Close Encounters of the Forest Kind

Indian Creek Nature Center reflects on 50 years of serving up fresh air.

BY STEVEN A. ARTS

If it’s your first time driving on Otis Road, you might be taken aback at the sight of a large modern building nestled among the trees. The building, aptly named Amazing Space, houses an exhibit of Indian Creek, a small gift shop and, most importantly, the Indian Creek Nature Center (ICNC).

The completion of the 12,000 square foot Awesome Center in 2016 was “the result of strong leadership by ICNC’s volunteer board of directors,” he said, and one of the highlights of John Myers’ 10 year tenure as executive director of the nonprofit center. Formal fundraising for Amazing Space began in 2013, during Myers’ first year.

“The new headquarters was designed to support the expanded demand the community showed for increased programs,” Myers said. “Since opening in 2016, over 365,000 people have visited to hike the trails, attend field trips or learn more about nature and the outdoors.”

Indian Creek Nature Center first took root in 1970, when co-founders B.B. Stamats and Jean O’Donnell, both Junior League members, discovered they shared a vision for expanding environmental education in the Cedar Rapids area.

“I was captivated by the idea of a nature center, and I thought it would be an intriguing and neat thing to do,” Stamats said in a 1993 interview with the Gazette. “... Jean and I were totally naive and innocent then, but we thought let’s give it a try, and we put our heads together.” operated nature center.

Amazing Space functionally replaces a barn that was constructed on the ICNC land by dairy farmer Charles Pennigroth in 1932, though that barn is still part of ICNC and is utilized for various activities on the property.

The headquarters itself helps ICNC work toward its goal of promoting a more sustainable and environmentally friendly future, in part because the structure is a Petal-certified Living Building. As Myers explained, this means that the building is net-zero energy and water.

“ICNC produces 120 percent of our electrical use through onsite solar energy,” he said. “There is no gas service to the building, meaning that no combustion is generating carbon off-puts. Amazing Space uses a geothermal heating and air conditioning system. Harvesting the energy from the ground, the air is heated and cooled at the appropriate times of the year.

Monarch Fest

Indian Creek Nature Center, Cedar Rapids, 10 a.m., July 15, Registration required

Indian Creek Nature Center’s 50th Celebration Event Indian Creek Nature Center, Cedar Rapids, 6 p.m., Oct. 14, $50

With support from the Natural Science for Youth Foundation, the pair formed a steering committee, raised capital, decided on a plot of land—the site of a former dairy farm, intercut by Indian Creek and the Sac and Fox Trail—and incorporated as a nonprofit in 1973. ICNC was, and is, Iowa’s only independently owned and

“Water is drawn from an onsite well and returned to the ground via a septic system which treats the water three times before it enters the ground. Amazing Space does not push any water into the ditches or rivers, which decreases the facility’s impact on flooding.”

When it was certified as a Living Building in

2019, Amazing Space was one of only a few dozen buildings in the world to be Petal certified.

Enabling ICNC’s operations are roughly 40 employees and an estimated 400 active volunteers who maintain the miles of trails, organize programs and work to both preserve and educate on the surrounding nature.

One of the most significant wrenches in ICNC’s well-laid plans occurred Aug. 10, 2020, when a derecho swept through eastern Iowa, leaving millions of dollars in damage to the nature preserve.

“The derecho impacted over 70 of the [nearly] 500 acres that ICNC has entrusted to its care,”

Myers said. “In addition to thousands of damaged and downed trees, the organization sustained damage to a number of its buildings and facilities.”

While insurance covered the facilities, it did not cover forest restoration.

“Through private funding, ICNC is at the end of a three-year plan to restore the forests by cleaning up debris and creating habitat piles. Our restoration goal is to strengthen the forests, ensure habitat remains for the animals who live in the forest and provide a safe environment for our trail and program users.”

Myers explained that over 500 trees—oaks, Kentucky coffee trees, maples and similar species—are being planted as part of that restoration goal.

“Equally as important as tree planting is that we are nurturing and allowing trees to grow from existing seeds in the forest,” he added, noting the resiliency of the environment. “We are not undertaking large-scale tree planting as forests have a natural way of regenerating. With respect to the health of the forest, the derecho was a significant event that ultimately thinned out our crowded canopies, allowing natural growth to occur.”

ICNC is more than ready to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2023. As of print time, a number of events celebrating the 50th anniversary have already occurred—an event called BioBlitz ran from June 25 through July 1 and invited people to visit the center and help catalog the plans and animals on the grounds.

But there’s still more to come. The 50th Celebration Event proper is scheduled for Oct. 14 from 6-9 p.m. The evening promises live music, beer from local breweries, appetizers and hundreds in attendance to celebrate a shared love of nature. A Celebration Ticket, which includes a free drink, is $50.

Regular programs, like summer camps, night hikes and more, are also set to continue throughout the year. ICNC’s Monarch Fest is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on July 15, celebrating one of nature’s most identifiable pollinators.

All of these events—past, present and future— have been made possible by those who work or volunteer their time at the center. For Myers, it’s because of those individuals that he’s stayed with the center for as long as he has.

“The people, both staff and volunteers, are what make the Nature Center great,” Myers said. “Seeing our team collectively achieve many great things has been my favorite part of working for the Nature Center.”

Steven A. Arts is a writer and photographer living in Cedar Rapids.