New year, new group, new adventures!

It hardly seems possible that we are nearing the end of week three and that means Savanna Studio is about to hit the road! This year, we will be traversing the countryside without the Savanna Godfather, Gary Hightshoe, but Michael and I are thrilled to welcome Deb Cooper to the LA faculty. We've had many great memories with Gary over the years and are looking forward to having him join us in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA).

This year, we decided to take the students on a mini-Savanna warm-up overnight adventure to the driftless area of NE Iowa. We departed at 8:00 on Thursday morning, headed for Ion Exchange (http://ionxchange.com) near Harpers Ferry, Iowa. Howard and Julie conducted a tour of their native seed operation, through the greenhouses (where the thermometers registered a comfy 109 degrees) and into the seed processing areas. We learned about difficult calculations (a tinge of sarcasm here) required to determine the amount of seed needed for a given site.

Inspecting Native Seed Plugs

Seed Processing Screens

De-podding the Asclepias (milkweed)

After departing Ion Exchange we traveled to Heritage Farm, the home of Seed Savers Exchange. John Torgrimson, SSE Director, spoke to the group about the importance of maintaining genetic diversity in the food crops we grow and consume. We learned about their operations and mission:

“Our mission is to save North America's diverse, but endangered, garden heritage for future generations by building a network of people committed to collecting, conserving and sharing heirloom seeds and plants, while educating people about the value of genetic and cultural diversity.”

Seed Savers Exchange

Jim Edrington, Farm Manager, took us on a hayrack tour of the 890-acre property. We took a little time to draw and observe the dynamic landscape before returning to set up camp. 

Drawing the Granary

Whitepark Cattle (an ancient breed from the UK)

Drawing Inspiration from Inspiration Point

After packing up our tents, the students took a plant quiz -- yes, an on-the-road quiz before we trekked into Decorah to study the vernacular urban landscape of small-town Iowa. We looked at the levee along the Upper Iowa River and clamored around Dunning Springs, a city park that has been established on the former site of a grist mill and stonecutting sawmill. The students completed their first watercolor postcard of the waterfall (see below).

Rolling it up!

Watercoloring at Dunning Spring Park, Decorah

It was a great trip and all too short! We are looking forward to hitting the road on Monday morning (September 10) and hope that you will read along. There will be times when we are unplugged and will post our blogs as soon as we have regained internet access. Each of the students will contribute to the blog over the course of the trip and really appreciate your comments!

Julie