Conservation Home Page
|
Scott Church Park |
|
 Click for a larger photo   |
This 5-acre roadside park is located 6 miles southeast of Iowa City at the junction
of American Legion Road and Highway 6. Scott Church has the distinction of being the
"first" county park. It was acquired and developed by the fledgling Johnson County
Conservation Board in 1965 under a sponsoring agreement from the Iowa Highway Commission
for the development of a highway safety rest area. Facilities include a picnic area,
picnic shelter, picnic tables, a swing set, a mowed play area, potable water supply and a
pit toilet. A triangular-shaped area, approximately one half-acre in size, just to the north of the picnic shelter, was seeded to native grasses and forbs in the fall of 2001. This gives the area a much more natural appearance, reduces maintenance costs and provides much needed wildlife habitat. A multiple-row shelterbelt composed of Red Cedar, Norway Spruce, High Bush Cranberry and Ninebark was planted along the property line. The prairie and shelterbelt provide badly needed nesting and winter cover for wildlife in a locale of intense row-crop agriculture that provides virtually none. The three-year-old prairie planting is becoming well established and will offer a visual delight to park visitors from late spring through hard frost. |
