Iowa Chapter Annual Meeting - Newton, IA Register

Date and Time:
Sat, Sep 26, 2026; 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM  (Central)

Organized By: Iowa Chapter

Location: 3030 N 4th Ave E, Newton, IA 50208, USA

Map | Directions

Annual Meeting - Celebrate, Connect, and Take Action!
Date: Saturday, Sept 26th
Time: 9:00am - 3:00pm
Location: Newton Arboretum and Botanical Gardens
Attendance cost: Pay at the door - $25 per adult, kids under 12 are free.
RSVP by Sept 16

Join us for a day of community, learning, and fun at our Annual Meeting! Featuring guest speaker David Courard-Hauri from Drake University, an expert wildlife panel with Stephanie Shephard (butterflies and raptors), Marlene Ehrsman from the Iowa Wildlife Center, biologist Terry VanDeWalle, and moderator Tom Rosburg, plus a guided hike through the Arboretum. We can't forget a delicious catered lunch from Magg Family Catering which will include vegetarian options. We’ll reflect on our accomplishments, share what’s ahead, and invite you to take action.

Speaker Info:
David Courard-Hauri - a professor of Environmental Science and Sustainability at Drake University, where he teaches classes on climate change, environmental modeling, sustainability, and related topics. He has a Masters of Public Affairs from Princeton University and a PhD in Physical Chemistry from Stanford, and has published four environmental science textbooks, including one out this summer on environmental modeling. Since 2011 he has helped organize and write the annual Iowa Climate Statements, co-signed by over 200 climate scientists and educators from all of Iowa’s major colleges and universities. These statements serve to communicate key ideas about how Iowans impact and are impacted by climate change every fall. In his free time, he likes to garden, proselytize about edible landscaping, and run endurance triathlons.

Stephanie Shephard - A native of Virginia, Stephanie received a BS in Biology from the University of Richmond. She landed in Iowa to study prairie reconstruction and butterfly communities as part of a Master’s degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Iowa State University. Since then, she’s worked in Missouri and Virginia before settling into a job as a wildlife diversity biologist at the Iowa DNR for the last 20 years. She is passionate about prairies and the wildlife that depend on them, especially its smaller denizens. 

Terry VanDeWalle is a Senior Principal Biologist at Stantec Consulting Services Inc. with 35 years of experience specializing in animal and natural areas surveys, herpetology, threatened and endangered species surveys, Endangered Species Act Consultation, wetland delineation and permitting, wetland mitigation design and monitoring, and coordination of environmental impact statements and assessments. He has been conducting pre- and post-construction wildlife surveys and permitting at wind farms for 19 years. In addition, he currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Iowa Wildlife Center and is an Adjunct Professor at Hawkeye Community College where he teaches a course on Wildlife Ecology.

Marlene Ehresman - Since 2009, Marlene Warren Ehresman has been the Executive Director and Co-founder of the Iowa Wildlife Center, which serves Iowa through professional wildlife rehabilitation of native species, environmental education, and wildlife assistance skills training. Prior to this she was a staff member of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation for over 12 years. She served the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association from 1988 through 1996 as a board member. In 1985, she co-founded the Iowa Wildlife Rehabilitators Association, which was a state-wide network of licensed wildlife rehabilitators. She is proud and honored to be the recipient of several awards for her work for conservation and the environment. Marlene has dual degrees in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology and Environmental Studies from Iowa State University. Since childhood, she has had a deep interest in wild places and wild things and melds her personal and professional life by striving to live intentionally and ethically for this good Earth.

We also ask that you dress for a day of outdoor activities and to bring a water bottle or drinking container to reduce cup waste.

Cost: Pay at the door Adults - $25 per person. Children under 12 are free.

Recommended Items: Hiking gear and to reduce waste we ask that you bring a water bottle or drinking container.

Additional Directions: Krumm Center