Join ASO and The Naturalist School for a Mindful Birding Retreat on Sunday, May 25 at Waubonsie State Park near Hamburg, Iowa. The retreat will provide a slow-paced, reflective experience intended to build awareness about birds and to develop your sense of connection, creativity and curiosity about the natural world. Leaders from our cohost, The Naturalist School, will take you on a journey to discover new and enlightened ways to interact with nature in your own way. From the banks of the lake, under the boughs of a bur oak, or reclining on a grassy hillside, take in the peaceful beauty and sounds surrounding you — and be inspired. (Poetry, art, journaling, song, meditation and other forms of expression may be included.) Learn more and register here (limited to 15 people.)

Then on Saturday, June 21, join us for a hike at ASO’s Cuming City Prairie north of Blair led by Natural Areas Stewardship chair Glenn Pollock to see the results of our ongoing habitat stewardship efforts there. Cuming City Prairie is a 10-acre preserve surrounding the Cuming City Cemetery that hosts the only known virgin, Loess Hills-type prairie in Nebraska. Recently, ASO removed woody vegetation that had begun to spread in the preserve, creating more opportunities for prairie grasses and wildflowers to thrive. Learn more and register here.