Madison County SWCD is pleased to welcome Kendra Daniels as the new Project Coordinator for the North Thompson River Water Quality Project in Adair, Madison, and Union SWCDs. 

Kendra started her new position on February 10, 2025, and shared this introduction: “My name is Kendra Daniels. I am the North Thompson Watershed Coordinator. The last 10 years of my career have been focused on water quality and urban conservation. Prior to my focus in conservation, I attended Iowa State University and received my Bachelor’s Degree in Agronomy. I am excited to continue to steer my career closer to home. My husband and I have a small acreage within the North Thompson Watershed. I am an Adair County Master Gardener, business owner, and try to focus on living sustainably at home. In my free time you will likely find me at community events around the Greenfield area and/or enjoying live music. I’d love to connect with local producers to focus on promoting environmental stewardship and nurturing the land around us as our legacies continue forward.”

Kendra’s duty station will be at the Union County SWCD office in Creston, but she will be working throughout the watershed in all three counties and visiting the Greenfield and Winterset offices on a regular basis. 

Click here to learn more about the North Thompson River Water Quality Project.

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) is offering a 480 hour Conservation Technician Intern position based at the Madison County Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD).

The internship is open to students enrolled in college (including high school students graduating this spring) who are pursuing studies related to agriculture, conservation, engineering, environmental science, GIS, natural resources, and similar fields. Unfortunately, this internship is not open to college students graduating this spring, but we encourage those individuals to visit our Employment webpage for other opportunities: https://www.madison-swcd.org/employment/

The intern will assist the SWCD with various activities including field visits (especially assisting with CRP status reviews), layout and checkout of conservation practices, education and outreach, and other general office duties, as well as completing a special project for the SWCD (such as a research project, developing educational materials, planning an outreach event, etc.). 

This internship is a great way to get exposure to SWCDs, IDALS, and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The special project provides an opportunity for the intern to focus part of their time on a topic they are interested in. 

See the position announcement for additional details. 

To apply, students should submit a cover letter, resume, and list of three references to the Madison SWCD by Monday, February 24, 2025.  Madison County SWCD is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Madison County SWCD and the Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship are equal opportunity providers and employers.

High school seniors graduating this spring who plan to pursue studies in conservation or agriculture are encouraged to apply for the Conservation Scholarships offered by Conservation Districts of Iowa (CDI) in partnership with local Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD). 

Scholarship rules and application forms are available on CDI’s website: https://cdiowa.org/get-involved/scholarships/

Applications must be submitted to the local SWCD office in the county where the student resides.  The deadline to apply is February 7, 2025.

SWCD commissioners will select an application to forward to the CDI Region, and then the CDI Regional Director will choose an application to forward to the state level for consideration.

In addition to the state and regional scholarships awarded by CDI, Madison County SWCD is offering its own local scholarship in the amount of $250 to the top applicant. 

The top three applicants in the state will be awarded scholarships in the amounts of $3,000, $2,000, and $1,000.  Winners from the remaining six regions will receive $500.  The scholarship will be paid directly to the applicant’s school of choice, to be used for the student’s first year of college education.

Students residing in Madison County should submit their application materials to the Madison County SWCD located at 815 E. Hwy 92, Winterset, Iowa 50273 by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, February 7.