NICC is getting money from Rockwell-Collins to build a butterfly garden at the Calmar campus

The NICC Foundation has received a grant from the Rockwell Collins Green Communities Program to build a native plant butterfly garden near the Child Development Center on the NICC Calmar campus.

Establishing the native plant butterfly garden in a 6,500 square foot area of lawn is the next step in the campus master plan.  Volunteers from Rockwell Collins, the Child Development Center and NICC plan to do ground preparation work at the site soon, according to Calmar campus provost Rhonda Seibert, a member of the Calmar Campus Conservation Committee.

"The butterfly garden, and the savannah, grasses and prairie we have already established, are great service projects for us that are possible with Rockwell Collins' support," said Seibert.  Volunteers will plant many varieties of coneflowers and other native species as ground cover in August.

The native plant butterfly garden will help to develop beneficial ecological habitats, increase butterfly and bee species through pollinator-friendly practices, reintroduce native plant species to the land and provide a unique educational learning opportunity for children at the Child Development Center.  Children from the center will have easy access to the site and learn about biology, ecology, environmental science and the native plant species that once dominated the state of Iowa's landscape.  As a class project, the children will create a stepping stone pathway through the garden later this year.

Rockwell Collins provided $2500 in funding to NICC to create the garden.  The purpose of the Rockwell Collins Green Communities Grant program is to improve the environmental condition of the communities in which Rockwell Collins operates. Grants support completion of projects that conserve natural resources and raw materials, positively impact environmental media (air, water, land and renewable energy) or restore ecological habitats in general or after a natural disaster.