Washtenaw County Conservation District to Recognize Two Local Farmers at Annual Meeting

The Annual Meeting of the Washtenaw County Conservation District will recognize the conservation work of two local Manchester Area farmers. The Conservation District’s 67^th Annual Meeting, will be held Thursday, January 15, 2015, 6:30 p.m. at the Washtenaw County Farm Council Grounds, 5055 Ann Arbor-Saline Road.  The public is welcome to attend.

The “Walter Wolfgang Memorial” Conservation Farmer of the Year Award will be presented to Blumenauer Farms of Sharon Township, and the Tree Conservationist Award will be presented to the Renner Family of Bridgewater Township.

The Blumenauers are being recognized for their conservation farming efforts—including no-till; grid soil testing and variable rate fertilizer application, cover crops and construction of an agrichemical handling building.

The Renners are being recognized for excellent tree planting efforts—including planting approximately 4,600 trees since the first Conservation District tree sale in 1969, and their overall stewardship ethic.

In addition to the awards, there will be an informational program about post Ice Age Michigan.

Naturalist Dan Farmer will present an interesting and informative program, “After the Glaciers, Life in a Changing Michigan”

The program about Michigan’s past will emphasize Native American cultures, some discussion of geology, vegetation and wildlife as the climate warmed from glacier to the present day—and the peoples that survived and thrived here.

Mr. Farmer has been a naturalist in Michigan for most of the last 35 years with a stint as the assistant director of the Central Michigan University Science and Math Center, and as an adjunct professor at Wayne State University where he designed and taught graduate level courses on outdoor and hands-on science.

A buffet dinner will open the District Annual Meeting.  Donations for dinner are $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for children 12 and under.  Reservations are needed for the dinner and should be made by January 12, 2015.  To make reservations, call the District Office at: (734) 761-6721 extension 5.  Payment can be made at the door the night of the meeting.

Program reports on 2014 accomplishments and a door prize drawing will also be included in the meeting program.

For more information about the Conservation District annual meeting, or to make dinner reservations (deadline is January 12^th), call the District Office at: (734) 761-6721 extension 5.

The Washtenaw County Conservation District is a local unit of state government, assisting private landowners, businesses and others, with management of their natural resources in Washtenaw County.  The District works cooperatively with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.  This District is an equal opportunity provider and employer.  Information on the Conservation District is available on-line at www.washtenawcd.org .

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by Fritz Swanson

Fritz Swanson has written for The Believer, the Christian Science Monitor, Print Magazine, McSweeney's, Esopus, LSA Magazine, and The Mid-American Review. He serves as a trustee on the Manchester District Library Board. He's the designer and publisher of The Manchester Mirror.

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