RBC Wealth Management Helps Harvest Seeds in Polk County

By Rachel on October 2, 2015 in Blog

Pictured: golden alexander, partridge pea, coreopsis, cream gentian, showy tick trefoil, and rattlesnake master

Twenty-two RBC Wealth Management employees with their children volunteered with Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) on Saturday, Sept. 19 on Snyder Heritage Farm in Polk County. Volunteers spent the day harvesting prairie seeds in order to restore and expand other protected landscapes. Seed from Snyder is often used to diversify and plant other prairies in the region.

The species harvested included cream gentian, partridge pea, golden alexander, and several others.

“It was really the perfect morning,” Mary Runkel, INHF’s volunteer coordinator, recalled. “There was a light breeze and you had to hike through some mud and tall grass to get to the prairie.”

The harvested seeds will help bring yet another prairie back to life in Marshall County. INHF and its partners have been working to restore the Marietta Sand Prairie State Preserve for the past ten years, and is hosting an another seed harvest at the preserve on Saturday, Oct. 3 from 1-4 p.m.

This event was the first time INHF worked with RBC Wealth Management out in the field. John Fisher is currently a RBC Wealth Management President's Council member and an INHF board member. Fisher was essential in setting up the harvest.

If you or your organization is interested in volunteer opportunities through INHF, contact Mary Runkel at 515-288-1846 or mrunkel@inhf.org.