HILLS

Earth Day observation may not typically involve gift-giving, but Hills residents received a meaningful one from the City on Tuesday, April 22 with the dedication of Songbird Sanctuary Park, a project over a year in the making. Spearheaded by Deputy City Clerk Tamara Frembgen Kesner and funded almost entirely by a $50,000 DNR Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) grant, the pocket park features a grain bin gazebo and picnicking area, bench seating, and pollinator habitat on an easy-access corner in town.

200 Main Street is an asset to the community now, but the location had previously been an eyesore, occupied first by a distressed house that the city demolished, then a diseased walnut tree on an empty lot. When Frembgen Kesner interviewed with then-City Administrator Kelley Schlitz for her position, Schlitz asked her for ideas for how to transform the property; once hired, Frembgen Kesner got serious about answering that question.

At the dedication ceremony, she explained where inspiration for the Songbird Sanctuary came from.

“It came from the Iowa DNR. Their nursery sells a songbird packet that allows homeowners to turn their yard into bird-friendly spaces,” Frembgen Kesner said. Considering it, she remembered the vacant lot and thought, “Maybe we could turn it into a bird park.”

“I did some research on birds, and I found out that they’re actually very good for our mental health,” she continued. “Listening to birds, watching birds, that helps with anxiety, that helps with depression. It improves your cognition, it improves your life satisfaction, and listening to birds has even been found to reduce paranoia.”

Discovering in addition that bird populations in North America have been in decline since 1970, and that even small spaces incorporating native plants can attract a significant number of native birds, Frembgen Kesner knew that she had a good idea that would serve the community well and thus got to work with Schlitz on grant writing to fund the project.

The deputy clerk thanked Schlitz, who also designed the park; Louie Luers Trucking for donating soil, Dickenson Excavating & Hauling for doing just that; and Matt Pantel, Public Works, for fixture installation and watering.

Michelle Wilson, the DNR’s REAP coordinator, also spoke at the park dedication, stressing that the City Park and Open Space program component of REAP is highly competitive, and that the Songbird Sanctuary application stood out to the reviewing committees.

“This was one of the top projects to fund in that grant,” she said, thanks to the city’s story and the fact that it is a bird sanctuary that incorporates “the natural spaces, the natural vegetation, the natural flora,” because “what really brings people are those scenic type of things” rather than solely physical structures where people can rest and relax.

The pollinator habitat will include little bluestem, a grass, and coneflowers, which will provide birds with seed heads. Additional plants were chosen to provide host plants for caterpillars and nectar to feed butterflies with an eye to supporting the Iowa DNR’s species of conservation need, so visitors may observe other winged creatures in addition to birds while enjoying the space.

Wilson noted that birding is one of the fastest growing recreational activities since COVID before commending Hills on the Songbird Sanctuary, calling it a “monumental achievement.”

“It’s really exciting to be here to see all of you who showed up and celebrated, and I can’t be happier for your community,” she said.