Welcome Jamie!

​Our new Resilient Indiana Technician, Jamie Davenport, started last month. Jamie is a recent graduate from Indiana University, earning a dual master's degree in environmental science and public affairs. While there, she had unique opportunities to learn more about sustainable agricultural practices by traveling throughout Indiana to learn more about approaches to rotational grazing, cover cropping, and constructed wetlands. She also spent summers working for the World Wildlife Foundation in Portugal or rural villages in West Africa to learn more about their approaches to landscape conservation and restoration. She was also selected to join the university’s research delegation to the UN Conference on climate change (COP28) hosted in Dubai, UAE. There, she studied the potential for soil carbon sequestration both for climate change mitigation and adaptation - concluding that healthier soils with organic matter stores will be integral both as a carbon sink and to ensure that agricultural yields will continue to support our populations.

​​Resilient Indiana Technical Assistance (RITA) is a new program through the Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (IASWCD), with additional support from the Natural Resource Conservation Society (NRCS). Jamie supports 6 counties - Hamilton, Madison, Delaware, Marion, Hancock, and Henry - with their specific needs. Her work will include outreach at agricultural field days and public meetings, technical assistance with land users on climate mitigation management and invasive species removal, conservation planning, engineering surveying, and Conservation Reserve (Enhancement) Programming. She will rotate between her assigned offices to provide assistance regularly and attend monthly board meetings. Additionally, she will participate in IASWCD and NRCS activities and outreach like workshops, CRP initiatives, state meetings, and other public outreach. This is a grant-funded position that will run through 2028 with plans for renewal. Jamie looks forward to learning more about each of her counties and how she can best serve them - especially in bringing over ideas from her districts into others to improve each county’s successes.

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