Rain Garden Workshops!

Have you been hearing a lot about rain gardens lately? Do you want to know more about them? Well here is your chance! The Mille Lacs lake Watershed Management Group will be holding two workshops on rain gardens this spring. The first workshop was held on March 24th and was a great success!  

The second workshop will take place on June 5th at the Milaca Public Library rain garden from 6 to 8pm. This will be a hands-on experience where you will learn native plant identification, rain garden planting techniques and care and maintenance of your rain garden. Shelley Larson, owner of Hayland Woods Native Nursery and Lynn Carter from the Mille Lacs SWCD will be the presenters. You can register for these FREE workshops by contacting Lynn Carter at the Mille Lacs SWCD at 320-983-2160. Registration is limited to 40 people, so register right away.

These workshops are a partnership between the Mille Lacs Lake Watershed Management Group, U of MN Extension, Mille Lacs SWCD and the Aitkin SWCD and are made possible by generous grants from the Mille Lacs Lake Electric Community Trust and ECE Operation RoundUp.

Over 35,000 Trees Are Being Planted in Mille Lacs County!

The Mille Lacs Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) recently held its annual spring conservation tree sale to encourage tree planting in Mille Lacs County for windbreaks and wildlife. The SWCD distributed 46,000 seedling trees to more than 400 customers at the end of April. Trees were also donated to the Cities of Milaca and Princeton.

Each year around January the SWCD begins to take tree orders on a first come, first serve basis, for trees that are distributed in April. The SWCD will help you choose the trees best suited for your needs. There are a number of conservation plans incorporating trees that can transform your land and allow it to support wildlife that add beauty and pleasure to our lives. Maybe you would choose the cover of a native White pine or spruce to fit your need, or possibly a fruiting tree like plum or chokecherry for their edible qualities.

The Mille Lacs SWCD would also like to thank the many landowners for their support of the conservation tree program by planting more than 35,000 trees in 2007.  If you would like to receive the tree order form, information or technical assistance, please contact the Mille Lacs Soil & Water Conservation District at (320) 983-2160.

REMEMBER: The Best Time To Plant A Tree Was 20 Years Ago. Today Is The Next Best Time.

The 13^th Annual Area III Envirothon was held in 2007 at YMCA Camp Miller in Sturgeon Lake MN on May 7, 2007. This is an environmental learning event held outdoors for high school students grades 9-12. The Soil and Water Districts from Area III sponsor the Envirothon. Area III includes the counties of Pine, Carlton, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Aitkin, St. Louis, Cook, and Lake.

Students attend five stations in which they are given a short presentation and complete 20 short-answer questions at each station. Envirothon 2007 stations included forestry, wildlife, water quality, soils, and a current events station in which the topic was Alternative/Renewable Energy. Students also attended a sixth station and give an oral presentation on the current events topic - Alternative/Renewable Energy.

The 2008 Envirothon will be held on May 5th at Camp Heartland in Willow River MN. This years oral presentation will be Recreational Impact on Natural Resources. Good luck to Isle High School! They will be sending 4 teams to compete in this years Envirothon. 

The Soil and Water Conservation Districts coordinate the Area III Envirothon and are always looking for volunteers to help with the event. Anyone who would like to donate funding, food, time, or supplies to this event is invited to call their local soil and water conservation district or the Envirothon Coordinators at the Pine SWCD office at (320) 384-7431 for more information. A thank you to goes out to the businesses that donated to this year's event.

Fifth Grade Conservation Education Days held at Rec Park in Milaca

Fifth grade students from Isle, Milaca, and Nay-Ah-Shing schools attended the annual conservation education day at Rec Park in Milaca on Thursday May 17th.  Presenters spoke to students about water safety, soils and water quality, wetland habitats, fisheries, trees, Lyme disease, wildlife and the water cycle. 

2008 5th Grade Conservation Day will be on May 15th at Rec Park in Milaca!

Call Lynn Carter at 320-983-2160 for more information

Mille Lacs Soil and Water Conservation District is an Equal Opportunity Employer