Goings on at the Oconee Soil And Water Conservation District.

 

A special visitor to the office, a juvenile great horned owl was reported abandoned in the Sumter National Forest.  The little fellow was rescued and brought to our office, where we immediately contacted the Foothills Animal Rehab unit, being late in the afternoon office personnel were indoctrinated into temp rehab until "Philmore" could be handed over to the rescue unit the next day.  DNR officers saw that the little fellow got safely into the hands of rehab officials and after his visit there where he was nursed until fully fledged and capable of caring for himself , he was returned to the wild.

Dynamite Farms hosted a farm day for Tamassee Salem Elementary School in May.  The children learned about farm practices from passed eras.  There were demonstrations on horse drawn implements, a sheep dog herding sheep, horse drawn wagon rides, mowing, and the kids in the top picture are hand grinding scratch feed and corn meal.  They also had to shuck their own corn before grinding.  OSWCD is partnering with the South Carolina Heritage Corridor to promote farm tours in which participants from other areas of the state may come in and visit working farms.  If any producer would be interested in hosting part of this program we encourage you to contact the Oconee office.
PROGRAM DEADLINES

FSA
                                                               


NRCS

Deadline to apply for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) is September 30, 2011.




CALENDAR OF EVENTS

The 6th Annual Celebartion of Agriculture Banquet will be held on October 13 in the South Union Baptist fellowship Hall.

Upstate Heritage Fair will be held October 4-9 2011@ the county commerce park on Highway 59 just north of Fairplay South Carolina

The Oconee Soil and Water District monthly meetings are every first Thursday of the month and open to the public.

   *For persons requiring accommodations such as sign language interpreters, Braille, Large Print or Alternative Formats - please contact Ann Herron at 638-2213, Ext. 101 at least seven days prior to board meeting date.

 

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Our efforts to convert the Oak Grove School House to an agricultural learning center are continuing.  Another successful Fish Fry Event in May built awareness and continued to gather support for the project.  This year's fish fry included plenty of delicious fish and sides and music from Four Mule Pile Up and Conservation Theory.  It was a family reunion atmosphere as folks continued to hang around and discuss events and the project.

We still need your support!!

 In order for this project to become a reality we will need major fundraising efforts.  In doing so we truly need community support behind us, the people of the agricultural community, so this can become a reality.  Our plans include refurbishment of the 100 year old historic school house to be used as a meeting and education area, an interactive planting area for heirloom crops and a living farmstead area that could draw tourists as well as be a tremendous education tool teaching the importance of local farming practices on the community.  It is truly up to all of us in the farming, conservation, and preservation areas to reverse the trend of moving away from the land.  The loss of the knowledge of farming and what it should do locally for every community is a sad statement on the path we have taken as humans.  If we do not try to help in the reversal of this trend there will be certainly no one else who will take up the flag.  Through this and other conservation minded projects it is our hope that life with and from the Earth can take its place once again in the forefront of sustainable living.

Oconee Soil and Water Has a New District Manager

Eddie Martin is the new district manager for the Oconee Soil and Water Conservation District.  Mr. Martin has a long history of conservation and preservation concern.  His loyalty to the rural aspects of Oconee county are well documented.  He is a founder of Oconee Preservation Unlimited Stewardship Trust, a non-profit agency organized in 2004 to promote and protect the forests, woodlands, waterways, wildlife, and working farmlands of Oconee and Pickens counties. He also leads two working bands named after his preservation leanings.  One is an Americana/Bluegrass outfit called Conservation Theory.  The other is a bluegrass/old time gospel ensemble known as God's Garden.  Though these musical outlets he continues to promote Care for the Earth and conservation practices to all who visit the live concerts the bands participate in.  If you need a musical stewardship program for any type meeting, gathering or church service, please contact him. 

Conservation of the land and the preservation of local farming and rural areas are of the utmost importance to this office.  Mr. Martin will continue to uphold the high standards set forth by the Oconee Conservation District and welcomes you with any problems or concerns you may have. 

 

Conservation Theory playing for a Heritage Corridor media tour of farms and natural places in the upstate.

Preserving Historic
Oak Grove School

OGS Pic

 

 

 










                     Oconee Soil and Water                              Conservation District

 

Awards Scholarship

The Oconee Soil and Water Conservation District is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2010 George C. Grobusky Natural Resources Scholarship.   Keegan Bodiford of Walhalla High School is this years recipient.  Mr. Bodiford will study environmental science at Lander University this fall.

 Keegan is an avid outdoorsman and has a keen interest in the health of the environment.  At Walhalla high he played soccer and enjoys kayaking, hiking. mountain biking and has served as a lifeguard at the Oconee State Park.  He received a Palmetto Fellowship and a Lander Academic award for his scholastic performance.  The Oconee Soil and Water Conservation District is proud be able to offer this scholarship to our deserving students.

 The scholarship was created in memory of George C. Grobusky, who served as Commissioner of the Oconee Soil and Water Conservation District Board for over three decades.  During this time Mr. Grobusky held the position of chairman for twenty-nine years.  He was always “on the job” as an advocate for the protection of our natural resources.