Guest Blogger

IEC is pleased to welcome guest bloggers on a number of different topics throughout the year. If you are interested in submitting a blog piece to IEC, contact us at iecmail@iaenvironment.org.

Blog posts by this Author:

• IRR Service Squad: Perspectives on Iowa's rivers

  IEC Member Organization Iowa Rivers Revival re-launched their Service Squad initiative in 2023. In this guest blog post, three Americorps volunteers share their summer experiences as part of the initiative.

• Nitrate Watch: A hands-on approach to nitrate monitoring

  Nitrate pollution is a sprawling, complex issue with its roots in major industries. It can be difficult to feel that we as individuals have the ability to affect change when an issue looms so large. Heather Wilson with the Izaak Walton League of America explains that is one of the reasons IWLA is so excited to invite volunteers to participate in the Nitrate Watch program, which takes a hands-on approach to combatting nitrate pollution.

• How a pageant dream powered my water quality passion

  Brittany Costello, Miss Scott County, shares how her interests of pageants and water quality combined. Learn about her initiative 'Watersheds: Think Global, Act Local,' as well as her new podcast, her youth curriculum on water quality, her trash clean ups and water quality monitoring projects and all the ways she's engaging local Iowans to make Iowa's water better.

• Uplifting the Justice40 Initiative in Iowa

  Justice40 is a whole-of-government approach to ensure that federal agencies work with states and local communities to direct 40% of the overall benefits from certain federal climate and clean energy programs to marginalized, over-polluted, underserved and disadvantaged communities. It is crucial that Iowans know about these opportunities and how to provide input as these investments begin to trickle into the state.

• As Iowa's NRS turns 10, why aren't Iowa's waters safer and cleaner?

  Fertilizer pollution (composed of the chemical nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus) has plagued Iowa's waterways since long before the Iowa Environmental Council was formed in 1995. As the state's primary plan for addressing nutrient pollution approaches its 10th anniversary, what can we say about Iowa's water today? Several past IEC executive directors share their thoughts in this guest blog.

• Relay of Voices: The Altered State

  Guest blogger, Victoria Bradford Styrbicki, discusses part of her journey - by running on foot - along the Mississippi River and highlights some of her time spent in Iowa. She shares some conversation she had and how to experience the journey she took.

• Outgoing board member John Schmidt reflects on his time with IEC

  IEC volunteer leader John Schmidt's board service will come a close at the end of the year. In this guest post, John shares what he's valued, why he cares about Iowa's environment, and what he's learned during his time on IEC's Board of Directors.

• Good Neighbor Iowa announces new grant program: Parks for a Sustainable Future

  Madeline Fritz, student fellow with Good Neighbor Iowa at UNI, shares news about the Parks for a Sustainable Future program, which is designed help communities transition parks and other public land sites to natural, organic land management.

• Making connections with nature accessible to everyone

  Guest blogger Zakariah Hill with Supply Hive talks about why connecting with nature is important to her, and how she's working with Wander Woman to make hiking, camping, and the outdoors more accessible for women of color in Iowa.

• Guest blog: Where science fits in election cycles

  Through three election cycles, Science Iowa, an Iowa Environmental Council member organization, has asked politicians for their views on science-related issues. In this guest blog post, Thomas O'Donnell explains what the survey covers, why it's relevant, and where to find survey responses.

See All Authors