The Knox County SWCD has the privileged of working with Knox County’s farmers and landowners to insure the wise use of our natural resources. We undertake a variety of tasks in order to fulfill our mission, a few of which are listed below.
Irrigation management – The Wabash River floodplain and its adjacent uplands are dotted with an ever growing number of center pivot irrigation systems, and the farmers who use these systems expressed a desire to learn to use these systems more efficiently and effectively. In response, the SWCD partnered with Purdue Extension and local irrigation vendors to offer annual training workshops which have been attended by over 200 farmers to date. The SWCD also received a grant from the NRCS to offer cost share to farmers who wanted to improve the efficiency of their irrigation systems and to learn to effectively schedule the timing of water applications.
Rain gardens – The SWCD has worked with businesses and non-profit organizations in the Vincennes area to promote and install rain gardens. A Clean Water Indiana grant provided cost share funds for rain gardens on several public properties, and several homeowners in Vincennes installed rain gardens in yards and swales.
Multi county projects – The SWCD partnered with the Pike County and Daviess County SWCDs to hire a part time conservation technician to help with the workload related to the Farm Bill conservation programs.
Partnerships – The SWCD has partnered with several organizations to promote stewardship and get conservation practices installed. Our partners include: The Vincennes YMCA, Vincennes University, the Knox County Community Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Vincennes Water Utilities, The Original Company, the Knox County Fair Board, and various agencies of Knox County government.
Internships – Vincennes University has provided partial funding for twelve internships over the past few years which have provided much needed summer help for projects that otherwise would not have been done. Interns have completed a water quality survey of the entire county, performed an inventory of invasive plant species in the county, conducted CRP status reviews, provided educational opportunities for children and adults, and other activities.