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Projects & Programs

The 2020 edition of the water weed guide includes 18 aquatic weeds of concern for Benton County and their native and non-native look-alikes.

Can information from the soil explain why some prairie restoration efforts are more successful than others? In 2016, the Prairie Soils for Sustainable Restoration project set out to find the answer, thanks to funding from Oregon Natural Resources Conservation Service.

2017 was an exceptional year of Integrated Biological Pest Management (IBPM) education thanks to USDA Risk Management Education Partnerships Program funding and the leadership of Gwendolyn Ellen.

Here is a summary of the Watershed Council efforts Benton SWCD has supported when our budget allows.   Year Watershed Council Project Summary Amount Funded 2021 Luckiamute The funds will support staff time to plan and deliver a variety of Love Your Watershed Program events in 2021. The LWC also anticipates that many of the

Since the coronavirus pandemic curtailed our ability to offer most in-person volunteer events, tours, workshops, talks, and other educational programming, Benton SWCD began sending out a weekly e-news to help us stay in touch. Here is a table with links to each of the e-news we’ve sent during the first year of the pandemic, from

Here is a summary of the invasive species control grants we have funded. Find out more here. Fiscal Year Recipient Invasive Species Amount Funded 19-20 Julia Bradshaw Invasive Blackberries $115.00 19-20 Jenny Brausch Japanese Knotweed $115.00 19-20 Jeremy Conyac Japanese Knotweed $115.00

Here is a summary of the Summer Ag Institute Scholarships we have awarded since 2011. We only fund educators who work in Benton County for Session 1 of Oregon Agriculture In the Classroom’s Summer Ag Institute, which takes place in the summer. Year School/Organization Teacher 2019 Summer Ag Institute General Program Sponsorship 2018 Crescent Valley

Here is a summary of the conservation education grants we have funded since 2007.   School Year School/Organization Project Amount Funded 19-20 Cascade Pacific RC&D/ Garfield/Lincoln Willamette Laja Twinning Youth Education Aves Compartidas $1,000.00 19-20 Inst. for Applied Ecology/ Garfield/Lincoln Willamette Laja Twinning Youth Education Aves Compartidas $996.50 19-20 Adams Elementary School Garden $342.99 19-20

From 2019 to 2021, Benton SWCD is focusing our native plant outreach on birds and the actions we can take to support them. Some of the important services birds provide include: Birds control pests – birds eat millions of tons of insects every year including mosquitoes and agricultural pests. Birds pollinate plants – some of

In the north Pacific, the Blob returned in 2019.

Wapato Harvesting for Planting at Collins Bay   On a dry day in late summer, Benton SWCD’s Holly Crosson and Melissa Lemein along with myself, an OSU student volunteer, went to local landowner Marvin Gilmour’s farm to harvest wapato (Sagittaria latifolia) tubers for future planting at Collins Bay. Collins Bay is a side-channel of the

We offer you a butterfly garden design to get your creative juices flowing.