The Pope Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) is pleased to announce the hiring of Rachel Holmes as this year’s summer intern.   As the intern, she will be assisting in many of the projects that Pope SWCD has throughout the summer such as staking of buffer zones, installing weed fabric, and teaching students about natural resources. The Pope SWCD also coordinates studies at the Rosholt Research Farm where nitrate-nitrogen research is conducted along with the Minnesota Department of Ag and the University of Minnesota. She will be working at the Rosholt farm collecting and analyzing the water samples from vacuum lysimeters under the research crop plots this summer.

Rachel stated about the internship, “I am both excited and honored to be working at the Pope SWCD this summer.” Growing up, she was homeschooled by her mom alongside her six siblings of which she is the third eldest. Her dad is the family practice doctor at the hospital in Elbow Lake where her family currently lives. She has participated in a variety of groups and activities at college including Swing Dance Club, rock climbing, hiking, and InterVarsity.

She is currently working toward an environmental science major at the University of Minnesota, Morris with the anticipation of getting a career in water quality and analysis. Therefore, she is especially excited to be able to work at the lab for the Rosholt Research Farm and gain experience in that field. She will be officially graduating at the end of this coming fall semester. She is hoping to use what she learns from her time here to better guide the details of her career choice. To learn more about the Rosholt Research Farm visit www.popeswcd.org.

 

 

 

Watersheds: Our Water, Our Home

On May 11^th, the fifth and sixth graders from Glacial Hills, Minnewaska, and BBE middle schools submitted their artistic environmental posters. Each student from the three schools created an informational work of art on the theme “Watersheds: Our Water, Our Home.” The dozens of amazing posters submitted demonstrated talent and intelligence from every student. The Pope Soil and Water Conservation District board members were challenged with the task of picking the best posters from each school and the best from the overall.

The winners from Glacial Hills are the fifth graders Melena Longtin with first place, Shayne Wilgman with second, and Isabelle Porter with third. The winners from Minnewaska are fifth grader Mattie Parish with first place, sixth grader Grace Larson with second, and Miaya Guggisberg with third. The winners from BBE are the sixth graders Taylor Oeltjenbruns with first place, Presley Detloff with second, and Mia Cyotes with third. In the comparison between the three schools, the overall first place winner is Taylor Oeltjenbruns from BBE while the second and third place winners are Mattie Parish from Minnewaska and Presley Detloff from BBE respectively.

Pope SWCD annually sponsors this poster contest and goes to each school district to present on each year’s theme. The overall winner of the poster contest wins a paid trip to Long Lake Conservation Camp this summer. This year’s winner of the camp is Taylor Oeltjenbruns from the Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa School.

Pope SWCD sends a big congratulations to all the winners and all those who participated! Every student did a fantastic job!

 

Top Left: Glacial Hills Winners, Top Right: Belgrade Brooten Elrosa Winners, and Bottom Minnewaska Winners

The idea of local conservation districts spurred in the early 1930s following one of America’s most severe environmental disasters, the Dust Bowl. During this time period, the United States suffered from severe drought and topsoil erosion. These detrimental events led to harsh farming conditions that forced farmers to flee their homes and land. Following this crisis, the importance of conservation practices throughout the nation became prominent. In 1937, in a letter addressed to the Governor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt stated, “The Nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.” This statement emphasized the significance of natural resource management.

The Pope County Soil & Water Conservation district (SWCD) along with similar organizations, partner with farmers and land owners to improve and protect the land’s soil and water quality through diverse management practices and projects. To learn more about soil types in your community, please visit Web Soil Survey Website. Along with the website, you can also download an application called “soilweb” for smart phone devices which also gives information about local soils. The app was developed by the California Soil Resource lab in collaboration with the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service and can be another great resource.

This year, students were invited to participate in the Annual Poster Contest put on the by The Pope County Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD). With this year’s theme being “Healthy Soils are Full of Life”, students from three local elementary schools Belgrade Brooten Elrosa (BBE), Minnewaska Elementary, and Glacial Hills Elementary were challenged to tap into their creative skills by designing educational posters that focus on soil health. There were a total of three winners from each school along with another three overall winners for the County.

The Pope County Soil & Water Conservation District would like to thank everyone that participated in this year’s poster contest. The overall winners will compete at the Area II meeting in June. Area II covers twelve counties. Our first place overall poster contest winner will also be going to Long Lake Conservation Camp in June. The Pope SWCD sponsors a scholarship for her to attend.  Congratulations to all the winners and good luck to the overall winners at the area contest.

2017 Poster Contest Winners

BBE

1. Presley Detloff– 5th Grade, parent Tracy Detloff
2. Ella Halvorson– 6th Grade, parents Ryan and Jesi Halvorson
3. Brooklyn Fischer– 5th Grade, parents Boyd and Annette Fischer

Minnewaska Elementary

1. Alica Boysen– 6th Grade, parents Dean and Jolee Boysen
2. Makena Thoen– 6th Grade, parents Steven and Stephanie Thoen
3. Ashlyn Bergemann– 5th Grade, parent Lisa Anderson

Glacial Hills Elementary

1. Miranda Longtin– 6th Grade, parents Chris and Rebecca Longtin
2. Haley Herfindahl– 5th Grade, parent Jennifer Herfindahl
3. Carolos A Rivera– 5th Grade, parents Lucy and Carlos

Overall Winners

1. Alica Boysen– 6th Grade, parents Dean and Jolee Boysen
2. Makena Thoen– 6th Grade, parents Steve and Stephanie Thoen
3. Presley Detloff– 5th Grade, parent Tracy Detloff

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