Backyard & Urban Conservation

Files may require Acrobat Reader or Windows Media Player.

Basic No-Till Garden Recipe (PDF) - Featuring Sheila O'Riley, The Ugly Gardener
Organic Material Used for No-Till Gardens (PDF)
Grow and Construct a Gourd Birdhouse (PDF)

Backyard Conservation

• General Information for Homeowners, Urban and Suburban Land User

Urban Conservation

• Rain Gardens
• Iowa Rain Garden Design and Installation Manual (PDF, 5.8 MB)
• Rain Garden - How to Guide Sheets (PDF, 7.8 MB)
• Rainscaping Iowa - Landscapes for Cleaner Water
• Urban Conservation Brochure (2.2 MB) - "Conservation Strategies for Growing Communities"
• Urban Conservation Fact Sheets
• Video of Porous Asphalt (MPG, 4 MB) (Courtesy of Grimes Asphalt and Paving Corp.)
• Minnesota NRCS Information

Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) State Revolving Fund - Low-Interest Loans through the General Non-Point Source Program

Urban Conservation Feature Stories

• Downtown Cedar Rapids' First Green Roof (Cedar Rapids)
• Rain Gardens Growing Trend in Pottawattamie County (Council Bluffs)
• Iowa NRCS Assists Engineering Firm with Pollution Problem (West Des Moines)   
• Loess Hills Residential Development Retains Rain (PDF) (Glenwood)
• WIRB Grant Helps Stream Rehab on UNI Campus (PDF) (Cedar Falls)    
• Iowa School for the Deaf Ready for Rain (PDF) (Council Bluffs)
• USDA Service Center Installs Three Rain Gardens (Council Bluffs)
• Greenwood Elementary Installs Rain Garden (Des Moines)
• Homeowners Asked to Protect McLoud Run Trout (Cedar Rapids)