Rock Rapids, Iowa — A unique fundraiser is coming up this Thursday night in Rock Rapids. It’s a fundraiser for the Lyon County Conservation Foundation.
Lyon County Naturalist Emily Ostrander tells us about “Wok On the Wild Side.”
AUDIO: “So it’s called “Wok On the Wild Side” and we’re really excited about it. It’s going to be a lot of fun. We had been approached by our former game warden, Greg Harson, and he had offered to do a pasta bar. And it’s pretty neat. He has these woks — about eight of them. Kind of like a combo of Hu Hot and Olive Garden. You grab your ingredients, and then you pick out your noodles and your sauce and you bring it to one of the cookers and they cook it up right in front of you. There’ll be some garlic toast to go with it and some cookies and we’re going to have some live birds to go along with it.”
She tells us about the birds.
AUDIO: “Our special dinner guests are Luna — a bard owl from Buena Vista County, and then Odin is a redtail hawk that will be visiting from there also. The naturalist from Buena Vista County is going to come and bring her birds along. The kids and adults can come on out and check those out too. They’ll be in an adjacent room from 6 until 7, so you can stop in and check them out before or after you eat.”
Ostrander says the Lyon County Conservation Foundation helps the Lyon County Conservation Board in a number of ways.
AUDIO: “The Conservation Foundation makes things possible that we probably wouldn’t be able to do without their extra support. They help fund scholarships for kids that probably wouldn’t be able to make it to camp. They help with various field trips, they’ve helped with the handicapped-accessible fishing pier that gets heavily-used during the summer months. They’ve helped with the trail that goes around the lake and various other building projects and conservation projects. They go from doing smaller things all the way to some pretty big things that they’ve helped us manage to take on. And now, their big task is helping to raise money for the Nature Center that we’re hoping to break ground on in April.”
According to Ostrander, the Wok on the Wild Side supper proceeds will go to support the Lyon County Conservation Foundation and what they’re doing for the New Lyon County Nature Center that will be built this summer at Lake Pahoja.
The supper is this Thursday night from 5 to 7 at the Forster Community Center in Rock Rapids. To-go boxes are also available. If you have questions, you can call the Conservation Board office at 712-472-2217.
