You don’t have to be a professional photographer to take an awesome picture.  Entries in Eaton Conservation District’s 18th annual photo contest are proof positive! The contest was open to  anyone who does not take pictures for profit as long as the picture was taken in  beautiful Eaton County.  Photos entered in the contest were divided into four categories.  This year’s categories included: plants and landscapes, wildlife, people enjoying nature, and agriculture.  Participants were able to enter one photograph per category, a wide variety of photos were submitted by an equally diverse contestant pool.         
  
Gary Mankey of Lansing came away as grand prize  winner in this year’s contest with his picture of a frog in a leather boot. Submitted photos may be displayed on the District’s website, used in promotional brochures and fliers or displayed at District  events.  
  
 Winners were as  follows:
 
Plants and  Landscapes

 1st-Karl Glarner
 2nd-Brenda Hall
 3rd-Alyse VanAcker
 
Wildlife
 1st-Gary Mankey
 2nd-Carol Glarner
 3rd-Gary Haynes
 
People Enjoying  Nature
 1st-Sarah Jansma
 2nd-Gary Haynes
 3rd-Hailey Bennett

 Agriculture
 1st-Hailey Bennett
 2nd-Sarah Jansma
 3rd-Alyse VanAcker
 
Honorable Mentions: 
Rachel Drury, Rod Weaver, Rachel Beland, Beverly  Davids
 
Thanks to everyone who entered the  18th annual photo  contest.  It’s not too early to begin snapping photos for next year’s contest.  We appreciate your participation in the photo contest and are looking forward to seeing future photos taken in our County.  
 

Eaton Conservation District is partnering with the Middle Grand River Organization of Watersheds and several
Mid-Michigan watershed groups and agencies to develop a water resources brand,  Pollution Isn’t Pretty. The campaign will streamline multiple organization’s  educational efforts to create clear, consistent messages that educate area  residents about water quality concerns and what they can do to reduce pollution and protect our region’s water resources. To learn more about Pollution Isn’t Pretty visit, www.pollutionisntpretty.org.
 

 For More  Information:                           
      Brad Wurfel, 517-373-7917,wurfelb@michigan.gov                                                                   
  Dawn Roush, 517-335-3307,roushd@michigan.gov


The DEQ awarded five water quality monitoring  grants today, totaling $197,115.89, to assist universities, local governments,  and nonprofit organizations to monitor the quality of Michigan’s waters.

 The recipients of the grant funding announced today are:

Eaton Conservation District has been awarded $40,982.60 to monitor and track sources of E. coli in the middle Grand River. Sampling will be performed in the western  tributaries where limited monitoring has taken place, and canine tracking will  be performed in the current total maximum daily load reach.

Grand Valley State University, Annis Water Resources Institute, has been awarded $32,707.40 to assess the presence of the cyanobacterium, Gloeotrichia, in Silver Lake, Michigan. Silver Lake has suffered the past two years from outbreaks of Gloeotrichia, which can overwinter in sediment. This project will complement other studies to determine stressors to the lake and put into place best management practices to improve and protect the lake.  

The Kalamazoo River Watershed Council has been awarded $70,335.60 to monitor water quality improvements in Lake Allegan. The role of phosphorus release from the sediments is not known for this system and was not considered as a source in the TMDL. A better understanding of the nutrient contribution from the sediment will
allow TMDL partners to better address the issue of excessive phosphorus in the lake, as well as better determine the time it will take to meet the goals of the  TMDL.

Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council has been awarded $35,828.50 to perform aquatic invasive species surveys on 14 lakes and connecting tributaries in the Elk River Chain of Lakes watershed. The results will be used to control the spread of AIS. Project findings will be provided to stakeholders to increase awareness of AIS in the watershed and to implement management and control strategies for AIS.

Timberland Resource Conservation and Development has been awarded $7,261.79 to monitor and track sources of E. coli in Tyler Creek,  a tributary in the Lower Grand River watershed. This project will direct efforts towards influences of stream discharge and total suspended sediments on E. coli concentrations, with an ultimate goal of targeting riparian restoration efforts to areas where contaminated runoff and sediment input are greatest.

 Funding for these grants was made available through the Clean Michigan  Initiative-Clean Water Fund.

Call for 4th and 5th Graders
A fun, hands-on experience! Let’s get FIRED UP for SCIENCE!!!

Monday, June 17th – Friday, June 21st

9:00am-12:15pm OR 1:00pm-4:15pm

Located at Bennett Park in Charlotte
Cost for entire week is only $10 per student

Activities/lessons on: Rocks and minerals, fossils, tree and plant life, stream life, tree identification, forestry, ground water studies, bugs, chemistry, decomposition studies, recycling study, geocaching, plus many more!

Click here to download the flyer

Michigan K-12 grade students were encouraged to express their creativity about trees this spring in a creative writing contest as part of the Go Green Youth Challenge. They were asked "What do Trees Mean to You?" In the first year of this contest, we had an amazing 479 entries from throughout the state and had some amazing entries.  You can read the stories, letters, and poems of the winners online: http://www.miarbordayalliance.com/creative-writing-contest.html   The Michigan Arbor Day Alliance is a program of the Eaton Conservation District. 



Congratulations to all of our 2013 contest winners!   

Grand Prize:  Nathaniel C. from Bloomfield Twp.

9th - 12th

1st Place:  Jordan M. from Brooklyn

2nd Place:  Ellen Z. from Troy

3rd Place:  Zach C. from Northville

5th - 8th

1st Place:  Julianna K. from Oakland

2nd Place:  Jessica R. from Perry

3rd Place:  Kayla D. from St. Johns

K - 4th

1st Place:  Mattye T. from Beverly Hills

2nd Place:  Anna R. from Northville

3rd Place:  Sophia W. from Beverly Hills

* Click each name to view their entry *

Earlier this week, 125 8th graders from Olivet traveled to MSU campus to release Salmon into the Red Cedar River.  Salmon in the Classroom is a statewide program coordinated by the MDNR and local partnerships.  This learning experience allows students the opportunity to raise, care for and maintain the salmon in their classroom from fall until spring. The program culminates at the end of the school year with the release of the young fish in a local watershed that feeds one of the Great Lakes. Students and teachers participate in a program to follow the life cycle of salmon from eggs, to hatchling to smolt, starting in the classroom.

After releasing the salmon, students visited educational stations to learn about water quality, stormwater, and macroinvertabrates.  Staff from Eaton and Calhoun Conservation Districts, and MidMeac worked with the students to collect water samples and identify insects to learn more about watershed health. 

Water is a natural resource that we all need every day.  Less than 1% of the water on Earth is fresh useable water for our daily needs. So it is important that each of us does our part to keep it clean. Check with the Eaton Conservation District to see how you can become involved with a local watershed group. There are easy steps we can all take to protect the water in our community. For instance, using a broom instead of a water hose when cleaning your driveway will help save water and help prevent pollutants from washing into storm drains.  Storm drains in many cities and towns include a marker that says “No dumping - drains to stream or lake”. This is because leaves and grass clippings dumped into storm drains or a nearby body of water will decompose and take oxygen out of the water for fish and other creatures. If you have a pet, it is important to pick up pet waste so that it is not washed into nearby bodies of water.  These are just a few of the many easy steps you can take to protect the Middle Grand River watershed. For more info, visit www.middlegrandriver.org

America’s network of 3,000 conservation districts across the country are working on the ground each and every day with local farmers, ranchers and landowners to protect our water, soil and air for future generations. Conservation districts have been involved in delivering locally-driven conservation across America for more than 70 years.

           

2013 marks the 58th year of the National Association of Conservation Districts National Stewardship Week. Help us celebrate National Soil and Water Stewardship Week—Where does your water shed?—April 28 through May 5.

Contact Eaton Conservation District or visit www.nacdnet.org/education  for more information. Brought to you by Eaton Conservation District, visit us at www.eatoncd.org

Hot off the press, the March newsletter is at the post office, coming soon  to a mailbox near you. 

Can't wait, click here to read it now!

CHARLOTTE, MI – The Michigan Arbor Day Alliance (MADA) and Eaton Conservation District has announced today that they will be adding a new prize to their Go Green Youth Challenge Creative Writing Contest.  In addition to the first, second and third prizes for each age category, there will also be one overall Grand Prize of a Samsung Galaxy Tablet.

The Creative Writing Contest is open to all Michigan K-12th grade students.  Public, private, charter and homeschooled students are all eligible to participate.  The writing contest will have an environmental theme each year, this year’s theme being “What Do Trees Mean to You?”  Students can submit any type of creative writing (i.e. essay, short story, poem, etc.) fewer than 300 words, and remember originality and imagination count!

This contest runs alongside the Go Green Youth Challenge fundraising program, where students raise money to plant trees across Michigan.  Both contests have a deadline of April 1, 2013.  For full program rules and details, please visit www.miarbordayalliance.com and look under the Go Green Youth Challenge and Creative Writing Contest tabs.

The Michigan Arbor Day Alliance’s Go Green Youth Challenge engages Michigan youth in environmental stewardship, community development and service-learning through a statewide effort to plant trees in Michigan.

MADA is a coalition of organizations and agencies dedicated to the promotion and celebration of Arbor Day throughout Michigan.  Our dedication comes from our belief in the importance of trees and their role in community health and well-being.  Since 1993, MADA has provided educational programs and services to Michigan communities.

This is the 20th Anniversary of the MADA program.  We encourage you to celebrate with us and Go Green in 2013!

 

MADA is a program of the Eaton Conservation District