May is American Wetlands Month, and Iowa Learning Farms will host a webinar at noon May 20 on the importance of wetlands in Iowa. Mark your calendar and plan to tune in to this free presentation.

Wetlands are important for all life in Iowa, due to the many ecosystem services they provide, such as water quality improvement, flood control and wildlife habitat.

Since European settlement, Iowa has lost almost 90% of its wetland habitat, making it imperative that Iowans both protect the wetlands that are left and find ways to create and restore critical habitat.

Kay Stefanik, assistant director of the Iowa Nutrient Research Center at Iowa State University, will highlight the importance of wetlands and will introduce the different types of natural, created and restored wetlands that can be found in Iowa.

Natural filters clean water

“I hope that our webinar participants will take away a greater appreciation for wetlands in Iowa, as well as a desire to better protect wetland ecosystems from future harm,” says Stefanik, whose expertise is in wetland and aquatic ecology.

She’s studied vegetation succession in created and restored wetlands, as well as nutrient cycling. Wetlands are an effective conservation and water quality improvement practice to use to help filter nutrients from water draining from the land. They also help with flood control.

To participate in the live webinar, shortly before noon on May 20, visit iastate.zoom.us/j/364284172. Or go to iastate.zoom.us/join and enter meeting ID 364 284 172. Participants can also join by calling 312-626-6799 or 646-876-9923, meeting ID 364 284 172.

Webinar archived

The webinar will also be recorded and archived on the ILF website, to be watched at any time. Archived webinars are at iowalearningfarms.org/page/webinars.

A certified crop adviser board-approved continuing education unit has been applied for, for those who are able to participate in the live webinar. Information about how to apply to receive the credit will be provided at the end of the live webinar.

Source: ILF, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content in this information asset.