Museum of Danish America in Elk Horn, Iowa receives $50,000 grant award from Iowa West Foundation

Grant funds to be used in the installation of a “green roof”.

IN THE PHOTO: The Museum of Danish America’s curatorial addition is expected to be completed this summer. This image shows the layout of the buildings, but is not an accurate depiction of the proposed plantings atop the roof.

A grant of $50,000 has been awarded by Iowa West Foundation to the Museum of Danish America in Elk Horn, Iowa for the purpose of installing a green roof on the Curatorial Center addition, currently under construction.

The green roof will maximize energy efficiency, maximize the thermal barrier between the outdoor environment and artifact storage areas, as well as incorporate the addition into the visitor experience of the surrounding Jens Jensen Prairie Landscape Park.

The addition is being built into the western hillside of the museum and connects in the basement level, bringing the top of the structure at nearly ground-level. The green roof will serve as an elevated c ontinuation of the Jens Jensen Prairie Landscape Park space. Museum visitors will be able to walk on a pathway atop the roof, view the native plantings, and read interpretive panels about green roofs and native plantings.

The museum’s green roof will be unusual in that it will incorporate prairie grasses and forbs instead of sedums, which are most commonly used on green roofs.  The planting plan, developed by landscapers at Midwest Groundcovers of St. Charles, IL, is based on research done by the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Plant Conservation Science Center.

The green roof will include the following native plants: side oats grama, June grass, prairie dropseed, lead plant, butterfly weed, tickseed, white prairie clover, purple prairie clover, pale purple coneflower, prairie spurge, prairie alumroot, rough blazing star, prickly pear, prairie cinquefoil, yellow coneflower, old field goldenrod, heath aster, aromatic aster, silky aster, and hoary vervain.

Under the roof, the Curatorial Center addition will add 8,000 square feet of artifact storage area and staff workspaces. Construction began on the project in September 2013 and is expected to reach completion in the summer of 2014.

The generous grant from the Iowa West Foundation was part of their 2013 fourth quarter grant awards, which included support for 32 non-profit organizations in the region. The foundation will be recognized for its grant upon completion of the addition and the g reen roof on an educational, outdoor panel specifically highlighting green roofs.

ABOUT GREEN ROOFS

A green roof is a roof that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems.

Green roofs provide economic, social and environmental benefits. Because green roofs protect the roof membrane from harsh weather and ultraviolet radiation, they last longer than traditional roofs.

In 2010, Copenhagen, the Danish capital with hopes of becoming carbon neutral by 2025, became the first Scandinavian city to put a mandatory green roof policy into action. The policy requires green roofs for all new buildings with roof slopes of less than 30 degrees.

ABOUT THE JENS JENSEN PRAIRIE LANDSCAPE PARK

The Museum of Danish America is surrounded by the 30-acre Jens Jensen Prairie Landscape Park. In 2012, development of the park began, inspired by the philosophy and signature design elements of Jens Jensen. Jensen was a Danish immigrant, a creator of public parks and gardens, and a pioneer in the Prairie School of landscape architecture. He was an early advocate for using native plants in landscape design and preserving open spaces for human enjoyment.

The park combines la rge areas of restored native prairie with some of Jensen’s signature design elements: stone council rings, curving pedestrian trails, and long views of the grounds and horizon.

Last year, a pergola exhibit about Jens Jensen and the park was built to welcome visitors to the area. A second council ring and Danish-designed outdoor fitness equipment were also installed in the park for public use and enjoyment. Future plans for the space include interpretive signage to be erected this summer. To learn more about the Museum of Danish America, please visit www.danishmuseum.org.

ABOUT IOWA WEST FOUNDATION

Iowa West Foundation’s vision is “a community where families choose to live, and businesses choose to locate, because of its quality of life and standard of living.” A private foundation located in Council Bluffs, the Iowa West Foundation has granted more than $300 million to local communities since the inception of its grant program in 1996.

Funding for the foundation’s grants comes from investment earnings and the Iowa West Racing Association, which receives contracted license fees from casino operators, Ameristar and Harrah’s. The Iowa West Racing Association distributes funds to the Iowa West Foundation – an independent 501(c)(3) organization under the IRS Code. The foundation makes grants throughout southwest Iowa and eastern Nebraska.

For more information including deadlines, interested organizations may visit the Foundation’s website at www.iowawestfoundation.org. Guidelines and procedures can be viewed on the website, and applicants can apply online.

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