We were so excited to bring our stream table out to Natural Resources Day at the Clermont County Fair this year. The stream table was a hit, demonstrating important processes like erosion and deposition, and helping visitors understand how water shapes the land over time.
Throughout the day, we talked with visitors about the significance of these natural processes and their impact on the environment. We discussed the benefits of planting vegetation, which helps to stabilize soil and prevent erosion, and how important keeping trash and pollutants out of our waterways is to maintaining healthy ecosystems.
Elea Cooper and Abbie Frazer demonstrating the stream table to fair visitors
The Adams-Clermont Solid Waste District is hosting a scrap tire collection event on Friday, September 13 and Saturday, September 14, 2024 at the Clermont County Fairgrounds in Owensville from 8AM – 2PM during both days. Residents are encouraged to take advantage of this service to rid their property of accumulated tires which are not only unsightly, but can pose an environmental and potential health risk.
The following disposal fees will be collected in cash at the time of unloading:
Participants should separate on-rim tires and off-rim tires in advance for ease of disposal.
During the event, traffic can enter the fairgrounds and follow posted signs to the tire drop-off site. Residents may be responsible for unloading tires. Tires must originate from a Clermont County household. Tires accumulated by private companies (auto dealers or repair shops, trucking companies, etc.) during the course of business are not allowed. A max of 10 tires per resident will be accepted unless prior arrangements are made with the Adams-Clermont Solid Waste District.
This event is being entirely funded by the Adams-Clermont Solid Waste District. For additional information visit www.OEQ.net, email dsnyder@ClermontCountyOhio.gov or call (513)732-7744.
Please join us for this free event!
Dinner will be provided for those who RSVP before Tuesday September 3rd. Call or email Amanda Best to RSVP (513-260-9116, abest@clermontcountyohio.gov).
The Clermont Conservation District along with Pheasants forever, NRCS, and OSU Extension Clermont County are hosting a pasture walk at Steve Phillip’s Farm (2235 Bethel Maple Rd.) September 10th 6:00pm- 8:00 pm.
Come take a walk with us through a warm season grass pasture as we discuss how to best establish and manage pastures and offer information on current pasture related programs.
Joining us on our walk are Dr. Marília Chiavegato, an Assistant Professor of Agroecosystem Management for Food System Resilience at the Ohio State University and Jason Jones, Pheasants Forever’s Farm Bill Biologist for Southern Ohio.
Please contact us by 9/3/2024 if you need any special accommodations to attend this event
USDA is an equal opportunity employer, provider, and lender.
This spring, seven schools in Clermont County participated in our School Supply Recycling program. We provided schools with bins to collect items like writing supplies, notebooks, binders, folders, scissors, glue, and more. In total, we received almost 1000 pounds of school supplies!
Next, we will be sorting donations and get everything either donated to our community partners or recycled. In the past, we have worked with NEST Community Learning Center, Boys & Girls Club, and the Cincinnati Recycling and Reuse Hub. If you would like to get your school/organization involved with donating or receiving school supplies, contact Elea Cooper at ecooper@clermontcountyohio.gov
Did you know…when woodland owners sell timber, the landowners are legally responsible for preventing water pollution that might occur during and after a tree harvest? Under Ohio’s Agricultural Pollution Abatement law, which addresses impacts to the “waters of the State” resulting from timber harvests, responsibility rests with the landowner – not the logging company!
Sometimes, erosion or sedimentation problems aren’t obvious to the landowner until after the timber harvest is finished. By then it can be difficult to get the logging company to correct problems, especially if the company has gone on to another job. That’s why it is so important to choose a logger carefully, to insist on a written contract that requires the use of best management practices, and to file an Operation and Management (O&M) plan with the local soil and water conservation district (SWCD) before starting the harvest.
O&M plans are not mandatory, but they can help landowners and loggers head off problems. Filing a plan signals to the logger that the landowner takes erosion control seriously and lets the SWCD know a timber harvest is planned. If the SWCD sees a problem with the plan, the plan can be revised before the harvest starts and problems occur. A plan approved by the local SWCD can also help protect a landowner from nuisance lawsuits as long as the best management practices in the plan are being followed.
Landowners should first visit the website http://callb4ucut.com/ or call 877-4B4- UCUT to learn more details about the program. If landowners decide to file a “Notice of Intent to Harvest” or an O&M Plan, they can then call the Clermont SWCD for further assistance.
Of course, just putting a plan on paper won’t ensure that best management practices are followed during a timber harvest. Unless the landowner has expertise in managing a timber harvest, it’s best to seek out professional help. Service Foresters from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry can advise landowners on woodland management, including best management practices for timber harvests and filing O&M plans.
Many landowners also rely on private consulting foresters, who can manage a timber sale and oversee harvests. Industry foresters employed by companies that use raw wood products might also be able to help landowners.
No moving Boxwoods!
On April 11th 2024, ODA began a quarantine in Southwest Ohio (Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, Greene, Montgomery, and Warren counties) to help restrict the spread of the Box Tree Moth. The movement of boxwood shrubs is prohibited in the listed counties.
Though these moths do not hurt native plants, they can decimate the boxwood, an important and common ornamental shrub in Ohio. ODA encourages residents to report any potential infestations. Evidence of damage includes chewed, cut, or missing leaves, yellowing or brown leaves, white webbing, and green-black excrement on or around the plant. For more information go to: https://agri.ohio.gov/btm
This May, Clermont SWCD was honored to partner with the OKI Regional Council of Governments and Taking Root to distribute 275 free trees to landowners in the Bethel area. The distribution was made possible by funding received through an Urban Forestry grant provided by the Ohio Division of Forestry.
As many know, Bethel and Tate Township have experienced significant tree loss due to the Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB), and our goal with this project was to begin to help the community re-establish the tree canopy.
This fall, we will be distributing another 325 trees; all will be non-ALB host species and distributed in 5-7 gallon containers. Dates TBD – Landowners can watch our web site and Facebook page for details.
*New Location Alert: All remaining sessions are now at Clingman Park
Sessions are every first Wednesday 6:00-8:00 pm. Below are the workshops for the year. Registration is for each individual session. Go to https://www.clermontparks.org/registration-forms/landowner-conservation-series/ to register, read session descriptions, and find location details!
The Clermont Soil and Water’s Spring Litter Cleanup was successfully held on Saturday April 20th. This year we had 120 volunteers help collect over 150 bags of trash around Clermont County! Thank you to everyone who spent their time helping at this event. Each piece of trash removed from our streams make our shared rivers and streams that much cleaner!
The Litter Cleanup event is coordinated each year by the Clermont Soil and Water Conservation District and partially supported with a grant from Ohio EPA, Division of Recycling and Litter prevention. We truly appreciate your support and want to thank all of our partnering agencies and organizations.
We are already looking forward to next year’s clean up. If you weren’t able to make this event check out the Ohio River Sweep happening on June 22nd, for more information or questions contact Connie Miller at cmiller@clermontcountyohio.gov
Logo Design Contest
Before the Cleanup event, we held our yearly logo design contest for local K-12 students, sponsored by the Southern Ohio Association of Realtors (SOAR).
We received 50 designs across 11 grade levels. The overall winner this year was a 7th grader from Milford Junior High, Melissa Masiliunaite! Melissa’s logo was showcased on event garb and she won a $100 cash award! Winners also receive an additional $100 gift given to their school art department or local art program. Grade-level award winners received $25 each.
Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to everyone who participated! To see all the winning designs you can visit www.springlittercleanup.com
Flowers need water, right? Plant a garden in an area that receives water naturally, such as below a roof downspout. Simply dig a small depression that will collect and hold an amount of water that will soak in or evaporate over two days. This is known as a rain garden, and we offer several plants that will thrive in these conditions, like all of our pollinator plugs (purple cone flower. black-eyed susan, pink turtlehead, cardinal flower and New England aster) as well as some shrubs (button bush, nannyberry and spice bush).
For more tips on creating your own rain garden, give us a call or visit www.clermontswcd.org/rain-gardens-barrels/
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