SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN WORK PARTY
Iris Drive Seed Collecting
Saturday, September 27 – 9:00 a.m. to Noon
Location: Iris Drive near Gays Mills, WI
In an effort to expand the native prairie at Iris Drive, the Southwest Chapter needs volunteers to harvest native plant seeds!
Located 3 miles south of Gays Mills, the site is just 40 minutes south of Viroqua and offers seed harvesting opportunities for members of both the Southwest and Coulee Region Chapters.
Collecting seed is a great way to get outdoors to enjoy the late summer and fall, meet other prairie enthusiasts, while helping to fill a need for native plant seeds. No prior experience is necessary. We will help you identify which seeds to collect. We will have a supply of buckets available however, you may wish to bring a bucket or a container to place seeds in.
WHAT TO BRING:
Volunteers are advised to wear long pants, closed toe shoes, a hat, sunscreen and insect repellant. Bring a water bottle. too.
WORK PARTY LEADER:
The collecting will be lead by Bob Retko. If you need to contact him for any reason, such a questions about possible weather delays, you may email him at: retko2001@yahoo.com or call him on his cell phone at (262) 384-0081. An RSVP is not required, however it helps to know the approximate turnout.
Throughout the fall volunteers will also be collecting seed at Iris Drive on various weekdays depending on conditions, including the weather. If you are available weekdays and would like to help out, please contact Bob and he will be glad to place you on his contact list.
DIRECTIONS:
18663 West River Road, Gays Mills/Bell Center. From the park and dam in Gays Mills take West River Road south 3.3 miles. Iris Drive will be a right turn. MAP HERE
From Bell Center, take Sand Creek road to Hwy 131. At the intersection continue ahead onto what now becomes Sand Hill Rd. After you cross the Kickapoo River take a right onto West River Rd. After driving approximately 0.7 miles take a left onto Iris Drive. Iris Drive is a dead end road. There is an east parking area where there is a jog in the road and a west parking area adjacent to the neighbor’s private land.