A man pushes a stroller just past the Sherman Street entrance to Dysart’s Viola Irvine Nature Preserve last Sunday, April 21. The trailhead’s sign along with a bench and a similar sign located at the end of Maple Street were installed just in time for Earth Day this year which was observed this past Monday. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

DYSART – Just in time for Earth Day which took place this past Monday, Dysart’s Viola Irvine Nature Preserve received its long-awaited signage at both the Sherman and Maple street entrances.

The urban woodland preserve located on the southeast side of town behind 310 Sherman Street, has been on a paperwork odyssey of sorts ever since local conservationist and retired teacher Cathy Irvine of rural Dysart approached the city council about donating the two-acre parcel to the community more than two years ago.

The preserve was officially dedicated in April 2022 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held on the 150th anniversary of Arbor Day; the signs were unveiled that day as part of the celebration.

Last week those signs along with a beautiful polished wood bench – both were made by Clint Henik of Mount Vernon using trees taken from the preserve – were quietly installed.

Those partaking in a walk through the woods today at the preserve will find both the trail and the sidewalk along Sherman Street more passable due to a recent clean up, while the bench has been tucked inside the woods on a cement slab located along the walking path.

Flannery McAllister, 15 months, enjoys the new bench (and a cracker) at Dysart’s Viola Irvine Nature Preserve last Sunday afternoon just ahead of Earth Day. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

There’s just a few more tasks remaining now as part of Cathy Irvine’s donation including a curb cut and approach for an accessible walkway at Sherman Street which will extend to the bench viewing area. Beyond the bench’s platform the trail meanders among the older growth woods to the Maple Street entrance.

Parking is currently available at the nearby Dysart City Park – the preserve’s Maple Street trailhead is visible from the east side of the park – and along Sherman Street.

This past Monday, both Virginia bluebells and yellow wood poppies (American celandine poppy) were in high bloom along the trail – making for a picture-perfect postcard in honor of the moment 54 years ago when Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson organized the first Earth Day in response to what he and millions more like him saw as a failing of the U.S. government to protect the environment.

“Earth Day will be a perfect day for nature lovers to venture into the [Viola Irvine Nature Preserve’s] woodland area to appreciate the first wildflowers and listen to the bird’s spring songs,” Cathy Irvine told the newspaper on Monday.

Those hoping to take a wildflower walk of their own in Viola Irvine or elsewhere in the state will find the Woodland Wildflower Weekly Report published by the Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources to be a good source for what’s currently in bloom throughout Iowa’s woodlands. Find the weekly report here: https://www.iowadnr.gov/Conservation/Forestry/Woodland-Wildflower.

A wood poppy (American celandine poppy) in bloom last Sunday afternoon at the Viola Irvine Nature Preserve in Dysart. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

The Maple Street entrance to Dysart’s Viola Irvine Nature Preserve pictured last Sunday, April 21, with the recently-installed trailhead sign. The entrance is located east of City Park at the end of Maple Street along the two-acre urban woodland’s western boundary. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Father-daughter duo Soren Peterson, left, and Flannery McAllister, 15 months, spend time at Dysart’s Viola Irvine Nature Preserve on the newly installed viewing platform last Sunday afternoon just ahead of Earth Day. Soon the platform will be fully ADA-accessible via a cement trail from Sherman Street which is pictured in the background. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Virginia bluebells bloom at Dysart’s Viola Irvine Nature Preserve. Many of the trees growing in the woodland preserve are estimated to be over 150 years old. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER