Month: April 2025

April 27-May 4, 2025 is Iowa Soil and Water Conservation Week, which coincides with National Stewardship Week organized by the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD). This year, the theme is: “Home is Where the Habitat is.”

Additionally, this year marks the 90^th anniversary of President Franklin Roosevelt signing the Soil Conservation Act on April 27, 1935, which created the Soil Conservation Service (now the Natural Resources Conservation Service) as a permanent agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). To view an interactive timeline of The History Of the NRCS, visit:  https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/a3a0db06ef774ea6958c870f86c73365

To celebrate these events, Madison SWCD will be hosting a Coffee & Cookie Drive Thru in the parking lot of the Madison County USDA Service Center on Tuesday, April 29, 2025 from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. while supplies last. The event is free and open to the public! Stop by for a cup of coffee and cookie, and meet your elected SWCD commissioners and local NRCS/IDALS/SWCD staff. We will also have informational materials related to this year’s theme for Stewardship Week: “Home is Where the Habitat is”. To see more information on the Facebook Event page and invite others, visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/1235179378238715

The Madison County Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) commissioners were pleased to present the 2025 Conservation Scholarship to Karly Christensen at their monthly meeting on April 16.  Ms. Christensen, a senior at Winterset High School, is planning to attend Iowa State University in the fall. 

Madison SWCD has been accepting scholarship applications on behalf of Conservation Districts of Iowa (CDI) for many years, but has only been offering its own local scholarship award since 2023.  The scholarships are open to graduating high school seniors pursuing programs of study in conservation or agriculture. 

For more information about the scholarship and other opportunities for students, visit www.madison-swcd.org/for-students/

Madison County Soil and Water Conservation District is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

The Madison County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) invites students attending Earlham, Interstate 35, Winterset Schools, and home schools in Madison County to participate in the Conservation Poster Contest!

The Hand Drawn Poster Contest is open to kindergarten through 12^th grade students; there are five divisions based on grade (K-1, 2-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12).  The Digital (Graphic Design) Poster Contest is open to 7^th-12^th grade students; there are two divisions based on grade (7-9 and 10-12).  Posters must reflect on and include the title of this year’s contest theme: “Home is Where the Habitat is”.

Posters and entry forms are due to the SWCD office in the county where the student’s school is located by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, May 2, 2025.  The Madison County SWCD is located at 815 E. Highway 92 in Winterset; Digital Poster Contest entries can be emailed to Anna.Golightly@ia.nacdnet.net.

The SWCD commissioners will choose contest winners from each of the grade divisions and submit those to compete at the regional level, then the Regional Director for Conservation Districts of Iowa (CDI) will choose winners from each division to compete at the state level.  The first-place winners in each division at the state level will receive a $50 cash award, and the remaining regional winners will receive a $35 cash award.  The first-place state winners will be sent to the national poster contest for consideration for a national award and displayed at the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas in February 2026.

The official poster contest rules and entry form can be found on CDI’s website:
https://www.cdiowa.org/get-involved/poster-contest/

More information about the NACD poster and photo contests can be found here:
https://www.nacdnet.org/contests/

For more information on the Conservation Poster Contest and other student opportunities, visit:
https://www.madison-swcd.org/for-students/