On Friday, the League of Women Voters of Montgomery County will launch a three-part Lunch with the League series to help the community learn more about the Montgomery County Soil and Water Conservation District. The agency and its programs serve both rural and urban residents and are a conduit for investment dollars in the community.
The three programs will be held at noon the first Friday of March, April and May on the third floor of Fusion 54, 101 W. Main St. Participants are encouraged to bring their own lunch, learn more, ask questions and network with neighbors at these free public programs.
The Montgomery County’s Soil and Water Conservation District has been making a lot of news.
Late last fall, the SWCD was named recipient of the 2023 District Showcase Award from the Indiana Soil and Water Conservation Districts, the state’s highest award for its excellence and innovation in programing. In January, the state SWCD named Kenny and Marlene Cain of Cain’s Homelike Farms as “Indiana’s Conservation Farmer of the Year.”
These highlights are just the tip of an iceberg of achievements and practices that are managed in the modest Soil and Conservation District office on the east side of Crawfordsville.
Dave Stanley, district conservationist, will be the first speaker. He will discuss the history and importance of the SWCD. Its primary job is to conserve valuable, precious natural resources upon which all other enterprises rest, namely our soil and water. Stanley will let the audience know about the various federal cost-share programs available to our Montgomery County farmers, foresters and urban gardeners. He will give a demonstration — using soil and water — to show those who don’t work with soil how soil health is measured, nurtured and improved. Stanley will talk about widespread, healthy practices going on in
Montgomery County.
On April 5, Kristen Latzke, MCSWCD Conservation Director, will share the intriguing history of Soil and Water Conservation Districts which are federal programs that are part of every county and state in the nation. Latzke’s program will mention the many services offered by the district and focus on the importance of water quality and the current health of Sugar Creek.
On May 3, Sam Lovold, program coordinator for MCSWCD, will describe how he works to engage and coordinate community conservation efforts that often happen in urban spaces. Lovold coordinates the Community Growers of Montgomery County (whose Backyard Garden tours in 2022 and 2023 have added a new dimension to link urban and rural gardeners and farmers in conservation efforts.) He also oversees the Montgomery County Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area, a program known (rather playfully) as “SICCUM.” This program too prompts valuable networking of groups to help eradicate harmful invasives.
Finding its roots in the Dust Bowl of the 1930s — when millions and millions of tons of soil blew off of the land — the Soil and Water Conservation District has as its mission to maintain and enhance soil health for plant, animal and human life. From promoting soil-saving and nurturing farming practices, to organizing events to eradicate harmful invasive species, to testing the quality of water and helping farmers use water and livestock and forests in healthy ways, SWCDs work to conserve our natural resources for the present and future benefit of the community, the state and the nation.
This three-part series of Lunch with the League programs is not only designed to promote public understanding of the Montgomery County Soil and Water Conservation District, it will help the public see ways to participate in monitoring and supporting the health of their own land, be it large or small, or public. All these things help promote and support the health of our community’s natural resources.
The LWV is a non-partisan organization that informs the public about issues of public concern. All Lunch with the League events are open to the public and allow time for questions and answers at the end of each presentation. They are all held on the first Friday of each month at Fusion 54.
