![]() A good portion of my daily work involves conservation best management practices for agricultural operations. These BMPs are the management systems that we promote to help farmers improve soil health while reducing their inputs and thereby reducing their risk of phosphorus runoff, which contributes to the harmful algal blooms. Through the research and promotion of these various conservation practices, I’ve found that they are not only beneficial for farmers and their soils, but also for home gardens. No matter the size of your garden (or farm), the principles to improve soil health are generally the same. Here are a few examples:
Don’t feel pressured to try all of these practices right away. Start small with one practice, like soil testing, and build from there. Adopting just one of these practices will benefit your soil in multiple ways, improving the health of your plants and reducing the amount of time, water, and fertilizer that you need to spend on maintaining your garden. And remember that the same principles apply, whether you are working on a small garden bed or acres of farm field. Author: Matthew BrowneH2Ohio Technician
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![]() This month's blog features a unique Staff Spotlight as our longest-tenured staff member at the Lucas SWCD recently announced her retirement. Jamie Kochensparger, our Education & Outreach Director, will be retiring this summer. But before that happens, we wanted to share Jamie's Staff Spotlight with you to give a glimpse into who she is and her amazing career as an SWCD employee. How long have you worked for Lucas SWCD? 18 years at LSWCD, 31 years in Environmental Education What did you do prior to joining the Lucas SWCD team? I began my “career” in conservation as a child exploring the marshes of the Sandusky River area near Fremont, Ohio. My childhood home and parents are still located on the banks of the Sandusky River, where I have watched the water quality, habitat and wildlife populations all improve in the last 50 years due to environmental laws, improved land use and personal practices. There is still a lot more room for improvement, so that is why I strive to educate and assist people with conservation. This inspired me to graduate from Bowling Green State University with a BA in Environmental Policy & Analysis with an emphasis on Environmental Education. I worked for 10 years as a Naturalist/Ranger for the Sandusky County Park District, then 3 years as the Public Information Specialist for the Ohio Lake Erie Commission. After OLEC, I was the Director of the Ottawa County Visitors Bureau for a year and a half before joining the Lucas SWCD. What is your favorite part about your job? I love creating and developing programs that help people understand environmental concepts and get inspired to make changes. I love interacting with people, answering their questions, and seeing that “light bulb” moment when everything clicks and a better understanding of our earth is reached. I enjoy assisting homeowners with implementing conservation practices such as pollinator habitats and composting, and seeing these residents feel empowered to make positive changes. Smiles and thank you's from our youth are the best highlight of all. What is something you want to share with our readers?
What is most relevant right now is what was relevant when I was a child. As back then, we are facing many environmental challenges. The good news is at that time, once we decided to tackle those former problems, we were able to make positive changes such as cleaner air, cleaner water, and species recoveries. We have new problems in today’s world, but if we decide to put our efforts into solving these new issues, we can again make a difference. Each person cannot “save the world” by themselves, but each of us can do our part starting with small steps in our daily lives. This is why Soil & Water Conservation Districts were formed in the first place, to assist people with implementing practices that can make a big difference. There are a lot of community groups, events and resources to get involved with. Call our office to get connected! The pandemic has changed everything we do, and in some cases for the better. We are learning and implementing new ways of reaching people in an increasingly digital and virtual world. This has helped expand our scope of people served, who might not attend a traditional in-person program. As we move forward, the Lucas SWCD is planning and working towards incorporating as many new strategies for outreach and education as possible. While some choices are limited due to budgetary constraints, the Lucas SWCD is able to amplify our work by partnering with many local agencies that have similar missions. Having great working relationships with these partner agencies is key to effectively achieving our mission. As the saying goes, “the sum is greater than the parts.” What is something you enjoy doing outside of work? I have sometimes been called an “expert” on nature, but I can never be that. Nature is always changing, showing us something new. What I really am is a professional student of nature, learning as much as I can and sharing it with others. The more we understand the world around us, the better we can be at our part in it. Always keep learning! One of my favorite hobbies is gardening, especially growing some of my own food in a regenerative way. If I focus on soil health and working with nature, I feel like I am giving something back to the earth as well as receiving its bounty. Thank you, Jamie, for everything you have done for the Lucas SWCD, our students and community, and local environment over the past 18 years! ![]() For this month's Staff Spotlight, we are very excited to introduce to you our newest employee, Penny Bollin. She has joined our team as an Urban Conservation Technician. Keep reading to get to know Penny! How long have you worked for Lucas SWCD? I am a new hire, starting earlier this month. What did you do prior to joining the team at Lucas SWCD? I earned a B.S. in science education at Tri State University (currently known as Trine University) and have worked in the field of science education (formally and informally) for more than 16 years. Additionally, I have worked in and volunteered in many gardening venues including community gardens, school gardens, garden clubs and urban farms. I was born and raised in Oregon Ohio, moved to Florida for ten years where I started my family (two sons) and then Michigan for ten more before returning to the Toledo area. My hobbies and activities include walking and training my dogs, gardening, volunteering, camping, kayaking, and baking for family and friends. More recently, I have enjoyed spending time with the newest addition to our family, my amazing grandbaby. What are you most looking forward to in your job? I am looking forward to meeting new people, educating the public about how they can help conserve Ohio’s natural resources and working with other like-minded organizations and individuals. It sounds like there will never be a dull day in this position and I greatly appreciate all the help and understanding I have been getting from my co-workers. What is something you want to share with our readers? This Spring, the Lucas SWCD will be participating in and/or sponsoring several rain barrel building workshops in which individuals sign up to build a rain barrel and learn about why it is a beneficial conservation practice. Those dates/locations include: Sylvania’s Red Bird Art Walk on April 1st, Downtown Toledo’s EcoFest on April 9th, a workshop at the 577 foundation on April 19th, and Naturally Oregon on May 14th. Pre-registration is required for all. Other events worth noting are our Tree and Native Plant Sales, the UT Earth Fest on April 21st, the Toledo Zoo’s Party for the Planet on April 23rd, and the Area 1 Envirothon happening at the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge this year. If you have questions about any of these upcoming events, give our office a call! What is something you enjoy doing outside of work? I have been volunteering with a local animal rescue for more than 3 years and get much satisfaction out of spending time with and caring for these deserving animals. And last but not least, I am an avid gardener and have been for more than 30 years. And, as a gardener, I am always striving to grow in an environmentally compatible and earth-friendly way. Stop by the office and say hi to Penny! Stay tuned for next month's blog post! ![]() This is the first article of a series titled, Conservation Starts at Home. Stay tuned for more! During my first week of college at Bowling Green State University in the 1980’s, I kept hearing a strange noise in the dormitory. A continual low rumble. Then I realized it was the sound of the showers running 24 hours a day. The water never seemed to be shut off. Sometimes there was no one even using the facilities, just that someone had left the shower or the sink running. Why was this sound so strange to me? I grew up in a home right here in NW Ohio that had to have its water supply hauled to the house and put into a holding cistern, 2,000 gallons at a time. Literally, every drop we used counted, both in supply and in dollars. So the rule in our house was that everyone took what the Navy called a “Sea Shower”, for when out to sea the freshwater supply was extremely limited. This means you turn the shower water on just long enough to get wet, and then turn the water off while you do the soap, shampoo and shaving. Then you turn the water back on just long enough to rinse off. I thought it was the same way for everyone until that ear-opening experience at college. At first, being able to let the water run the entire time of the shower seemed like an appealing luxury. But if you added up the amount of water, multiplied by all of the dormitories, it was a mind-boggling amount. I grew up recycling, conserving, re-using, and reducing – partly because it was the 1970’s when Earth Day celebrations started and partly because my father was very frugal. But since it was always that way at our house, and we were still able to have otherwise normal lives, it never seemed a burden at all. I still continue most of those practices today.
![]() My worst offender is my kitchen faucet which is the busiest faucet in the house. A half-gallon of cold water comes out first, and multiplied throughout the day could add up to 5 gallons or more. That is water that had to be treated, cleaned and shipped to the house. That water is not used, but dumped into the wastewater system to get treated and cleaned again before being released back into our local natural water system. For the mathematically-inclined, multiply that amount by every household in the County. I now keep a pitcher at my kitchen faucet to collect that cold water and then use it to water plants, water pets, save it to drink later, boil pasta with it, etc. Once you have made a habit of your new conservation practice, try adding another. Little steps add up to big journeys! There are many different conservation practices that anyone can incorporate into their life and home. From creating a rain garden or pollinator habitat, to reducing fertilizer and pesticide, to starting a worm bin or compost pile, or simply reducing/re-using/recycling, everyone can do something. Stay tuned for future articles in this series on tips, ideas and in-depth looks at conservation practices you can do at home, or contact our office for more information. Author: Jamie KochenspargerEducation & Outreach Director ![]() Happy Friday! Throughout 2022, we will be featuring each of the Lucas SWCD staff members on our blog where they will answer a series of questions to help you get to know them. This month, meet Joey Sink-Oiler, our District Manager! How long have you worked for Lucas SWCD? 6 1/2 years What did you do prior to joining the team at Lucas SWCD? Prior to working at Lucas SWCD as the District Manager, I was a small business owner, the Executive Director of a non-profit, a mediator trained through the Ohio Supreme Court, as well as a volunteer within my local community for 30 years. After obtaining a 2-year certificate in counseling, I attended OSU and Hocking College to get my degree in GeoEnvironmental Science. The diversification of trainings and job experiences I have had have been critical to my success in my current position. What is your favorite part of your job? I love my job! Picking just one area to be my favorite is difficult. But, if I have to pick just one, it would be what our office does on a daily basis to help people live a better and healthier life each and every day. The best management practices we promote for both the urban and agricultural arenas are scientifically based with evidence supporting our mission. Also, having a highly trained, professional staff increases our effectiveness in teaching these practices. Our office is a GREAT place to work! What is something you want to share with our readers? At the Lucas SWCD, we are trying to find a new location for our office as we have outgrown our current space and have other space related issues forcing us to move. We are also seeking other funding streams to support this move. If any of our readers would have suggestions or potential spaces available, I would love to chat with them! What is something you enjoy doing outside of work? I love the outdoors, and one way I have of enjoying it is through photography. I am an avid wildlife and landscape photographer and have been for years. I recently had photos chosen to be displayed in an online magazine and in four art galleries in Chicago, IL, Limassol, Cypress, Melbourne, Australia, and Berlin, Germany. (Check out the slideshow at the bottom of the post to see some of Joey's pictures!) Stop by the office and say hi to Joey! Stay tuned for next month's blog post from Jamie all about conservation at home. ![]() Hello readers! Welcome to the new Lucas Soil and Water Conservation District blog. Throughout the year, we will share information about our upcoming programs and events, interesting topics relevant to soil and water conservation, and also offer you an opportunity to get to know our staff. We will post an article on the last Friday of each month, starting in January. You can check back here or on our Facebook page to read the most recent article or to access the archives. Please share with family or friends who would find the information useful. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for our first article at the end of this month! P.S. If you want to be even more informed of what's happening at the Lucas SWCD, sign up for our newsletter below! We send it out twice a year and it is packed with information including Tree and Native Plant Sale order forms, agricultural program opportunities, and more. |
AuthorLucas SWCD staff Archives
May 2024
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