Loess is more.

That isn’t a typo. It refers to the 22nd Annual Loess Hills Prairie Seminar, which will be held this weekend in the Loess Hills Wildlife Area near Onawa.

The seminar is a weekend of environmental education sponsored by the Western Hills Area Education Agency, and involving citizens, educators, naturalists and scientists from across Iowa and the Midwest.

During the seminar, informal talks and nature walks will be held to teach people about Iowa’s natural heritage, biological communities and the environment.

Dr. Lois Tiffany and Dr. George Knaphus, professors of botany at Iowa State, will lead a discussion and nature walk focusing on the fungi of the Loess Hills.

In previous years, Tiffany said, participants have found some species of edible mushrooms, such as the velvet stem mushroom

“Usually along in there we find one plant disease situation,” she said. “There is a rust that occurs on raspberries which is really showy. The whole underside of the leaf is bright orange.”

Tiffany also explains to people how to carefully identify mushrooms which are edible and avoid poisonous ones.

Other topics at the seminar range from reptiles and amphibians to prairie management techniques to fossil hunting, according to a pamphlet on the Loess Hills Prairie Seminar.

“The seminar is always interesting,” Tiffany said. “You get a lot of participation, and it’s neat to be a part of a learning experience like that. It’s a nice mix of things.”

The Loess Hills Wildlife Area is approximately 3,000 acres of pristine, state-owned land in western Iowa. The hills were formed from wind-blown loess, a very fertile form of loam left behind by glaciers, and are one of the last remaining natural prairie areas in Iowa.

“The soil there is sort of peculiar,” Knaphus said. “There’s something about the soil that is special. People are starting to talk about it now.”

Tiffany urges ISU students to attend the seminar.

“I think they would be a good addition,” she said. “And it would be a good experience, I think, for them.”

Registration for the seminar is Friday evening at the high school in Onawa. Camping at the wildlife area is primitive, and participants are urged to bring all-weather clothing, water, food and camping gear. Meals are served at the campground for a fee of $4.25 per meal. There is also a banquet which will be held Saturday evening. The banquet costs $7 per person.

Questions may be directed to Carolyn Mellein at the Western Hills Area Education Agency, (712) 274-6000, ext. 6083. Western Hills AEA is on the Web at www.aea12. k12.ia.us.