Wednesday is Earth Day

Earth Day is being celebrated on Wednesday—the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day.

To mark the occasion, we're passing along a photo from Decorah resident Ted Sojka, who is from Native Earthworks Preservation-Iowa

This  bird-shaped mound was designed for the Decorah Prairie Park to honor those that walked the valley before us. It is is an earthwork called the "Prairie Peregrine" that Sojka was asked to design by the Decorah Parks Department. The Parks Department later partnered with a group of Eagle Scouts to make the bird larger.  Then it was planted in native grasses.

It was carved with a lawnmower near where once there were many more mounds along Mound Street. Those were incorporated into the flood levee in the 40's after several disastrous floods caused the town to sustain much damage.