Outdoor wellness coming soon

Big things are happening at Montgomery County Conservation.
Naturalist Cassandra Barbosa said one upcoming event, slated to begin in June, is the creation of an outdoor wellness program.
“The idea stems from my ‘Wild Women in the Woods’ group, which has been very successful. My one minor criticism is that I feel I’m closing off a potential audience. Everyone is welcome to attend Wild Women, but it is targeted for women 21 years and older,” explained Barbosa. “With that in mind, and with being outside being such an important part of life, I think it should be part of everyone’s lives. Even if you sit in a ray of sunshine doing nothing, it’s so beneficial. Being outside for even a few moments can make you feel like a whole new person, and that’s what made me want to start this outdoor wellness initiative.”
Additionally, Barbosa said the program will allow for the opening up of partnerships within the community.
“It opens a lot of doors with entities such as the YMCA. I believe they’re donating some of our yoga mats. There are some yoga instructors at various YMCAs who have offered their yoga services. Various places are doing yoga in the park, so we’re trying to get yoga into all the parks we manage,” commented Barbosa. Barbosa added a recent donation is being put towards equipment for some water activities.
“We received a donation of $2,500 from the Montgomery County Community Foundation grant. That was used to purchase five stand-up inflatable paddle boards, and we’ll be doing paddleboard yoga at the Red Oak Aquatic Center, and I’ll be doing paddleboard programs all summer at different lakes and ponds and places we manage. That idea also contributed to the outdoor wellness program,” Barbosa said.
To kick off the program, Barbosa put out a request via social media for 20 yoga mats and 20 hammocks. Barbosa said a lot of the requested items have been received.
“We have all of our hammocks donated. Within five minutes of making the request on social media, I had five hammock donations and another person reached out to me and asked if they could donate the remaining 15 hammocks. That was really awesome,” stated Barbosa.
In addition to relaxation, Barbosa has plans to implement the hammocks to benefit the area’s youth.
“I saw a picture on Facbook from an outdoor education group that was a group of kids reading books up in trees in hammocks. I co-lead a school to wild program with Griswold and Southwest Valley, a week-long outdoor field trip for fifth grade students. I want to let the kids read in the trees in hammocks, and we’d been talking about getting some hammocks to make that idea come to life, and that will be happening this year in the school to wild program. We’re very fortunate that all those hammocks were donated to us.”
Barbosa praised all the community members for their quick assistance in getting needed donations.
“These are things we could fundraise for, but I have a lot of people reach out to me and ask what things they can specifically donate for, or ask me what I need and they can buy for the programs. It was a really great opportunity to ask the public for help, and they provided. I’m very appreciative of that.”
The wellness program kicks off on June 29, led by Karen Szalkowski, a certified forest guide, doing the ancient art of forest therapy.
“We’re going to meet at Hacklebarney Woods and do a two or three hour guided hike and meditation at Hacklebarney. That will be our first fun and major event. After that, pending on whenever I have time between summer camps, mowing in the parks, and grooming trails, I’ll have some pop-up events either here at Anderson Conservation, or bring the equipment in town to Chautauqua Park, as an example,” said Barbosa.
Barbosa is intending the program to take place at a variety of locations, rather than solely being held at Anderson Conservation.
“I want the program to be very fluid, and get people out to various locations. I definitely want to get people out to Hacklebarney Woods. I’m very open that it’s my favorite park we manage. It’s a beautiful 230-acre woodland tract, and equestrian trails so it has a lot of really great recreational opportunities. A lot of people, surprisingly, haven’t visited it,” advised Barbosa.
Plans are for the program to have pre-registrations, due to the set number of available mats or hammocks. The only events that would have a charge would be events with a guest leader or instructor.
“If I have people coming down, like the forest therapy walk, the cost will be maybe $20 per person, because I’m paying a professional to come down and lead the class. There may be some instances where people can come to the event location and bring their own yoga mats or hammocks and participate,” Barbosa commented.
Barbosa is very excited about the outdoor activities, especially the opportunity for paddle boarding.
“I got a paddle board a couple of years ago and I love doing it. It’s a full-body workout. My abs, legs, and arms are engaged, and you have to use your core to avoid tipping into the water. This is a totally new thing for us, and other than Cass County, it’s pretty unique to Anderson Conservation,” Barbosa said.
Another fun event is planned for today from 6:30-9:30 p.m. at Anderson Conservation. All across the state of Iowa, community scientists are making enormous contributions to wildlife conservation. The volunteers are trained through the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ Volunteer Wildlife Monitoring Program (VWMP).
With more than 1,000 wildlife species in the state, DNR officials just don’t have enough staff to adequately monitor all the vulnerable species that it needs to. This is where community scientists play a crucial role.
Barbosa said the DNR reached out to her about coordinating a program through Anderson Conservation.
“Stephanie Shepherd made contact and I thought it sounded very fun. I love frogs. Shepherd will largely facilitate the workshop, and I’ll be on hand to interject and give my two cents whenever she wants it. By the end of the seminar, people are trained to identify 16 frogs, completely by ear. They can do roadside services, and learn how to report all that information to the DNR,” Barbosa explained. “Frogs and other amphibians are very sensitive to habitat disturbance, so with the community scientists helping out, the DNR can get a clear picture of what comes out and when.”
Barbosa said the program is primarily for kids ages 16 to adults. The registration fee is $10. Barbosa said the seminar is lengthy due to the habits of the frogs.
“Frogs are nocturnal, so you have to wait for them to wake up before we can go and practice,” Barbosa said.
Amphibians have been of concern to scientists all over the globe because these vulnerable critters appear to be declining. Over the 30 years the survey has covered, volunteers have collected data on over 2,000 wetland sites. The frog and toad surveyors are particularly special because to perform the surveys they have to drive back country roads at night along a specified route with only their ears to collect data with, allowing them to explore the Iowa wilds at night for a unique experience and opportunity.
For more information about the survey and to register, go to iowadnr.com/vwmp/.
Lastly, Barbosa said she’s finishing up preparing walking sticks for camp supplies for our camps this summer. Barbosa said there were five remaining to be de-barked and stripped.
“I’ve got five walking sticks out behind the building that need debarked and stripped still. The majority are back. The ones that have been brought in have been very well done. I love having walking sticks, even though they’re not needed as heavily in our area. If someone wants to pick up the remaining sticks to de-bark and strip them, they can come out here behind the building’s retaining wall, or we can bring them out to the front porch for pick up.”
Barbosa said people can also call her at 623-4753 to schedule a pick up time.
Anyone with questions about the summer outdoor wellness program can reach her at that same number. The volunteer who de-barks the last sticks will receive three free nights of camping at Hacklebarney or Pilot Grove to use as they please.