Reaching the Community Through Public Projects and Presentations
The Okanogan Conservation District is actively involved in the community throughout the county.  Each OCD educational program is open to the public, free, and everyone is welcome to attend.  Different projects are geared towards different age groups, so there is something for the whole family.  These presentations are not only educational and informative, but a wonderful learning experience as most are “hands on”.  Often times there are brochures and pamphlets for you to take home to remind you of what you have learned and for you to pass on to other interested persons.  Below are the community outreach programs we offer:

Storm Drain Stenciling Project
The Okanogan Conservation District is working with youth volunteers to mark street storm drains with the message “Dump No Waste: Drains to Stream” or “Keep It Clean: Drains to River”.  This message is a reminder that when oil, paint, soap or other toxic items enter storm drains, they will be carried to a local stream or river causing pollution problems for humans, fish, and wildlife.  In addition since some storm drains allow pollutants to seep into the ground, this puts our drinking water at risk.  Our volunteers are helping spread this message by assisting us in stenciling neighborhood storm drains.

Firewise
Firewise is an educational program by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR).  The Okanogan Conservation District received funding from Title III to assist in bringing Firewise workshops to Okanogan County.  With this funding, we are able to host three training workshops to educate landowners on creating defensible space on their property in order to protect them from wildfires.  This space, also referred to as a green zone, is a large buffer of irrigated vegetation surrounding the house.  If creating a green zone is not possible for you, the chances of wildfire reaching your home can be reduced by thinning the surrounding forest and protecting your home.  Thinning is to eliminate ladder fuels, which are characterized by stair-step vegetation that allows fire to get from the ground to tree tops. Protecting your home includes stacking your wood pile away from the house, keeping tree branches away from the roof and keeping your gutters and under decks clear of leaves and pine needles.  These presentations are free to the public.  To find out when the next workshop will be conducted, give us a call at (509) 422-0855 ext. 5.  Come learn more ways to protect your home from wildfire.              

Fair Booth

Every year at the Okanogan County Fair, the Okanogan Conservation District puts up a booth in the Agri-plex building.  The OCD has a number of displays describing and showing what we do and offer.  Our watershed display is a big hit with the kids.  Last year there was also a soil moisture display.  Placed into moist soil were two different types of tensiometers.  Folks were then able to see how they work, measuring the amount of moisture in the given soil.  This display fit very well with the Irrigation Water Management (IWM) program we offer.  Along with IWM, we set up Pest and Nutrient Management program displays.  Other displays included Livestock and Water Sampling programs and projects.  Every year OCD displays some of the plants offered at the annual plant sale along with pictures and descriptions of the plants we sell.  Plant sale brochures, which include the order form and the collective list of plants, are available at this time.  Be sure to pick up a free bag of goodies when you stop by to say hello.      

Plant Sale
Every fall, a plant sale brochure is sent out to everyone on our current mailing list.  Included in the brochure are an order form to be filled out and our plant listing, with 20 different conservation grade native plant species.  Each plant is accompanied by two colored pictures (distance and close-up shots) and a short description.  These brochures are also available at the OCD office.  There is a surplus of plants at the plant sale and you are more than welcome to stop by and see what we have.  However, we may not have what you want or the quantity that you want, so order early.  For more information, check out the Plant Sale link.  

6th Grade Camps
Every year in May, Laura Clark from the Okanogan Conservation District attends two 6th grade camps (Camps Disautel and Progress) as a presenter.  She has attended a couple of other local camps as well.      

The topic she covers at camp is “What is a Watershed?”.  Kids are taught what the watershed is and how it works.  There is a demonstration at the end where the kids can get involved in a “hands on” activity showing how the watershed works.  The kids take home a knowledge of the size of the watershed, how it works, its purpose, and why it is so important not to pollute the streams and lakes and how pollution affects everything and everyone in the vicinity and downstream. 

Washington State Envirothon
The Envirothon is a problem solving, natural resource team competition for high school students.  Teams of five students are challenged to sharpen critical thinking skills and work as a team to both answer written questions and conduct hands-on investigations of environmental issues in five categories:  water, soil, forestry, wildlife and a current environmental issue.  A sixth component integrates all five test categories and requires teams to use an interdisciplinary approach by giving an oral presentation on a current environmental issue.  Local/regional competitions are conducted.  The highest scoring team from each county then has the opportunity to compete in the Washington State Envirothon.  The winner of the Washington State Envirothon then competes with the winning teams from 50 states and Canadian provinces at the Canon Envirothon.  Schools, teachers, and students are encouraged to contact their local Conservation District for additional information. 

Newsletter
Every quarter the Okanogan Conservation District puts out a newsletter.  There is a total circulation of over 1,000 copies countywide.  The newsletter highlights the districts work accomplishments, as well as that of our cooperators, conservation articles which we hope you find helpful as you apply your conservation ideas, OCD’s calendar of events, an activities page for the kids, and currently available programs offering technical and potentially financial assistance. Visit the "news" section to view the current newsletter.