite nature books this year but had a little problem, too many great books! So we divided our list into storybooks with a plot & "informational" books full of facts so that we could pick 10 books.

10/29/2019
Rene Stroud, Naturalist and her daughter, June, 1st Grade Nature Lover
Book Reviews, Family Fun

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Book Review: Top Five Nature Story Books

This spring I set out on a quest to find the best nature book in our family collection. June, my 6-year-old daughter,  and I gathered up all the nature books from her room. After reviewing the books we were surprised at how hard it was to decide on one awesome nature book so we settled on a list of our top five picks. From there we decided to split the books into two categories, "Story Books" that use nature themes to weave a narrative story, & "Informational Books" that deal more in fact with story as a secondary element.  With two categories we had to put together two lists of course, so buckle up & enjoy our "Part 1 Book Review, the Top 5 Nature Story Books as Identified by a Mom & a First Grader!"

6/14/2019
Rene Stroud, Naturalist and her daughter, June, 1st Grade Nature Lover
Book Reviews, Family Fun

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Something for Everyone May 11th

Four programs in one day! That's the goal at Hitchcock Nature Center on Saturday, May 11th & every second Saturday of the month until October! Our goal of providing something for everyone has really come to fruition & we hope to see lots of new faces & old friends as we kick off a summer of fun!

5/8/2019
Native Plants, Hitchcock Nature Center, Family Fun, Events, Speaker Series

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December Public Programming: Fun in the Winter for the Whole Family!

Winter is a beautiful time in western Iowa! Come along with our Naturalist Michelle on a quick winter walk!

11/21/2018
Michelle Biodrowski, Naturalist
Family Fun, Winter, Hitchcock Nature Center, Bird Watching, Holidays

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Something for Everyone on October 13th!

Pottawattamie County Conservation has a full day of programming planned for Saturday, October 13th. There is something for everyone and with events happening at 3 of our parks you are sure to find the perfect event for your Saturday!

10/11/2018
Halloween, Botna Bend Park, Autumn, Events, Hitchcock Nature Center, Speaker Series, Arrowhead Park, Family Fun

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Family Friendly Guided Hikes!

Looking for ways to explore Hitchcock Nature Center as a family this year? Check out our calendar of guided hikes! These are the perfect way to get outdoors and dip your toe into hiking in the Loess Hills as you explore Hitchcock Nature Center with PCCB staff leading the way. Not only will you get a chance to see the park you might also learn a thing or two.

3/10/2018
Hitchcock Nature Center, Family Fun, Hiking

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Join in the Fun with the Iowa Jr. Naturalist Program

Pottawattamie County Conservation invites you to join in the fun in 2018 with the Iowa Junior Naturalist Program.

2/7/2018
Volunteering, Bird Watching, Hiking, Family Fun

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Introducing Homeschool in the Hills

During the past year your Pottawattamie County Conservation Naturalists have been busy brainstorming new and exciting family-oriented programming for 2018. 

1/23/2018
Rene Stroud, Naturalist
Homeschool, Hitchcock Nature Center, Events, Family Fun

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Check out our 2018 Family Programming

Pottawattamie County Conservation's amazing Naturalists Kristen & Rene have been hard at work putting together another season of great programming. 2017 was a year of change for our Environmental Education Department with the creation of the Adult Education Programming, a complete overhaul of our field trip & in school programming, & the addition of a couple brand new program series. 2018 looks like it will continue that trend! We have added a brand new program geared toward our homeschool friends, a new snowshoe hike for children under 12, and new guided hike opportunities.

1/19/2018
Rene Stroud, Naturalist and Kate Simmons, Community Relations Coordinator
Family Fun, Events, Hitchcock Nature Center, Botna Bend Park, Arrowhead Park, Narrows River Park, Hiking

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