The Tama Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) is excited to celebrate the 82nd Annual Soil and Water Conservation Week April 30 through May 7, 2023! The 2023 Soil and Water Conservation Week theme is “One Water” to raise awareness of how important it is to protect our water resources in Iowa and nationwide.

The week is an opportunity to recognize conservation and sustainability practices underway on Iowa’s landscape and bring attention to the ongoing work by farmers, landowners and urban residents to protect the state’s soil and water resources.

We join Iowa’s 100 SWCDs, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service and others who provide leadership in soil health, soil conservation, water quality and the protection and enhancement of Iowa’s natural resources.

“Much has been accomplished in the last 82 years of conservation work in Iowa”, states Ramona Nitz, President of Conservation Districts of Iowa, the statewide organization that supports Iowa’s elected Soil and Water Conservation District Commissioners who work within our local communities to provide resources that assist landowners in caring for the land. “We celebrate these accomplishments during this week and seek to communicate the opportunities all Iowans have to become involved in conservation through their local Soil and Water Conservation District.”

In State Fiscal Year 2022, which ended on June 30 of last year, Tama SWCD cost-shared or obligated nearly $87,000 of state cost-share to add 175 acres of first-time no-till or strip till, six windbreaks, one denitrifying bioreactor and nearly 6,000 acres of cover crops to Tama County’s landscape.

Tama SWCD is committed to helping instill conservation ethic into Tama County’s youth and will celebrate Soil and Water Conservation Week with several student activities: selecting winners of its annual Stewardship Week poster contest celebrating the “One Water” theme, distributing white pine seedlings to 289 sixth graders in six school districts serving Tama County students and hosting 278 students at its annual fifth grade outdoor classroom.

To learn more about cost-share and outreach opportunities through Tama SWCD, phone 641-484-2702, ext. 3, stop by its office at 102 Business Hwy 30W in Toledo or check out its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TamaSWCD/ . Be watching for information coming out soon on Tama and Black Hawk SWCDs’ June 9 event featuring soil health pioneer Dave Brandt!