Curious about what we have planned for 2025? Our Calendar of Events is packed with exciting opportunities to learn, connect, and get involved. Click to see what’s in store for this year!
January and February Events
For our full list of upcoming events – including Board Supervisor meetings – go to our calendar by following the link at the bottom of this page.
Our Full Calendar of Events
As we step into 2025, our team is excited to share goals and resolutions that will guide our efforts throughout the year.
As we step into 2025, our team is excited to share goals and resolutions that will guide our efforts throughout the year. Each team member has set their sight on impactful initiatives designed to protect natural resources, support local landowners, enhance community engagement, and promote environmental stewardship. These resolutions reflect our shared commitment to making a positive difference in our county and beyond. Here’s a look at just some of what we aim to accomplish this year.
In 2025 Matt hopes to strengthen our district’s impact by fostering new partnerships and growing existing programs that protect our natural resources.
In 2025 Zoe hopes to organize two impactful events focused on promoting stormwater management and environmental stewardship, with a particular emphasis on engaging MS4 communities.
In 2025 Sam is going to continue to focus on commercial stormwater permits. This includes catching up on our backlog of commercial pipeline inspections. In 2024 we inspected over 40 pipeline projects that had previously been issued stormwater permits. Most of these projects are in remote locations that aren’t always easily accessible or easy to find.
In 2025 Jordan is going to revamp the Rain Garden and Rain Barrel presentation for the annual Rain Garden and Rain Barrel workshop.
In 2025 Matt would like to host an Agriculture Pollution Abatement Program (APAP) hog manure workshop to teach proper manure application techniques and promote sustainable farming practices.
In 2025 Theresa wants to learn more about social media and embrace her creative side.
In 2025 Rachel would like to offer a landowner class in Richland County related to treating invasive species in perennial landscapes.
Solutions for autumn 2024 and new winter puzzles!
On September 26th the Richland Soil & Water Conservation District held its Annual Celebration at the Hawkins Center in Ontario (at the Area Agency on Aging). Our Annual Celebration has historically been held in the evenings, but this was the first time it was held as a luncheon. It was a wonderful, event-packed time…
Annual meetings or celebrations are where Soil & Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) share accomplishments, provide updates, recognize hard work, and meet the community. Additionally, annual meetings offer a time and space to hold elections for the Board of Supervisors that oversees the Districts.
On September 26th the Richland Soil & Water Conservation District held its Annual Celebration at the Hawkins Center in Ontario (at the Area Agency on Aging). Our Annual Celebration has historically been held in the evenings, but this was the first time it was held as a luncheon. It was a wonderful, event-packed time.
Our staff started the afternoon by updating attendees on our various programs and all the hard work they did this past year. Programs covered included: the volunteer program; the Stormwater Permit program; the MS4/NPDES permit; agriculture pollution abatement; H2Ohio; Farmland Preservation, and more.
We also recognize a Cooperator of the Year every year: an individual, group of individuals, or entity who exhibits exceptional conservation in the County. Neil and Pam McKown of Watershed Ranch were recognized as the 2024 Richland SWCD Cooperator of the Year. Since the McKowns bought their farm they have transformed it into a paradise by implementing many conservation practices.
In addition to a Cooperator of the Year, we recognize a Volunteer of the Year. Bob Donaldson of Mansfield received the award this year. Bob is one of our rain gauge monitors, but he also made a big difference this past year by sharing his Microsoft Excel expertise with us. By doing so he helped us improve and update many of our organizational spreadsheets. Our workflows and data-capturing are now more efficient and organized thanks to Bob! As a “thank you” for his contribution, a Black Gum tree was planted in his honor in Centennial Park, Lexington.
This year’s supervisor election featured two open seats. Existing Board member, Lanny Hopkins, decided not to run for reelection while existing member, Jean McClintock, ran for reelection. Pam McKown ran for the other vacant seat. After tallying the votes, Jean was reelected and Pam McKown was elected to her first term. Terms run for 3 years and begin in January.
Lanny Hopkins has served on the board since 2018, serving two terms, and has decided to step down. Lanny was most passionate about Black Fork clean-up/log jam removal and continues to work on the initiative. He was presented with a service award as a small token of our appreciation.
If you attended our Annual Celebration, thank you so much! If not, maybe we will see you there next year!
Don’t miss these special announcements and reminders for Autumn, 2024!
The Richland County Foundation Gift of Grain Fund Committee has awarded a grant to support Richland SWCD. The grant will fund a collaborative project called Cultivating Minds that brings together Richland SWCD, Richland County Farm Bureau, and the Mansfield Richland County Public Library. It will provide three agricultural and environmental literacy kits to every elementary school in Richland County and at the Mansfield-Richland County Public Library’s main branch.
The goal is to teach elementary youth about agriculture, food, and natural resources. The agricultural kits include a children’s book, a teacher’s guide, and all items needed for a classroom activity. A total of 75 kits will be distributed throughout the county. Many thanks to the Richland County Foundation for making this possible!
Richland Soil and Water Conservation District (Richland SWCD) has served Richland County landowners since 1948—that’s 76 years! However, we have not made it this far without help.
Richland Gives is a local online giving campaign held once a year. It encourages people to contribute to local non-profits. The Richland County Foundation hosts this campaign to grow philanthropy and strengthen the community.
Thanks to generous, past donors, Richland SWCD has benefited from Richland Gives. We have turned some donations into grants for soil testing, rain barrels, and native seeds and plants. Donors like you can help us continue to provide a wide range of services – both technical and educational – to the residents of Richland County and conserve our natural resources.
For more information, see the infographic or click the link below to the Richland Foundation. To give to Richland SWCD through the Richland Gives website, click on the GIVE link.
Highlighted upcoming events for October through January!
Highlighted upcoming events for October, November, December, and January
For our full list of upcoming events – including Board Supervisor meetings – go to our calendar by following the link at the bottom of this page!
Fri, Oct. 18 & Sat, Oct. 19 @ 4:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Come find our booth on the first two days of this event for some Halloween fun!
Admission is required for Kingwood’s event.
Mon. Nov. 18 @ 7:00 am to Tue. Dec. 3 @ 6:59 am
Richland Gives is a local online giving campaign held once a year. It encourages people to contribute to local non-profits. Thanks to previous generous donors, Richland SWCD has benefited from this campaign.
Want to donate to Richland SWCD or learn how to maximize your donation? See the links below!
Wed. Nov. 13 @ 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Cancelled: Stupendous Soils Open House
Join us for some soil-themed fun for the whole family! Learn about soil health, watch out for hanging undies, and eat dirt (pudding)!
The event is FREE and will be held at the Longview Center – 1495 W. Longview Ave, Mansfield. Contact us for more information.
Tue. Dec. 3 @ 7:00 am – 7:00 pm
Richland Gives is a local online giving campaign held once a year. It encourages people to contribute to local non-profits. Thanks to previous generous donors, Richland SWCD has benefited from this campaign.
Want to donate to Richland SWCD or learn how to maximize your donation? See the links below!
Matt has lived in the Richland County area his whole life, attending college at Ashland University and Wooster ATI, completing a degree in Environmental Resource Management in 1998…
Matt has lived in the Richland County area his whole life, attending college at Ashland University and Wooster ATI, completing a degree in Environmental Resource Management in 1998. “I knew I wanted something to do with the environment; I always liked the outdoors, and nature.” After completing an internship with Richland Soil & Water Conservation District (Richland SWCD) in 1997 Matt began his Soil and Water Conservation career in Crawford County as a Technician. He joined Richland Soil and Water Conservation District as a Technician in 2000, staying for 17 years.
Matt began his new role as Director on May 6 and says his favorite part of the job is passing on conservation knowledge to the community “The ability to pass on the ideas and principles of what conservation means, its importance, and explaining the primary principles of conservation is what I enjoy most.”
As the Director of Richland SWCD, Matt envisions a busy and bright future for the district. “I foresee many issues in the county are only going to become more focused and important. Agriculture is still a big part of Richland County, and development is going to continue to increase. Anytime new impervious areas are developed, water has a chance to get into the streams faster. It’s important for us to work with new (stormwater) applicants before construction begins to ensure water run-off stays on their property and is absorbed into the soil as much as possible.”
If you would like to reach out to Matt and welcome him in his new role, he is available by phone at 419-747-8684, or email him at the link below!
Matt is excited to continue the mission of assisting the citizens of Richland County in protecting and improving the County’s natural resources.
Here at Richland Soil & Water Conservation District (Richland SWCD), we often have interns helping us out in various areas. This summer we are pleased to announce that we have three!
Here at Richland Soil & Water Conservation District (Richland SWCD), we often have interns helping us out in various areas. This summer we are pleased to announce that we have three! We are very thankful to the Richland County Foundation Fran and Warren Rupp Fund for the grant to fund these positions! It is appreciated!
Julian is our in-office summer intern for 2024. He was born and raised here in Mansfield and graduated from Pioneer Career and Technology Center in Shelby, OH, in 2014 with a certification in carpentry. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s of English at The Ohio State University at Mansfield.
He is assisting Richland SWCD with special events, videography, and photography.
During his free time, he enjoys hiking, spending time with family and friends, reading, and watching a good movie. He is passionate about environmental health.
We are thrilled to welcome Mackenzie back to the team this summer! Mackenzie interned with us last summer, and is returning again as a Communications Intern, focusing on our social media accounts and graphic design.
She will graduate from Miami University later this year with a Bachelor’s in Strategic Communication.
We are happy to welcome Anna Rozic to the team this summer! Anna will assist Evan with podcast editing. She joins us from Kent State University, where she is an upcoming senior majoring in Digital Media Production.
Anna has a passion for writing and filmmaking, and she currently serves as the president of the Kent State Writers Room.
Hello readers!
Welcome to Richland Soil & Water Conservation District’s (Richland SWCD’s) brand new blog! We have been working hard with DRM (who helped us to create our new website) on this new platform which allows us to post our newsletter and other informative articles as a “blog”.
Hello readers!
Welcome to Richland Soil & Water Conservation District’s (Richland SWCD’s) brand new blog! We have been working hard with DRM (who helped us to create our new website) on this new platform which allows us to post our newsletter and other informative articles as a “blog”.
Our newsletter will live here from now on. Don’t worry, you will still get an email from us every quarter letting you know that our newsletter has been published.
Read on to learn how to navigate the site (with some helpful screenshots)!
If you want to get to our blog from our website’s main page, select the new “News” tab at the top of the screen.
Once on the “News” page, you can see a dozen or so of the most recent articles. Click on the article’s title to view each article.
If you want to filter what you see on the news page, or want to explore the article archive, you can open the “Filter News” drop down and pick a category or a specific newsletter to see the articles tagged under each. For example, select “Newsletter: Summer 2024” to see articles from that one issue.
Additionally, you can select the category or newsletter “tags” under the header of each article to similarly filter the news page.
Another neat feature: recent blog articles with a unique category “tag”, like “stormwater” or “agriculture” will pop up on their respective pages on our website. See below for a view of our Agriculture page.
If you have any questions or comments on the new blog, please let us know!
July | August | September | October
For our full list of upcoming events, click on the link to our calendar at the bottom of this page!
July | August | September | October
For our full list of upcoming events, click on the link to our calendar at the bottom of this page!
Pastures for Profit Grazing School Series
Lecture Session #1: Tue. July 23 @ 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Lecture Session #2: Thu. July 25 @ 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Pasture Walk (Session #3): Sat. July 27 @ 9:00 am – 2:00 pm
$30 per person covers all 3 days. Registration is requested by July 19.
Mon. Aug. 5 – Fri. Aug 9 @ 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Richland SWCD Booth at the Richland County Fair
Come visit us at the Nature Park!
Wed. Aug. 28 – Wed. Sept. 25 – Voting open during Richland Soil & Water Conservation District’s business hours of 8:00 am – 4:00 pm, Mon. – Fri. and at the Annual Celebration September 26 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Board Supervisor Elections
Richland Soil & Water Conservation District is under a five-person, publicly elected, supervisory board. Board members serve three-year terms. Richland County residents who are at least 18 and live or own land within the County are eligible to vote in this special general election.
Thu. Sept. 26 @ 11:30 am
Richland SWCD’s Annual Celebration!
Come join us as we celebrate conservation in Richland County and the work we accomplished this past year with our partners and supporters.
$20 a person at Area Agency on Aging – 2131 Park Avenue West, Ontario.
Tue. Oct. 8 @ 6: 00 pm – 8:00 pm
Conservation Creation Arts & Crafts Workshop: Buckeye Beauties
$12 a person; Gorman Nature Center
