Annual Meeting
Our annual meeting will be Saturday, September 20, 2008. We will meet at 9 am at the North Shelter off Conklin Lane for coffee and pastries. Our business meeting will follow shortly there after.  After the business is done, we will walk over to the Dickens property. Contact Joan Jehle (338-5331 or jjehle@mymailstation.com) for more information.

Dee and Carrie Norton donate to the Dickens Project
Dee and Carrie Norton have given a significant donation to the Dickens land acquisition project as well as a donation for an educational kiosk to be placed in the Park. The gifts were announced March 12th at the Parks Commission. A full write up of the gift and the Nortons' importance to Iowa City and Hickory Hill Park can be found here.

Friends give $28,000 to meet $20,000 challenge grant!
Fundraising Campaign now tops $100,000!
The FHHP Board is pleased to announce that we have successfully raised more than $28,000 in cash donations to meet a challenge grant announced in November 2007. The challenge grant, provided by an anonymous donor, matched each contribution dollar-for-dollar up to $20,000 and was to expire at the end of January. All the funds raised are part of a campaign to permanently preserve 16 acres of undeveloped land adjacent to the park (the Dickens Preserve).

Since announcing the campaign in the summer of 2007, we have raised just over $100,000 with a goal of raising another $100,000 for a total of $200,000 to purchase the land and provide a $40,000 land management fund for restoration of the park and preserve.

Donations ranging from $10 to $2,500 came from many Iowa City residents but also from as far away as New York City, Kansas, Colorado, Oregon, and Massachusetts. While most contributions were from individuals, FHHP also received donations from local organizations (Four Seasons Garden Club, Environmental Advocates, Noon Rotary Club, and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists) and local businesses (TruArt, Aero Rental, New Pioneer Food Co-op, Friendship Yoga, Liberty Family Dental, and the University of Iowa Community Credit Union).

Thank you to all our friends for your generous contributions!

Of course, you can still donate here. View the campaign brochure here. The Dickens Land can be seen in yellow on this map of the Park and surrounding area.

2008 Calendar now on sale!
Support the Park.
Buy the Calendar!
The 2008 Friends of Hickory Hill Park Calendar is still available for sale. Please contact Sarah Walz at 319-466-0908 to order a copy (shipping charges will apply).



These beautiful 4-color calendars feature photos taken in the park, and are sold for just $8.00 each. All proceeds from the sale of the calendar support conservation and environmental education work in the park. Without the funds raised form the calendar, most of the work we do would not be possible.

The Friends of Hickory Hill Park wishes to thank the talented photographers whose pictures are featured in 2008 calendar: Winston Barclay, Jodie Olson, Jane Bradbury, Sofia Metzler, Mark Palmberg and Jen McDonald. Each donated their photos to the calendar for the benefit of the park.

We are also immensely grateful to our calendar sponsors for their support, which makes the calendar possible. We hope you will think of them throughout the year: Artisans Gallery and DJ Rinner Goldsmith, Environmental Advocates, The Fun Zone, Johnson County Heritage Trust, McCarron Painting, Native Landscaping Services, Neumann Monson Architects, New Pioneer Food Co-op, Prairie Lights Bookstore, Synchronicity Chiropractic and Healing Arts, and Vortex.

As we eagerly embark on an ambitious year with our effort to purchase and preserve 16 acres of land adjacent to the park and continue our work to restore more than 12 acres of prairie and oak savannah, we wish all our friends and supporters a very happy, healthy, and peaceful New Year!

Contact us!
Let us know if you have concerns or questions about the park.
Please contact FHHP Board Chair, CJ Voci at cjvoci_at_gmail_dot_com for more information.