Homer D. Calkins
Encyclopedia
Homer D. Calkins was an American environmentalist
who became a leading voice in the effort to save native habitat in Hardin County
. He worked to develop county park
s that met needs from plug-in campers
to untouched wilderness areas. He was instrumental in delaying construction of a rerouted U.S. Highway 20 through the Iowa River
Greenbelt
in Hardin County, Iowa
. Calkins received posthumous awards from the Iowa Wildlife Federation and the Iowa Wildlife Rehabilitators Association praising his long relationship to nature
.
"), Nashua, Iowa
.
's A Sand County Almanac
, Calkins would speak about natural scenes observed locally. Calkins also wrote weekly newspaper columns for the Iowa Falls Times-Citizen, the Ackley World Journal, and the Eldora Herald-Ledger.
Board of Trustees in 1981. Bordering the Iowa River
in north central Iowa
, the nature center includes woodland
, wetland
, and reconstructed native
prairie
. In the late 1990s, students in Landscape Architecture
from Iowa State University
worked under Professor William Grundman on site and development plans for the Calkins Nature Area.
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
who became a leading voice in the effort to save native habitat in Hardin County
Hardin County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 17,534 in the county, with a population density of . There were 8,224 housing units, of which 7,296 were occupied.-2000 census:...
. He worked to develop county park
County park
A county park is a park managed by a county. In the United States, county parks are lower in hierarchy than state parks. In the United Kingdom, similar parks for recreation are named country parks....
s that met needs from plug-in campers
Campervan
A campervan , sometimes referred to simply as a camper, or a caravanette, is a self-propelled vehicle that provides both transport and sleeping accommodation. The term mainly describes vans that have been fitted out, often with a coachbuilt body for use as accommodation...
to untouched wilderness areas. He was instrumental in delaying construction of a rerouted U.S. Highway 20 through the Iowa River
Iowa River
The Iowa River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the state of Iowa in the United States. It is about long and is open to small river craft to Iowa City, about from its mouth...
Greenbelt
Green belt
A green belt or greenbelt is a policy and land use designation used in land use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighbouring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges which have a linear character and may run through an...
in Hardin County, Iowa
Hardin County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 17,534 in the county, with a population density of . There were 8,224 housing units, of which 7,296 were occupied.-2000 census:...
. Calkins received posthumous awards from the Iowa Wildlife Federation and the Iowa Wildlife Rehabilitators Association praising his long relationship to nature
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
.
Marriage
On March 24, 1940, Calkins married Ruth Winifred Robinson at the Little Brown Church ("The Church in the WildwoodThe Church in the Wildwood
"The Church in the Wildwood" is a song that was written by Dr. William S. Pitts in 1857 following a coach ride that stopped in Bradford, Iowa. It is a song about a church in a valley near the town, though the church was not actually built until several years later...
"), Nashua, Iowa
Nashua, Iowa
Nashua is a city in Chickasaw and Floyd counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 1,663 an increase of 45, or 2.8%, from 1,618 reported at the 2000 census...
.
Hardin County Conservation Board
On October 5, 1960, Homer Calkins was hired as the first executive director of the Hardin County Conservation Board. He remained as the executive director of the Board for 18 years, and rehabilitated injured animals most of his life.Media Work
While executive director of the Hardin County Conservation Board, Calkins had a long running radio show on radio station KIFG-AM. In a folksy style similar to Aldo LeopoldAldo Leopold
Aldo Leopold was an American author, scientist, ecologist, forester, and environmentalist. He was a professor at the University of Wisconsin and is best known for his book A Sand County Almanac , which has sold over two million copies...
's A Sand County Almanac
A Sand County Almanac
A Sand County Almanac: And Sketches Here and There is a 1949 non-fiction book by American ecologist, forester, and environmentalist Aldo Leopold. Describing the land around the author's home in Sauk County, Wisconsin, the collection of essays advocate Leopold's idea of a "land ethic", or a...
, Calkins would speak about natural scenes observed locally. Calkins also wrote weekly newspaper columns for the Iowa Falls Times-Citizen, the Ackley World Journal, and the Eldora Herald-Ledger.
Donation
Homer Calkins and his wife Ruth donated their 76 acres (307,561.4 m²) farm to the Ellsworth Community CollegeEllsworth Community College
Ellsworth Community College is a two-year community college located in Iowa Falls, Iowa. It was founded as Ellsworth College in 1890 by Eugene S. Ellsworth...
Board of Trustees in 1981. Bordering the Iowa River
Iowa River
The Iowa River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the state of Iowa in the United States. It is about long and is open to small river craft to Iowa City, about from its mouth...
in north central Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, the nature center includes woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
, wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
, and reconstructed native
Indigenous (ecology)
In biogeography, a species is defined as native to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention. Every natural organism has its own natural range of distribution in which it is regarded as native...
prairie
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
. In the late 1990s, students in Landscape Architecture
Landscape architecture
Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions...
from Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
worked under Professor William Grundman on site and development plans for the Calkins Nature Area.