polk county conservation

PROVIDING CITIZENS OF POLK COUNTY WITH QUALITY OUTDOOR RECREATION, CONSERVATION EDUCATION, AND LONG-TERM PROTECTION OF POLK COUNTY’S NATURAL HERITAGE.

about

Explore more than 14,000 acres of prairies, woodlands, parks, and trails!

Located in the state’s most populated county, Polk County Conservation manages 21+ parks, wildlife areas, and recreational trails. Polk County Conservation offers the public year-round education and recreation programs, volunteer opportunities, and trips. Explore and learn about Iowa’s natural heritage at the Jester Park Nature Center, plan a family picnic, golf 18 holes on a championship course or miniature golf course, canoe or kayak down the river, reel in a trophy fish, ride horseback along Saylorville Lake, use public hunting areas, bike on multi-use trails, and more!

CURRENT FUNDING PROJECTS

SPECIFIC SUPPORT DONATIONS

HORSE INSPIRED WELLNESS

Sponsor at-risk youth, veterans or a therapy rider to attend a session at the Jester Park Equestrian Center. These programs promote character development, confidence, and physical and emotional wellness.

School Bus Field Trip Scholarships

Help bring local students outside for naturalist-guided field trips where they take part in activities like hiking, fishing, canoeing, geocaching, and conservation.

Environmental Education Programming

Sponsor a program or special event that encourages people of all ages to get outdoors and learn more about our natural world. Hiking, biking, skiing, fishing, bird watching, and camping are just a few programming ideas that get people outdoors.

We (GOF) are incredibly grateful for the support of donors who create funds for a specific purpose with the Foundation. Those donations provide the funding necessary for the us to carry out our purposes. While we are very appreciative of the support, restrictive funds require administrative resources to administer and monitor. Given this, the Foundation has determined that a small portion of all gifts contributed for a specific purpose may be used to defray operating costs of the Foundation. If a donor contributes any amount for a specific purpose, the donor shall be deemed to have consented to an allocation of 10% of the amount for administrative expenses of the Foundation. This policy shall be effective for all gifts contributed after the date of its adoption, as of January 22, 2014.