Elkhart County Soil and Water Conservation District

06/12/2026

Who wants some Native Plants?! 🌿

Our Native Plant Kits are back for the season, and they’re a great way to add beauty, support pollinators, and improve habitat right in your own backyard.

Each kit includes 50 native plant plugs selected for specific growing conditions such as sun, shade, prairie, rain gardens, and more. These plants are adapted to our local climate and soils and once established, they provide long-lasting color, wildlife habitat, and natural stormwater benefits.

All kits are $150 each and are available by pre-order only .Order deadline is August 21, 2026 and pickup will be September 2–4, 2026 from 8 AM – 4:30 PM at our office.

Available kits include:
🌼 Basic Prairie Garden Kit
🦋 Monarch Garden Kit
🌾 Prairie Grass Kit
🌧️ Rain Garden Kit
🌳 Shade Garden Kit

Availability is limited, so don’t wait too long to grab yours.

Order here: https://www.elkcoswcd.org/product/native-plant-kits/

Turn your yard into habitat, support pollinators, and help improve water quality—one kit at a time. 🌱🐝🌎

06/12/2026

Have you seen any of these algae blooms? They're toxic. They're from phosphorus and nitrogen entering the waterways from farm and residential runoff. But there is a way to help.

Read about what our next-door neighbors are doing and how you can reduce and prevent runoff from happening in our waters.

Harmful algal blooms make water unsafe to drink and swim in. Here's how farmers and residents can help preserve Michigan's water.

06/12/2026

06/12/2026

Out office is closed today due to a power outage. We apologize for the inconvenience. We’ll see you on Monday.

Be careful out there with the downed lines and trees. 💧 If you have some time over the weekend, check your local storm drains and make sure they’re clean from all the storm debris.

06/11/2026

📸 PHOTOGRAPHERS — it’s the perfect time to get your cameras out and start capturing the beauty of nature and our waters! 💧

The theme for the 2028/2029 Greater Elkhart County Stormwater Education Calendar is “Water + Community: Community Starts Upstream.”

Keep this theme in mind while exploring Elkhart County throughout the next year and capturing meaningful moments around water and community in every season. With the submission deadline not until August 6, 2027, there’s plenty of time to photograph all four seasons across the county’s waterways. 🍂❄️🌱☀️

We’re looking for photos of people interacting with water throughout Elkhart County, including moments like:

☀️ Warmer Months:
Kayaking, canoeing, fishing, swimming, jumping in puddles or streams, playing in the rain, nature walks, and more.

❄️ Cooler Months:
Cross-country skiing, ice fishing, playing in the snow, winter nature walks, and more.

🗓️ Photo submission deadline: August 6, 2027

Submit your photos and learn more here: https://www.elkcoswcd.org/stormwater-education-calendar-submit/

Questions? Call 574-523-2033.

06/10/2026

Leave No Trace! 🎣

🎣 Gone fishing! Keep the experience fun for everyone by not leaving anything behind when you are finished.

06/10/2026

🍎 Teachers: Turn Learning Into an Adventure This School Year! 🌱

Looking for a hands-on way to bring science, environmental education, agriculture, engineering, and stormwater concepts to life for your students?

Through the Stormwater Education Field Trip Incentive (SEFTI), Elkhart County teachers can receive funding for transportation costs to approved educational field trip sites focused on water resources and conservation. The program is available to accredited K-12 schools throughout Elkhart County and helps remove one of the biggest barriers to field-based learning—getting students there.

One exciting opportunity for middle and high school students is Pay Dirt IN-field 2026, taking place on August 27, 2026, at Hess Family Farm in Goshen. Through hands-on demonstrations and interactive learning stations, students will explore stormwater management, agriculture, construction, engineering, forestry and habitat management, conservation practices, and weather awareness. The event helps students connect classroom concepts to real-world careers while learning how natural resources, infrastructure, and land management work together to protect our communities and environment.

✅ Transportation costs covered through SEFTI
✅ Hands-on STEM and career-connected learning opportunities
✅ Real-world applications of environmental science, agriculture, forestry, engineering, construction, conservation, and weather awareness
✅ Interactive demonstrations led by industry and natural resource professionals
✅ Ideal for grades 6–12
✅ August 27, 2026

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Simply choose your field trip site, schedule with the host, submit your SEFTI application, and once approved, transportation costs will be billed directly to the program.

View all of the approved locations and start planning your next field trip 👉 https://www.elkcoswcd.org/education/stormwater-education-field-trip-incentive/

06/09/2026

Help the water....the environment...the earth. Adopt a stream, keep it clean of pollutants, and watch the environment thrive! 🐟

06/09/2026

Did you know?!? 🌱

Industrial farms abandon heavily contaminated topsoil — and the industry has never explained why.

But a flawless natural w**d already solved this — centuries before the industry existed.

Meet the forgotten phytoremediation method of the Byzantine Empire.

In the 10th century, the Geoponica encyclopedia detailed planting the resilient Bladder Campion.

Its cellular vacuoles actively trap and lock away heavy metals from the soil matrix.

This botanical workhorse literally vacuums toxins directly out of the choked dirt.

Modern experts claim poisoned land must be mechanically excavated at massive expense.

Deploying this plant transforms land from permanently CONTAMINATED to organically EXTRACTED.

Save this before you need it and it is gone from your feed.

They called it primitive. The records proved them wrong. Why did nobody tell you?

06/09/2026

🚧 From Heavy Rains to Dry Conditions: Why Temporary Construction Entrances Matter 🚧

If this spring has taught us anything, it's that weather conditions can change quickly. One week we're experiencing heavy rainfall that saturates soils and creates runoff concerns, and the next we're dealing with dry, dusty conditions. These weather swings can create challenges on construction sites, making it even more important to implement and maintain effective erosion and sediment control practices.

One simple but highly effective Best Management Practice (BMP) is the Temporary Construction Entrance.

A temporary construction entrance is a stabilized pad of aggregate stone installed where construction vehicles enter and exit a site. While it may seem like a small feature, it serves several important purposes that help protect water quality and neighboring properties.

Continue Reading 👉 https://www.elkcoswcd.org/from-heavy-rains-to-dry-conditions-why-temporary-construction-entrances-matter/