The Healthy Cedar Valley Coalition and community partners will present "A Practical Backyard Tour" of Waterloo and Cedar Falls on Saturday, June 18, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. All are invited to attend!
Homeowners and organizations will be opening up their green spaces and backyards to share various sustainable and earth-friendly practices. Visit seven creative, sustainable backyards, and green spaces at your own pace and in any order. Tour locations will highlight topics such as edible landscaping, rain gardens, pollinator gardens, water features, seed saving, permeable paver systems, native prairie landscaping, composting, vegetable production, pesticide-free lawns, bioswales, and raised beds!
Registration
Although pre-registration is not required, participants can be entered into a special Facebook registration drawing. To be entered, log into Facebook before 4:00 p.m. on June 16 and click "Going" or "Interested" on the Healthy Cedar Valley Coalition's backyard tour Facebook event to be entered to win a gift certificate to SingleSpeed Brewing. The drawing will take place at the Finale of the tour at SingleSpeed Brewing (325 Commercial St., Waterloo) at 1:30 p.m. on June 16. Winners do not need to be present to be included in the drawing.
Take the Tour
This public education event is FREE and will take place rain or shine! Prior to the tour, participants can print a free event brochure with location details. The brochure is available on the Healthy Cedar Valley Coalition's backyard tour Facebook event.
On the day of the tour, select any location you would like to start off and check-in with the site greeter at the site's welcome table. At your first location, you will need to sign a participation waiver for the day.
To enter the day's prize drawings, participants will obtain a ticket at each site location that they can then enter into the prize jar. The more sites you visit, the more chances to win! The prize drawing will be held at 1:30 p.m. at SingleSpeed Brewing in Waterloo. All those that fill out a survey at their last tour stop will also be entered to win an additional drawing for a gift certificate to SingleSpeed Brewing (need not be present to win).
About the Healthy Cedar Valley Coalition
The Healthy Cedar Valley Coalition is a large group of community organizations and individuals that have come together to improve the health of our community through outreach and education. "A Practical Backyard Tour" is sponsored by the Healthy Cedar Valley Coalition's Sustainability Theme Group in partnership with Black Hawk County Master Gardeners, Dry Run Creek Watershed Improvement Project, Green Iowa AmeriCorps, Prairie Rapids Audubon Society, Cedar Falls Seed Library, City of Waterloo, City of Cedar Falls, Good Neighbor Iowa, A Garden in Every Lot, Iowa Waste Exchange, Wapsie Pines Lawn Care & Landscaping and SingleSpeed Brewing.
For questions or more information, please contact HCVC Sustainability Theme group director Tammy Turner at tturner@inrcog.org.