Soil & Water Conservation; It's Important to Everyone

West Polk County Rotarian Eric Wessels spends much of his time as a Project Navigator at SBA Architects.  It is his profession.  But like many Rotarians, in addition to being a professional, he is also an engaged citizen.  This is the reason he decided to run for office as a Dallas County Soil & Water Conservation District Commissioner.  The Soil & Water Conservation District helps to monitor, maintain, or improve agricultural and urban soil and water throughout Dallas County. It is also in his role as a Commissioner that he made the acquaintance of Jennifer Welch, CESPC.  Jennifer is an Urban Conservationist with Polk Soil & Water Conservation District and had the opportunity to present to their sister organization in Dallas County some time back.

 

 

Ms. Welch, also a graduate of the Iowa Soybean Association Ag-Urban Institute, was subsequently invited by Rotarian Wessels to present to the West Polk County Rotary Club at their regular meeting on Monday, March 23rd, 2015.  Rotarians in attendance were able to learn about many of the initiatives that are being taken by local governments to help protect two of our most valuable natural resources; soil and water.  Some examples were of requirements or suggestions that local governments can implement when working on development projects (i.e. roads, subdivisions, etc.).  Examples included the use of native landscaping, soil quality restoration strategies, the use of permeable pavement, constructing bioretention cells, requiring buffer strips, amongst others.  

 

But Rotarians were also made aware of smaller scale projects that can be done by everyday ordinary citizens to help protect our soil and water resources.  Things such as not allowing chemicals to get into storm sewers, avoiding the use of too much fertilizer, picking up your pet's waste, fixing oil and antifreeze leaks on your vehicle, or implementing the use of rain barrels to catch and recycle rainwater from the roof of your home.

It was a very informative and interesting presentation that was relevant to everyone in the room, as well as every Rotarian in general.