Ag Notes Week of 9/2/19

Fall Pond Clinic
The Lucas Soil & Water Conservation District will present a Fall Pond Clinic Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 6:30 p.m. at Olander Park, 6930 Sylvania Ave., Sylvania.
The event will offer current and future pond owners or developers an opportunity to learn about best practices for creating/maintaining habitat, fish stocking, weed control and other aspects of maintenance.
Guest speaker will be Don Schooner, pond specialist and owner of Inspired by Nature, Inc. The clinic will feature an interactive discussion on holistic pond management, mainly focused on answering questions from clinic attendees. Admission is free. Seating is limited. RSVP online at www.lucasswcd.org/pondclinic.html or by calling 419-893-1966 by Sept. 1. All attendees will be entered into a raffle to win a copy of “Pond Management: The Common Sense Guide,” written by Steve Fender, of Fender’s Fish Hatchery.

Sustainable agriculture event
Black Swamp Conservancy is inviting the public to explore the topic of local, sustainable agriculture by attending a showing of the film, “The Biggest Little Farm” on Thursday, Sept. 19.
The screening, which is free and open to the public, will take place at 6 p.m. in the Maumee Indoor Theatre, 601 Conant St.
“The Biggest Little Farm” chronicles the eight-year quest of John and Molly Chester as they trade city living for 200 acres of barren farmland and a dream to harvest in harmony with nature. Through perseverance and embracing the opportunity provided by nature's conflicts, the Chesters uncover a biodiverse design for living that exists far beyond their farm and its seasons.
A panel discussion will follow the film. Several local farms will have displays. Attendees can meet farmers, learn about their practices and sign up for CSA (community supported agriculture) shares.
Black Swamp Conservancy, a Northwest Ohio land conservation organization, is also bringing together three local experts to speak on the role of ecologically-responsible farming in our local food economy, including Michael Schiewer, owner and farmer of Herbaceous, Ltd.; Maureen Brogan, owner of The Original Sub Shop and Sean Fitzgerald, manager of Phoenix Earth Food Co-op. The discussion will be moderated by Danielle Kusner, CCA, an agronomist with The Andersons who leads their initiatives in organics and soil health.
For more info, visit www.blackswamp.org call 419-833-1025.

Clean Your Streams
Partners for Clean Streams announced the 23rd Annual Clean Your Streams Day will be held Saturday, Sept. 21. For more than 20 years, volunteers have gathered together on Clean Your Streams Day to remove trash from Lake Erie and the streams and rivers across the greater Toledo region.
Individuals of all ages, organizations, businesses and groups are invited to sign up for the unique service opportunity. Register online at http://partnersforcleanstreams.org/cys23/register through Sept. 13.
The cleanup will begin at 8 a.m. with a check-in, orientation and light breakfast. Groups will then be assigned a site where they will do the three-hour cleanup.
There are seven kickoff locations this year, including the Oregon Municipal Building, Middlegrounds Metropark, Three Meadows Park Shelter House, Side Cut Metropark, University of Toledo Law School, Olander Park Open Air Shelter and Monroe Street United Methodist Church.
By 9 a.m., volunteers will spread out to their assigned sites, all within the Ottawa River, Swan Creek, Maumee River and Lake Erie tributaries and Maumee Bay watersheds. For three hours, volunteers will collect as much trash as possible at their assigned sites and track the information on data cards.
After the cleanup is over, at 12:30 p.m., all volunteers are invited to celebrate at a Volunteer Appreciation Picnic, where they will be treated to a free lunch, thanked with a Clean Your Streams t-shirt, and provided cleanup results, door and raffle prizes, challenge awards, educational activities from partnering organizations, and more.
Clean Your Streams Day is part of the annual International Coastal Cleanup, during which hundreds of countries participate.