Events

Presented at Loess Hills Audubon Society.

Hands-On workshop to learn how to sow native seeds in mini containers that can be grown outside this Winter season.  In the Spring, you'll have native seedlings ready to plant! 

Bring 1 - 2 empty, clean milk/water jugs.  Soil and Native Seeds will be provided.

Inclement Weather Alternate Date: January 17th** (Same Time & Location)

    ** Check out the LHWO Facebook page if the weather is questionable.

Co-sponsored with the Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center

In this special collaboration, Robin Wall Kimmerer, author, botanist, and founder of Plant Baby Plant, joins youth leader and Nurture Natives founder Esther Bonney for an intergenerational conversation about belonging, reciprocity, and native plant action. 

Together, they will explore questions such as:

How do we create opportunities for young people to have a voice and feel empowered, even when they are not homeowners or decision makers?What kinds of relationships and mentorships help people stay engaged in native plant work over decades?Why do stories, shared practices, and community invitations matter just as much as plant lists?

Robin and Esther will reflect on what invites people into this work, what keeps them here, and what elders and youth have to teach each other.

Our upcoming webinar with Basil Camu explores practical, evidence based ways to heal suburban and urban landscapes by working with trees, soil, and natural systems, drawing on real world practices from Leaf & Limb and community centered models for restoring life where we live, work, and play.!  

Come and join us for an afternoon of learning how native gardening fits into the home landscape.  Our very own Danielle Metzger will be sharing her families personal experience with native plants around their home. 

She will present information on why native plants are important, a little information about Monarch butterflies, and how she creates her beautiful native gardens.  There will be beautiful pictures and lots of plants to learn about!

Join Joey Santore, creator of Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t, for a candid Wild Ones National Webinar examining how inherited garden aesthetics shape native plant landscapes. Drawing on field experience and real ecology, Joey challenges tidy design norms and explores why dense, irregular plant communities are often the most resilient and ecologically sound.

Connect with local eco-friendly vendors, including the Sierra Club, Iowa Environmental Council, and Audubon Society.  Loess Hills Wild Ones will have a table with information.

Enjoy a free plant propagation station, workshops, and kids activities. Come learn, connect, and take simple steps toward a more sustainable community.

Join us for the Siouxland Garden Symposium—a flourishing tradition that celebrates the joy of gardening and the power of shared knowledge.

Loess Hills Wild Ones will have a table at this event.

Loess Hills Wild Ones will share details of the native plants that will be available at the upcoming Spring Plant Sale. This is a great way to learn more about native wildflowers and grasses which can help you plan your own garden.

The program will also feature a rollout of the grants available for individuals and local organizations to apply for native plants.

Join award-winning author, photographer, and educator Rick Darke for What Is Wild and Why It Matters, a free national webinar on Tuesday, April 28th at 10 am CT. Discover how inviting a bit of authentic wildness can create a vibrant landscape that sustains you and local biodiversity. This national event is presented in collaboration between Wild Ones and Homegrown National Park.

Join us to clean our surroundings! Trash bags and vests provided. Bring work gloves and bright clothing, dress accordingly.

Coordinated by Loess Hills Audubon Society for Bird Friendly City.

Fun events for all ages!

World Migratory Bird Day 2026 — Loess Hills Audubon Society

Members Only Plant Sale Preview Event.  Members get reduced pricing and first choice of plants today only. 

Plant Sale List below.  Subject to change at the last minute.

If you're not a member, but want to join us, click the “Join” button on our homepage: 

https://loesshills.wildones.org

Spring Grant Awards will be announced at 5:30 p.m.

Special guests from Siouxland Prairie Farms of Rock Valley will also have native ecotype plants for sale from their native plant farm.

Cherry Coffee Co will also be on site!

Proceeds from the sale are used for numerous native plant gardens and projects in the region, including individual and community grants to assist with native plantings.

Shop for native wildflowers and grasses at the Spring Public Native Plant Sale.

Plant list below and is subject to availability.

Special guests from Siouxland Prairie Farms of Rock Valley will also have native ecotype plants for sale from their native plant farm.

Proceeds from the sale are used for numerous native plant gardens and projects in the region, including individual and community grants to assist with native plantings.

Join us to explore, learn, and relax in the heart of the Loess Hills in Monona County, Iowa for the 50th Anniversary of the Loess Hills Prairie Seminar (LHPS)!

​ The LHPS is a free, come-and-go event, which runs throughout the last weekend of May.

Participate in just one session, an entire day, or the whole weekend.  

If you want to stay overnight, there's Free Camping*, a Hotel, Airbnbs, and a few Monona County Cabins available to rent.

Check out their website for details: https://www.loesshillsprairieseminar.com/

Join Noah E at his Eagle Scout project garden at Sertoma Park.  This garden was planted Fall of 2025 - come see what a first season native garden looks like!

Jose L will also show off his garden located at Morningside University.  More details to come!

Tom & Cheri Stewart have created an ever-expanding, backyard native garden paradise that's both beautiful and ecologically significant.  In 2022, the Stewart's Hilltop Garden was awarded Sioux City's Yard-of-the-Year.   

Located at 2801 S. Cecelia Street, Sioux City.

Come walk the gardens and enjoy the pollinators who are also visiting!  

Then relax on a garden bench while enjoying some refreshments.  

Or shop the native plant sale at the Hilltop Garden and pick up a few natives for your own yard.  Proceeds from the plant sale go towards funding native plant gardens and educational programs in the Siouxland region.

The Loess Hills chapter of Wild Ones is a non-profit organization that promotes planting native landscapes, both small and large, in Iowa, South Dakota, and Nebraska. Native plants attract pollinators and other wildlife, enhancing your home and the environment. 

More details to come!

The Metzger native gardens located at 1250 Tucker Hill, Hinton, IA were started in Spring of 2020 by Danielle & James and are ever expanding with each passing year. Each garden has a name and was designed by Danielle using plants mostly from Loess Hills Wild Ones native plant sales.

Most of the rock borders for the gardens were transported from Danielle’s father’s farm located in Buena Vista County. Danielle has a love for grasses and sedges.  Her favorite wildflowers are the different species of Purple Coneflower (Echinacea) and Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa). Her love of the Monarch Butterfly is what sparked and ignited her joy of native gardening.

The garden tour is free, open to the public, and open yard style. Come and go as you please.  Refreshments and restrooms will be available.

The Loess Hills chapter of Wild Ones is a non-profit organization that promotes planting native landscapes, both small and large, in Iowa, South Dakota, and Nebraska. Native plants attract native pollinators and other wildlife, enhancing your home and the environment. 

More info to come on La Vone's gardens located just outside of Hinton, IA.

Visit Rex R's garden and David R's garden in the Northside of Sioux City.  More details to come.

Co Sponsored with the Sioux City Garden Club.

Come join us at the Sioux City Railroad Museum .

The Sioux City Railroad Museum Garden Walk is located at 3400 Sioux River Rd, Sioux City, IA, 51109.

LaVone and Dotty welcome you to the native plantings at the Sioux City Railroad Museum!  We are in our 6th year!  

This 31-acre site was previously an industrial area of the Milwaukee Road "Shops" where steam and later diesel engines, and train cars were maintained and repaired from 1920-1965.

The Siouxland Historical Railroad Association attained the site in 1995 (which had been a junkyard for 15-20 years) and began the long process of restoring historic buildings and developing educational displays. It is now on the National Register of Historic Places, earning the honor in 2016.

Our seven gardens are named for buildings on site such as Engineer's Tool Shed or Car Shops Garden, or a feature of significance such as the Wig Wag Garden or the Grand Scale Train Platform.  They each contain a large variety of native plants for partial shade, shade, partial sun, full sun.

La Vone & Dotty, who designed and installed the gardens, will be available to answer your questions.

Board Members and any other member interested in helping to plan events for LHWO.  Meet for our annual planning session.

Details coming soon! 

Members Only Plant Sale Preview Event.  Members get reduced pricing and first choice of plants today only. 

If you're not a member, Join Us (Click Here)

Fall Grant Awards will be announced at 5:30 p.m.

Proceeds from the sale are used for numerous native plant gardens and projects in the region, including individual and community grants to assist with native plantings.

Tour the beautiful Hilltop Gardens and shop for native wildflowers and grasses at the Fall Public Native Plant Sale.

Proceeds from the sale are used for numerous native plant gardens and projects in the region, including individual and community grants to assist with native plantings.

Join us to clean-up a section of Lincoln Way along Sioux City's South Ravine Park.  We'll meet at the gravel parking lot at S. Ravine Park which is just East of the intersection of Lincoln Way and S.  Lewis Boulevard in Sioux City, IA.  

Hi-visibility vests and large orange plastic bags for collecting trash will be provided.  Bring your own drinking water, trash picker, garden gloves, and wear sturdy walking shoes.   

And then afterwards, join us for refreshments at the Stewart's Hilltop Gardens. 

This is always a very worthwhile event.  We hope you will join us for a little productive outdoor recreation and refreshment rewards afterwards.

Details coming soon! 

Join us for our Annual Meeting with a recap of our 2026 Events, 2027 Elections, and a Potluck.   We'll also talk about our wildly successful Seed Share Library.

 LHWO will provide Sneaky's Chicken, beverages, and table service! 

Bring a side dish to share!

Details coming soon!