Making college campus green: Polk State College

On Earth Day 2012, the Green Club at Florida’s Polk State College went beyond the typical litter cleanup efforts. In collaboration with local sheriffs, Winter Haven city officials, homeowners and community partners, the club launched a yearlong project that will target invasive plant and tree species. This ‘environmental litter’ includes foreign species that kill off native plant life, such as Brazilian pepper, camphor trees and melaleuca trees. “We want to teach people that these are a 'no-no' and not to plant them," said Green Club president Janis Davis. "Once we get them all out, there will be more room for the natives, like the oak trees, to grow, and the others will flourish as well.”

Polk State College students participate in Lake Gem cleanup project.
Photo Courtesy of News Chief

This post was created by Madison Jones 

Finding Projectile Points

Finding Projectile Points

Collecting artifacts is an enjoyable hobby; follow these common-sense guideline provided by the Office of the State Archeologist at the University of Iowa. Always get landowner permission before collecting. It is illegal to collect on public lands without a permit. Surface collect; do not try to excavate a site. Identify, catalog, and label your find and record site locations with the OSA. The OSA can help you document, process, manage, and care for your collection. Do not collect human remains. All prehistoric and modern cemeteries and burial sites in Iowa are protected by state and federal law. Report any human remains or burial sites you encounter to the OSA. Avoid buying and selling artifacts. This activity encourages looting and the loss of our nonrenewable cultural heritage. Many items on the market today are recently made copies.

Keep your collection intact; do not let it get dispersed. Be proactive with your collection. Read about Iowa archaeology, allow professionals to study your collection, give programs to school groups, participate in public field schools, and join the Iowa Archeology Society.

Visit the Office of the State Archeologist at the University of Iowa

Visit the Iowa Archeology Society

A Guide to Projectile Points of Iowa, Part 1: Paleoindian, Late Paleoindian, Early Archaic, and Middle Archaic Points by Joseph Tiffany, photographs by Christian A. Driver

Plant of the Week

Michigan lily
Lilium michiganense Farw.
other common names: sometimes called Turk’s-cap lily, tiger lily, and Canada lily
Lilium: classical name for lilies, probably originating in ancient Greek or Persian usage
Michiganense: meaning “of Michigan”
Lily family: Liliaceae

Photograph by Thomas Rosburg, Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie: The Upper Midwest, Second Edition