Volunteers Make 14th Annual Hardy Lake Sweep a Great Success!
On Saturday, April 25th, Jefferson and Scott County Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) at Hardy Lake hosted the 14th Annual Hardy Lake Sweep. There were over 150 volunteers who braved the weather and donated their morning to picking up waste and debris in and around the watershed area of Hardy Lake State Reservoir.
Volunteers came cheerful, enthusiastic and ready to work. There were numerous Scout groups, community and 4-H groups, as well as individuals and families. The volunteers spent the morning picking up tons of trash and put in over 600 hours of volunteer time worth about $13,119.00. Around 1,500 pounds of trash was collected. The volunteers received a bandana, commemorative patch, (donated by Jefferson County SWCD) lunch (donated by Scott County SWCD) and a free night of camping (donated by Hardy Lake DNR).
Big-hearted support came from the many sponsors of this year’s event. Pepsi Cola donated cases of soda and water. Scott County SWCD provided lunch from Pioneer Village. Thanks to the great team at Pioneer Village for taking time out of their day to bring the food to us and then distribute it. VIP Waste donated their truck and time to pick up all of the trash bags and dispose of them!
Financial donations were provided by Hardy Lake Friends, Jennings Township Conservation Club, Scott County Visitors Commission, Scott County Community Foundation, The Scottsburg Kiwanis and Doug and Janice Stanley.
Jefferson County Fair
Every year in July, the SWCD sets up in their pavilion at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. This provides a great opportunity for outreach and to give information on the services the district provides, current events, equipment rental, and district highlights to the public. The district provided free conservation literature. Each day at the fair, the public got to meet and talk with a different SWCD supervisor.
This year Hubbard Farms and Anderson Sales and Services came together to sponsor chainsaw carver, Brian Christman.
Thank you to those professionals who came out and talked with local landowners about their professions. There were representatives from; Crop Production Services, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, US Fish and Wildlife, Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge, Indiana State Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Services, and many more.
This year’s intern, Jessica Cain, also set up lots of hands-on activities and hands-on displays for both the adults and children. She had barrels of corn, soybeans, wheat, and oats so that people could see what the seeds looked like. She also grew each of the plants so that people could see what they looked like up close rather than out in the field. It turned out great!