Anyone with privately owned land in Barton County may want to use the services of the Barton County Conservation District, Veronica Coons told members of the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce this week. Coons is district manager of BCCD.
This month, BCCD is conducting a nursery tree sale and helping prepare a new community garden.
BCCD is governed by an elected board of directors. It provides conservation technical assistance and financial resources for people who want to do conservation projects on their land. Staff can help landowners get conservation dollars.
“We have a state cost-share program (available through) conservation districts all throughout the state. We facilitate that with the Kansas State Division of Conservation. Right now we’re accepting applications for the 2027 fiscal year cost-share program. People can use that to put in some terraces and some grass waterways. If you don’t know what those are, when you drive around in the county and you see a field that looks like it has little stair steps, those are terraces. And if you see a swath of green going through them, that’s a grass waterway. Those are important because they help slow the movement of water, and so it keeps our soil where it needs to be, and our water clean and pure.”
BCCD also conducts outreach and education. There are field days and workshops for producers, where they can learn about traditional practices and new ones, such as cover-cropping programs or using composts and different kinds of bacteria and fungi. These practices have the potential to help producers reduce other inputs, such as fertilizer, she said.
When visiting schools, BCCD brings educational equipment such as the Soil Trailer and the Earth Balloon. The Soil Trailer is a walk-through exhibit offering a “worm’s-eye view” of what lies beneath the surface of the soil. The Earth Balloon is a walk-through inflated globe that is 19 feet tall and 17 feet wide.
“It was created with photographs taken from satellites; it’s exactly the way the Earth could look from outer space without the clouds.”
BCCD also offers tree-planting workshops for kids. This year in Barton County, it is providing scholarships for teachers to take classes with the Kansas Association of Conservation and Environmental Education (KACEE) to learn how to incorporate environmental and conservation education into their curriculum and meet state standards.
“Environmental education, getting outside, and outside classrooms is something you’re going to be hearing about a lot more going forward, I believe,” she said. “They’re finding that when kids have more opportunity to get outside and to interact with their environment, to get sunshine and do outdoor activities, that it helps reduce anxiety. And (anxiety) is one thing that a lot of kids are struggling with these days.”
BCCD partners with several other organizations, especially NRCS. They work with K-State Extension and its Master Gardeners program and are putting together a community garden at 17th and Stone Street in Great Bend. Last year, Larry and Marilyn Kopke donated the ground, which is currently being worked on. Sponsors are looking forward to a summer and fall garden. Profit from the nursery tree sale, going on through March 20, will go toward the garden.
Positive step in town
An audience member asked:
“What is something positive city residents can do for conservation?”
“Make sure that you’re protecting your water supply,” Coons said. “Be very careful when it comes time to do fertilizing of your lawn. A lot of times, people over-fertilize. And then when you have a big rain, your fertilizer can go into your sewer system.” Sometimes it makes it to Vets Lake, which contributed to a blue-green algae problem a few years ago.
Another suggestion: Clean up after your dog.
“When you take them for walks out in public, bring something to pick it up with.”
She also suggested gardeners make a point of looking for native flowers.
“Starting them from seed is a great idea. That way, you know for sure that they haven’t been treated with anything that will hurt the bees.”
