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Dave Heineman, GovernorBoard of TrusteesDistrict I |
Both Boys’ and Girls’ State Basketball Playoffs went off this year without a severe weather event in Lincoln, but I’m sure we are not out of the woods yet. The waterfowl and crane migrations are in full swing in central Nebraska and folks from around the world are enjoying this spectacular event. The Legislature is at about the mid-point of their 90 day session with June 4th scheduled as their last day this year. There are many bills concerning natural resources this session, including several on wind energy. The Trust will be holding a forum this summer in Kearney to discuss our funding categories. Every five years the Trust develops funding categories with public input. The Trust board focuses on areas which “promise the greatest opportunities for effective action to achieve and preserve the future environmental quality in the state.” More details will be announced in the near future on the funding categories and public input. We will also be hosting Grantee Seminars across the state, so if you are receiving a grant, we’d love to have you attend one of the events. Watch the mail for your invitation. Mark Brohman
The Trust will run its series of Grantee Seminars in the month of April at four different locations. Following are details of the Grantee Seminars: - Monday, April 6, 2009 - Grantee Seminar, Lincoln, Lincoln's Women's Club. (9:15am - 1:30pm) - Wednesday, April 8, 2009 - Grantee Seminar, Grand Island, Central Platte NRD. (9:30am - 1:30pm) - Friday, April 10, 2009 - Grantee Seminar, Norfolk, Lower Elkhorn NRD. (11:30am - 3pm) - Monday, April 13, 2009 - Grantee Seminar, North Platte, Mid-Plains Community College. (11:30am - 3pm)
(Article and Photo submitted by Amanda Meder, City of Lincoln)
(An example of a rain garden) A new type of gardening is beginning to grow in popularity. This new method improves water quality, doesn’t require additional watering or fertilizers, incorporates native plants, and looks beautiful. What is it, you ask? A rain garden! A rain garden is a garden of native shrubs, perennials, and flowers planted in a small depression, which is generally formed on a natural slope. It is designed to temporarily hold and soak in stormwater runoff that flows from roof tops, driveways, patios or lawns. Rain gardens are effective in removing up to 90% of nutrients and chemicals and up to 80% of sediments from the stormwater runoff. Many cities throughout the country, including Omaha and Lincoln, NE, are encouraging residents to install rain gardens on their properties to help improve water quality in our local creeks, streams, and lakes. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that pollutants in stormwater runoff (or non-point source pollution) are responsible for about 70% of all water pollution in lakes, rivers, and creeks. EPA requires all major cities and some small municipalities to reduce pollutants in stormwater runoff. Since most property is privately owned- we all need to do our part to reduce this type of pollution. This includes properly disposing of household waste (i.e. automotive oil, paint), reducing fertilizer and pesticide use, picking up after your dog, and managing rainwater. Most of the time, more could be done to keep rainwater from flowing from your property during a rainstorm and picking up pollutants along the way to the stormdrain and eventually carry the now polluted water from yards to our local creeks, streams, and lakes However, there are effective and beneficial ways of managing stormwater runoff on your property — one of those methods is with a rain garden.
Rain Garden (before)
Rain Garden (after) The major difference between a rain garden and a regular flower garden is that the bed of a rain garden is planted as a depression rather than in a mound or at ground level. Additionally, rain gardens incorporate mostly native plants that easily adapt to the soil and water conditions in your area. Installing a rain garden is relatively easy, takes few tools, and takes so little time it can become a Saturday morning project. The most important part of installing a rain garden is its location – you want it to capture enough stormwater runoff coming from your roof, driveway, or patio, but not all the runoff from neighboring properties. This would overwhelm your garden. Though stormwater runoff can be considered a major environmental problem, you can not capture all of it in a residential rain garden. In other words, everyone can do their part to improve water quality by installing their own residential rain garden. Last spring, the City of Lincoln, NE received a grant from the Nebraska Environmental Trust (NET) to encourage residents to join a community effort to improve water quality. The grant invited residents to apply to have a rain garden installed on their property with 80% of the cost covered by the grant. Thanks to the NET grant, the City of Lincoln is installing approximately 80 homeowner rain gardens and 10 school rain gardens over a period of two years. As part of this project, they also plan to monitor a series of rain gardens on homeowner properties for their effectiveness to reduce runoff and the pollutants therein. The popularity for this project was overwhelming and the City is currently looking for new grant opportunities. Need help learning how to design and install a rain garden on your own? You’re in Luck! There are upcoming how-to classes available. The City of Lincoln is offering a Rain Garden: Homeowner Edition class at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo on May 16, 2009 from 8am- 12pm, at a cost of $9.00. You may contact Amanda Meder at (402) 441-7075 for more details or register through Southeast Community College at (402) 437-2712.
2009 State Habitat TourPheasants Forever is committed to working with its many partners in the state to offer landowners more opportunities to learn about and understand the many conservation programs available to them. By hosting Habitat Tours across the state, landowners will have more opportunities to learn about the many conservation programs available to them. When landowners can see what the programs look like on the landscape, what cost share incentives are available and how a project will be implemented, they can then make a better decision about including conservation in their farming and ranching operation. “The Nebraska Environmental Trust has always been one of the best conservation program partners in the state” stated Pete Berthelsen, Pheasants Forever Senior Field Coordinator. “Without the Trust, many of the innovative conservation programs and ways of working with landowners in the state simply wouldn’t happen. Nebraska is very lucky to have a funding entity like the Trust, its just part of what makes living in Nebraska ‘the good life." See attached for information on: Landowner Habitat Tours 2009 For more information on the 11 Habitat Tours scheduled across Nebraska or to register, simply log on to: www.NebraskaPF.com.
State Habitat Tour Inviting Comments on the 2nd Quarter PIE Grants Preliminary Rank Order ListThe Nebraska Environmental Trust received four MiniGrant applications for its 2009 – 2nd Quarter Public Information and Education MiniGrant Awards requesting a total of $9,744. This will be the second round of awards for 2009. As part of the grant process, the Trust is seeking public input on the proposed MiniGrants funding list, which is now available on its website, www.environmentaltrust.org, before announcing final awards on April 2, 2009. Written public comments will be accepted until April 1, 2009 at the Nebraska Environmental Trust, PO Box 94913, Lincoln, NE 68509-4913, or via e-mail at: lisa.beethe@nebraska.gov. Please include your name, address and organization (if applicable), and be sure to reference the project name and number in your correspondence. Comments can also be presented in person during a public hearing at our 2nd Quarter Board Meeting on April 2, 2009, 1:30pm at the Ferguson House, 700 South 16th Street, Lincoln, NE.
"Planet Forward" is a new kind of television experience that grows out of a new kind of web experience. Featuring experts, scientists, policy makers and business leaders, as well as citizen journalists, "Planet Forward" will air Wednesday, April 15, at 7 p.m. CT, repeating Thursday, April 16, at 9 p.m. CT on NET1 and in high-definition on NET-HD.Your voice matters. Submit your video, your commentary or your song by going to the "Planet Forward" Web site (www.planetforward.org). The most provocative and interesting online submissions will rise to the top, culminating in a nationally televised PBS special, taped in front of a live audience at Washington D.C.'s George Washington University.
If you know someone who would like to receive Resource every month, they can add their name to our e-mail list using the form at www.environmentaltrust.org You can also send an e-mail to Sheila Johnson to subscribe. Do you have an event you would like to announce in RESOURCE? Send your event details to Sheila Johnson and we will include it in our next mailing. |
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