Soil and Water Stewardship Week
“Local Heroes – Your Hardworking Pollinators” is the theme for the 60th Anniversary of Soil and Water Stewardship Week (April 26-May 3).
Pollinators are an important part of our community. While many pollinators may seem like just annoying insects, they are actually a very important part of the web of life upon which we all depend. Pollinators form the underpinning of a healthy and sustainable future for food and the environment, but they have shown disturbing signs of decline in recent years. When pollinators shrink in number, many plants either produce less seed or no seed at all. The bottom line is, when pollinators start disappearing, plants start disappearing. Most plants depend upon pollinators to reproduce. Animals can travel and move around to find mates and reproduce, but plants are rooted to one spot. Therefore, plants depend on pollinators to move pollen from their anthers to their stigma. On planet Earth there are more than 100,000 species of insects, including bees, flies, moths, butterflies and beetles that work hard as pollinators. There are also over 1,000 species of other animals such as birds, reptiles and mammals, including bats that pollinate plants.”
The Madison SWCD celebrated Stewardship Week by presenting this year’s theme as an educational poster contest for the county’s fourth grade students. The Fredericktown and Marquand-Zion school districts and the local University Extension assisted with time and materials to provide students with some insight to their “Hardworking Pollinators.”
In addition to educational presentations, the Madison SWCD can also provide technical and financial assistance for natural resource concerns through the State Soil and Water Cost-Share Program. Support is available for protecting and enhancing soil and water resources on agricultural property located within the county. Qualified properties and landowners can receive assistance with fencing, grazing management, timber management, pasture improvement, erosion control, water quality and stream protection projects.
Landowners are welcome to contact the Madison SWCD by calling 573-783-5291 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday-Thursday or by stopping by the office at 600 E. Main (inside the old Brown Shoe building) in Fredericktown.
