Let’s help you help the economy

As everyone knows, the economy is not as optimistic as most would like it to be. For the most part, in one way or another, people in general have made cutbacks. We are prioritizing and organizing more to combine tasks on when to go to the store or make a trip anywhere. The economy shows people are holding off purchasing the large ticket items like vehicles, houses and land, in general. As everyone can see, there are numerous houses on the market for sale and full-time jobs are harder to find. The auto industry is struggling nationwide as the big giants begin filing bankruptcy.

The Bureau County Soil and Water Conservation District is no exception in feeling the crunch of the economy. We have decided to redirect some of our efforts into education in one way or another. We continue our efforts to educate the youth and older generation alike, but sometimes to find a program with little to no cost is a real stretch. We have had to ask the community to assist with donations to help offset our costs of many of our educational programs. In addition, we were forced to delete some programs, and some are now on an as needed basis.

Here are just a few that come to mind on where our efforts have been directed. We provide Soil Stewardship material on a voluntary basis during Soil Stewardship Week to the schools and churches of Bureau County. These materials help remind all citizens the power of each person to conserve natural resources and improve the world. When people work together with their local conservation district, that power grows and grows. As these good deeds multiply across the nation’s network of conservation districts, the results are spectacular!

“When the land does well for its owner, and the owner does well by his land — when both end up better by reason of their partnership — then we have conservation.” Aldo Leopold.

For Arbor Day, each third-grade student receives a bare root tree and a packet of seeds in April for them to plant and watch grow. By planting trees or a garden, or putting plants inside your home, each individual can impact the environment in a very positive way. Plants and trees are a great way to help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into the air. Plants need carbon dioxide like we need air. They take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. The more trees and plants there are in the world, the more oxygen and less carbon dioxide there will be. Trees, especially, require large amounts of carbon dioxide, and in turn, release large amounts of oxygen.