The Observer by Amie Adams 3 Sessions 2025
Oak Grove & Big Sioux Park, Sioux County
Saturday, March 15, 2025
Prairie Woods Nature Center is excited to host Amie Adams, an Iowa Master Naturalist and author of The Observer to learn about a little-known Iowa naturalist named Olaf Wolden. Born in Emmet County in northwest Iowa in 1886, Olaf lived through a time when the Iowa landscape was changing rapidly. Throughout his lifetime, Olaf studied plants, birds, and the landscape of his home.
We will be offering 3 different visit opportunities with Amie Adams, attend one or attend all, its up to you! You do not need to have read her book to attend. Preregistration is strongly encouraged and appreciated. Day is Co-sponsored by the Orange City Library.
Morning Session (Adult discussion) 10:00-11:30am
This session will include a short lesson about naturalists from Iowa's past, a book talk and Q&A about The Observer, and a nature walk (feel free to bring your favorite field guide or your binoculars). This session is geared toward adults of all ages.
Lunch Chat 11:45-12:24pm
This is your opportunity to bring your lunch and picnic with the author.
Afternoon Session (Family Discussion) 1:30-3:00
This session will include a short lesson about naturalists from Iowa's past, a few stories from The Observer, and an interactive nature walk where we think about how to tell our own stories about our favorite places (feel free to bring your favorite field guide or your binoculars). This session is geared toward families.
Reminder you do not have to read her book before attending! Here is a Book Blurb.
The Observer: The Life and Writings of Bernt Olaf Wolden by Amie AdamsOlaf Wolden was one of those rare people who knew his home place with an intimacy most of us can only aspire to, and he shared a bond with all the beings he lived among, a bond that is difficult to find in our modern age. A naturalist in every sense of the word, Olaf had a personal devotion to tracking bird migrations and flower bloomings, a scientific drive to catalogue mosses and lichens with exacting precision, and a desire to share his passion for the natural world with others. From 1930-1968, he contributed a column titled Nature Notes to The Estherville Daily News where he shared musings and observations about the natural world. Olaf's story reaches back to the early 19th century, a time when northwest Iowa was a wilder place than the one we have today. This book tells the story of Olaf's childhood in Island Grove and his development as a naturalist and botanist. Readers will experience Olaf's love of nature in his own words through a curated selection of 100 of his Nature Notes and an accompanying biography.
