The Henry S. Conard Environmental Research Area (CERA) is a protected environmental research facility at outside
Kellogg, Iowa
Kellogg is a city in Jasper County, Iowa, United States. The population was 606 at the time of the 2020 census. It was originally named Manning's Station, then carried the names Jasper City, Kimball, and then finally Kellogg, named for the pionee ...
. The 365-acre (148 ha) facility is owned and operated by
Grinnell College for class use in the study of
ecology and student and faculty research. The preserve is named for
Henry S. Conard, a
bryologist and
ecologist who long served as the chair of the college's Department of
Botany. It is located eleven miles from the Grinnell College campus.
The former cropland currently occupied by CERA was acquired by Grinnell College in 1968, and a decades-long restoration process has slowly restored the site's
prairie,
woodland, and
oak savanna ecosystems. In 2005, a new Environmental Education Center building was built at CERA. Designed by the firm
Holabird and Root
The architectural firm now known as Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm has changed its name several times and adapted to the architectural style then current — from Chicago School to Art Deco to Modern ...
, the Center's green design earned it the distinction of being the first building in Iowa to receive a
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a
green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...
(LEED) Gold Rated status.
In addition to its role as an environmental preserve and research area, CERA has hosted several artists and their exhibitions. In 2001, the
British sculptor
Andy Goldsworthy constructed a stone
cairn
A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ).
Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...
at the site, one of a series of three across the
United States. The cairn, while an example of temporary
land art
Land art, variously known as Earth art, environmental art, and Earthworks, is an art movement that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, largely associated with Great Britain and the United StatesArt in the modern era: A guide to styles, schools, & mov ...
, is expected to last decades and still stands.
[Grinnell College, Department of Biology]
Special Projects at CERA
. Accessed May 10, 2008. The cairn was featured on the album cover of
The Maccabees' "
Given to the Wild" in 2012.
In September 2001,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
photographer
Sandy Skoglund led an art installation workshop at the site, creating an installation along one of CERA's trails.
References
External links
{{commonscat
Henry S. Conard Environmental Research Area HomepageGrinnell College Homepage
Protected areas established in 1968
1968 establishments in Iowa
Education in Jasper County, Iowa
Grinnell College
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold certified buildings
Nature centers in Iowa
Protected areas of Jasper County, Iowa