Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District
  • Home
  • About
    • About >
      • Staff & Supervisors >
        • Supervisor- Nominee Info Sheets
    • Donate/Affiliate Membership
    • Jobs & Internships
    • Newsletter >
      • News articles
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Strategic Plan
    • Contractor List
  • Programs & Services
    • Ag Stewardship/INfield Advantage >
      • Agriculture Resources
    • Drainage
    • Financial Assistance/Cost Share Programs
    • Invasive Species >
      • Invasive Trade In Program
      • Hamilton County Invasives Partnership
    • Map Resources
    • Native Plant Sale
    • Native Tree Sale
    • Rain Barrel Info & Sales
    • Rule 5 Submission
    • Soil Is Alive: Soil Health Trailer
    • Soil Maps & Surveys
    • Soil Testing
    • Stony Creek Feasibility Study
    • Photo Contest
    • Well Capping
    • Well Water Testing
    • Report a Polluter
    • Tool Loan Program
    • Video Resources
  • Urban Conservation
    • Backyard Conservation
    • Conservation Playhouse
    • Urban Agriculture >
      • Donate Your Vegetables
      • Garden Resources
    • Creating and Maintaining a Prairie
    • Restoring HOA Native Landscapes
    • Stormwater Landscape Maintenance Training
    • Rain Garden Info
    • Seed pack
    • Tree Info
    • Where to buy native plants & seed
  • Events
    • Workshops & Events
    • Rain on Main
    • Sustainability Workshop
    • Past events & recordings
  • Online Store
  • Home
  • About
    • About >
      • Staff & Supervisors >
        • Supervisor- Nominee Info Sheets
    • Donate/Affiliate Membership
    • Jobs & Internships
    • Newsletter >
      • News articles
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Strategic Plan
    • Contractor List
  • Programs & Services
    • Ag Stewardship/INfield Advantage >
      • Agriculture Resources
    • Drainage
    • Financial Assistance/Cost Share Programs
    • Invasive Species >
      • Invasive Trade In Program
      • Hamilton County Invasives Partnership
    • Map Resources
    • Native Plant Sale
    • Native Tree Sale
    • Rain Barrel Info & Sales
    • Rule 5 Submission
    • Soil Is Alive: Soil Health Trailer
    • Soil Maps & Surveys
    • Soil Testing
    • Stony Creek Feasibility Study
    • Photo Contest
    • Well Capping
    • Well Water Testing
    • Report a Polluter
    • Tool Loan Program
    • Video Resources
  • Urban Conservation
    • Backyard Conservation
    • Conservation Playhouse
    • Urban Agriculture >
      • Donate Your Vegetables
      • Garden Resources
    • Creating and Maintaining a Prairie
    • Restoring HOA Native Landscapes
    • Stormwater Landscape Maintenance Training
    • Rain Garden Info
    • Seed pack
    • Tree Info
    • Where to buy native plants & seed
  • Events
    • Workshops & Events
    • Rain on Main
    • Sustainability Workshop
    • Past events & recordings
  • Online Store

Hamilton County SWCD News

News article homepage

Welcome Dominic, our Graphic Design Intern

6/30/2020

 
Dominic Zelli, Graphic Design Intern

​Hi! I’m Dominic Zelli, the new graphic design intern. I’m currently studying Visual Communications at Ball State’s school of art with a minor in Sustainability.
 
I enrolled in Ball State knowing I wanted to pursue art. Once I declared my major in Visual Communications, I began to make connections between graphic design and how it can be used to promote sustainable, pro-environment causes. It can be difficult to get people to care about the environment and to get people to understand how we are interconnected with natural processes; graphic design and illustration can be effective tools in bridging that gap.
 
During my junior year, I was also a part of BSU’s Animal Activism club, and through that I participated in events like Muncie’s White River Clean-Up. I spend most of my free time making music, drawing, and watching ocean documentaries.
 
I’m excited to get to know everyone here, and to help with any of the district’s design needs! I'm currently working on designs for the Urban Conservation program and a logo for the Soil Health trailer. 
Picture

Summer Foraging: Using Daylilies as a Food Source

6/30/2020

 
Taylor Wilson, Conservation Tech and Outreach Assistant
​

In the summer and early fall, the world of foraging is open to pick 
almost anything you want. This being said, when foraging it’s important to make sure you aren’t over harvesting. You would be amazed at the amount of plants in your yard you can eat. From chickweed, to violets, to dandelions, to daylilies. The best part? Many of the plants you have growing in your yard are hard to over-harvest.  These are usually very hardy, weedy, competitive plants that will keep coming back year after year.  

​
A fun example of a backyard plant you can eat is daylilies. These plants are non- native and offer very little in terms of wildlife habitat and food, so over harvesting isn’t much of an issue. Additionally this plant is a hardy, long lived, fast spreading perennial which offers many opportunities for foraging without harming the plant.
Picture
Daylilies are fully edible from the root to the flower. Most commonly (and most fun to use) the unopened flower buds can be used in stir fry, deep fried, or just tossed in a pan with other veggies. They are usually attributed to taste like asparagus with the texture and shape of okra. For a recipe, see below. 

Caution: Not to be confused with tiger lilies or commercial lily varieties, some of which can be toxic. Most lilies are highly toxic to cats, and somewhat to dogs.  A great start to identification is to look at the roots. Daylilies have fibrous roots with small nodules.  

Remember: Harvesting or ingesting the wrong species of plants can have dire consequences, which is why experts suggest that you identify a plant based on three separate characteristics. Verify AT LEAST THREE between the fruit, stem, bark, flower, root, leaves, etc. Check here for an identification guide, and remember:  
Never ingest or handle any type of wild plant without being certain you know what it is.  
Any doubt, LEAVE IT OUT ! 
​
Picture

The Environment and COVID-19

6/30/2020

 
Taylor Wilson, Conservation Tech and Outreach Assistant
​

​The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a new routine and outlook on our lives and daily activities. For some, the changes have come as a welcome relief from some stressors of life. For others, this situation has increased their uncertainties and burdens. Likewise, the human response to COVID-19 has had some surprising benefits as well as drawbacks toward the natural environment. Here are a few:
Picture
​Pros: 
  • Carbon emissions in the United States are down 7% for the year, the greatest decrease since WWII 
  • In China, lockdowns and other measures resulted in a 25%  reduction in carbon emissions 
  • Generally water quality has increased—at least temporarily. Turbidity in water has decreased giving wildlife more sunlight and visibility.  
  • Gardening is on the rise. With extra time at home and food shortages at the grocery, many decided to start gardening or increase their garden activity. Self sustainability was a big topic of discussion during the months of March and April. See the search trends below.
  • Decrease in over-overfishing as the demand for fish has decreased worldwide. Overfishing has huge ecological implications from fish depletion to plastic pollution.
  • Scientists finally have a chance to study the impact of atmospheric aerosols 

Cons:
  • Increase in litter from disposable masks, gloves, and sanitation materials (wipes, plastic containers, etc)
  • The rate of decrease in air and water pollution is not sustainable for the future
  • Some feel good stories, like the dolphins returning to Venice, were unfortunately untrue. Here’s information on what really happened.
  • There has been a spike in illegal logging  in Tunisia, Brazil, and Indonesia due to the lack of ecological law enforcement in these areas during isolation.  
  • The loss of atmospheric aerosols may be causing  damage to certain ecosystems. With time, these studies will be conducted and released.
Picture
Google search frequency of the term "raised beds" with a large spike in April of 2020. Similar trends are seen with the phrases "garden" "gardening" "how to garden" etc.
The biggest takeaway, from an ecological standpoint, are that the world did achieve all of the pros listed above. Through a forced experiment, we have demonstrated that it is possible to change the environment and quickly assist in its recovery. The trick now is to find a way to maintain this while not entirely changing people’s chosen lifestyles. Like stated before, many of us may have enjoyed the peaceful solace of COVID. Now is a great time to take those lifestyle changes, make them work for you, and commit to them for a greener future.
 
 
Note: These are not the findings of the Hamilton County SWCD, but instead a compilation of different fact sources.  

Saharan Dust: Great for Soil, Bad for Oceans

6/30/2020

 
​Taylor Wilson, Conservation Technician and Outreach Assistant

You may have heard about the Saharan dust storms that blew across the country in the last few weeks. Believe it or not, this is a common phenomenon that happens yearly at some degree. This year, however, is the most dust we’ve had in 50-60 years. This type of dust storm can look like haze, loss of long distant visibility, milky skies, or a fine dust covering cars and homes especially after it rains.   

​The yearly dust storms are a part of a natural phenomenon that connects two polar opposite ecosystems: the Saharan desert to the Amazon rainforest. 

​
How does this work?
Picture
Milky L.A. skies courtesy of Christopher Bannan on Twitter
1. In the Saharan summer the sun warms the sand, which warms the air near the surface.

2. This hot air
 rises and brings small particles of Saharan soil with it.
​
3. As the hot, dusty 
air rises it joins in with the strong prevailing easterly winds and blows across the Atlantic to South America and the Gulf of Mexico. 

​
Saharan soil is full of iron and phosphorus. These minerals act as a fertilizer in the Amazon, replenishing the minerals that are often leached out of soils by the frequent rains. Think of it this way: when you have a big year in your garden you have to replenish the nutrients lost in the soil. The Amazon needs the same thing. ​
Picture
Fish kill caused by algal blooms. Photo from arcgis.com
​​The issue with this comes from the deposit of phosphorus laden soil (dust) into bodies of water. This is especially a problem in the Gulf of Mexico. The gulf already experiences an abundance of phosphorus each year from agricultural runoff. Too much phosphorus can cause algal blooms (red tides), fish kills, and a myriad of other ecological issues. While Saharan dust storms are a natural event that deposit dust into the gulf every year, in conjunction with the algae issues already present from human activities water quality becomes a major problem.

Since the 2020 dust storm is so large, 
fish kills and water quality may be worse this year. In 2018 the algal blooms were worse than normal, and it was speculated that Saharan dust may be the culprit. Looking at the graph below, you can see that 2018 had a larger than average dust storm. Time will tell how the gulf is impacted in 2020.
​
As the dust deposits over parts of the United States this year we may experience a variety of impacts in soil and water quality. These likely won’t be large enough to visualize an impact and there’s nothing we can do to control it. What you can do is enjoy the beautiful sunsets caused by light scattering dust particles, stay indoors if you experience respiratory issues, and continue to protect our soil and water resources where we can control impacts.  

​​Want to see more?

Visit EarthWindMap and set the Mode to Particulate. This shows you how the dust is moving in real time.  

For more information, visit the links below. 
  • NASA's webpage on Saharan dust
  • The Atlantic's Article on Saharan dust
Picture
Graph showing the AOD, a measure of dust, of storms in different years.

Rain on Main Returns for Year Six

6/29/2020

 
Picture
Claire Lane, Urban Conservationist 

​The pandemic health crisis has led to the cancellation of many beloved annual events in 2020, but we are happy to share that Rain on Main is returning for its sixth year this August!  Rain on Main is a painted rain barrel art competition and silent auction held each year by the Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), City of Carmel Utilities Department, and Carmel Stormwater Departments.

Artists are currently hard at work preparing their beautiful creations on 65-gallon urn style rain barrels. The barrels will make their debut on the Rain on Main Facebook page and along Main Street in Carmel on Friday August 7th.  There are many ways to take part in Rain on Main, including purchasing a barrel!
  • View the barrels in person throughout the week of August 7th-14th along Main Street in Carmel.
  • See the barrels on the Rain on Main website or Facebook page and vote for your favorite in the People’s Choice competition by “liking” the Facebook photo of your favorite barrel. Voting ends at 12 noon on August 14th and the winners of the People’s Choice will be announced.
  • Follow the Rain on Main Facebook page to see the announcement of the art competition winners!
  • Place a bid to purchase your favorite barrel.  The online silent auction opens at noon on Friday August 14th!
  • See the barrels in person at the Carmel Farmers Market on Saturday August 15th.
  • Place your final bids---the online silent auction closes at 11am on Saturday August 15th!

To stay up to date with the most current Rain on Main information be sure to follow Rain on Main on Facebook and check out the Rain on Main website at www.RainonMain.com.
Picture
Picture
Did you know?  Carmel residents are eligible for a $50-$75 rebate from the Carmel Stormwater Department after installing a rain barrel?  
Learn more at www.rainonmain.com/carmel-rain-barrel-subsidy

Developing a Horse or Barn Animal Manure Management Plan for the Hobby Farmer

6/29/2020

 
Picture
Ginger Davis, Conservation Administrator 

No one knows how many horses there are currently in Hamilton County (1,074 in 2017) but most enthusiasts would agree that the popularity of horses continues to rise. At the same time, new residents keep arriving. Forecasters estimate 180,000 more people will live in Hamilton County by 2050. As a result of these trends, recreational horse owners in our area increasingly find themselves in the middle of rapidly growing suburban areas, where they often receive more scrutiny from their neighbors than do their counterparts in rural areas. To maintain good relationships, it is critical to know and practice proper manure and pasture management.  Manure handling is viewed as a necessary evil of stall management with horse owners naturally preferring to ride rather than clean stalls.  Did you know that one horse can call for the removal of about 12 tons of manure and soiled bedding from its stall annually? The good news is that manure can be a tool to improve soils.  The burden of manure can be turned into a benefit to help improve your soil resources.

Often, suburban horse facilities have limited or no acreage for disposal of manure and soiled bedding. Several alternatives for handling manure include land spreading on pasture or crop ground, removal from stable site to storage area for private or commercial hauling, stockpiling, and composting. Some stables have developed markets to distribute or sell the stall waste as a fertilizer resource to gardeners and landowners. Whether in a suburban or rural setting, proper manure management is based on simple principles that virtually eliminate environmental pollution impacts and nuisances such as odor and flies.

Developing a horse manure management plan may seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t necessarily need to be. Most plans can be developed and implemented using an integrated holistic approach.  A holistic approach means thinking about the big picture.  An integrated approach means to work with your current needs and issues to find solutions that could benefit other aspects of your land or neighbors and fit it into the environment piece by piece (i.e. manure as a fertilizer source for poor soils). If you look at the big picture first then deal with each component keeping the big picture in mind, it allows you to see how each part of the system can work together. Departmentalizing the components of a manure management systems plan allows you to evaluate what is feasible, what options may be available, as well as, determining how the components may work together in order to develop a sustainable plan into the future. Because no two farms are exactly alike, each plan must be developed individually considering the land, water, soil, air, and neighborhoods in the area.


​Developing the Plan

Need a Manure Management Plan Checklist - Click here
Before anything else, it is a good idea to think about, write down, and draw a map of what encompasses your respective horse farm. Key points to consider here include:
  • Describe your horse or animal farm – goals, objectives, partnerships, business opportunities, and recreation
  • Land based resources – Identify how many acres you own or lease and how many of these acres are “usable”. Usable acres refer to acres that are appropriate for specifically managing and/or taking care of your horse or animal or land that could be used to spread manure. Acres to exclude from this calculation would be any area where manure should not be spread, or acres where it is not feasible to spread manure including: wetland and/or wooded areas; areas close to surface water, drains, or water wells; acres that encompass where your home, barn, riding arena, etc.; land adjacent to public roads, property lines,  residences, or businesses. Setbacks from these areas are a good practice to eliminate environmental pollution impacts or nuisances like odor.
  • Number of horses or animals that currently reside on your farm and plans for expansion.
  • Manure expectations– Include volume produced and collected, storage, composting, transfer and application, nutrient utilization, and records or calculations of your manure expectations
Spreading raw horse manure in combination with soiled bedding (stall waste) on your horse pasture is not an advisable practice. The reasons for this include the following: A) if you are spreading raw horse manure on your pasture or crop fields, you could  potentially be spreading parasites and weed seeds, and B) stall waste with wood products such as sawdust or wood shavings can actually deplete the soil of nitrogen (needed for grass/plants to grow) due to the breakdown of carbon. This can result in an undesired outcome when attempting to grow forage.

The 4Rs of nutrient management serve as a guide for environmental concerns prevention planning:
  • Right Source (type of manure or fertilizer; composted vs raw, etc.)
  • Right Rate (application rate of manure to fields)
  • Right Time (time of year, weather forecast, neighbor relations)
  • Right Place (topography of the field, proximity to surface waters and wells)

Lastly, prevention is the most important way to avoid a possible manure spill.  See our guidance below or in the checklist for an example emergency spill response.
​
By doing this initial exercise, you get an unbiased perspective as a starting point rather than a reactive attempt at a solution. By approaching your manure management plan one step at a time, you can organize your resources to make the process more efficient and less overwhelming. The Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District has prepared a Manure Management Plan Check List with resources that may help in this planning.  Manure & Nutrient Management may be eligible for assistance through the Natural Conservation Resource Service offices.  Contact us for more information soil.water@hamiltoncounty.in.gov Happy Trails!  ​

Emergency Spill Response

 Should a spill occur, here are the spill response steps that should be followed:
  • Human safety first – always the number one priority. Make sure that everyone involved in the situation is safe and has received medical attention if needed,
  • Control the spill – the source of the spill,
  • Contain the spill – It is best to keep the manure in one area if possible and prevent it from flowing into nearby surface waters. Ideas or considerations for this may include damming up an area using dirt or utilizing straw/hay bales as a buffer to absorb manure,
  • Contact the appropriate authorities – Specifically in Indiana, The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM)        (888) 233-7745 or (317) 233-7745; Regulated Drains or Stormwater Drain impacts: 317-776-8495
  • Clean-up the spill,
  • Document the spill – this serves to protect you as it is proof that you made a concerted effort to minimize any associated environmental risk.

Donate Your Garden Vegetables to a Local Food Pantry

6/26/2020

 
Andrew Fritz, Urban Conservation Technician

Are you beginning to wonder what to do with your surplus garden vegetables? Wonder no more. Donate them to your local food pantry!

​In partnership with the Hamilton County Harvest Food Bank, the Hamilton County Soil & Water Conservation District has updated its popular “Donate Your Vegetables” map including the most recent information for gardeners to donate produce safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Food insecurity in Hamilton County is real and many food pantries have limited fresh food items. Donating your extra garden vegetables, no matter how few, is needed.
Picture

    Author

    Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.

    Archives

    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019

    Categories

    All
    Canada Thistle
    Crop Diversity
    Garden Tower
    Hamilton SWCD
    Indiana
    Invasive Species
    Karner Blue
    Lupinus Perennis
    Native Plants
    Pet Safety
    Soil Health
    Soil Testing
    Urban Conservation
    Urban Gardening
    Water Quality
    White River
    Wild Lupine

    RSS Feed

Your SWCD

​About
​Services
Newsletter
Affiliate Membership
Contact Us

soil.water@hamiltoncounty.in.gov
317.773.2181
1717 Pleasant St. Suite 100
Noblesville, IN 46060
Established in 1968
© COPYRIGHT 2022. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Photo used under Creative Commons from andurache