Nebraska Environmental Trust700 S 16th Street
PO Box 94913
Lincoln, NE 68509-4913
info@environmentaltrust.org
| What We've Done | > | Grantee Stories |
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Nebraska Environmental Trust| What We've Done | > | Grantee Stories |
Below are some stories about the work of Nebraska Environmental Trust grantees.
The Trust has done several no-till drill projects with Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever and the Lower Platte NRD. To date 58 of these drills have been purchased and used successfully across the state. The no-till drills are made available to interested landwoners and will increase both the quality and quantity of wildlife habitat in Nebraska.
The Trust funded the building of a Mobile Prescribed Burn Unit (MPBU's) recently. The unique aspect of MPBU's is that the necessary prescribed burn equipment will be available in any region of the state in less than a day. Quail Forever and Pheasants Forever will maintain and administer the MPBU's in strategic locations throughout the state. Additionally, Quail Forever will develop prescribed burn associations and provide landowner training workshops through their grant.
The Trust helped the National Audubon Society acquire the original 626 acre prairie in 1998-99 and an additional 182 acres along with several easements to protect the native tallgrass prairie. The Trust also helped fund the sustainably designed and constructed visitors center for prairie based environmental programe that have facilitated over 30,000 visitors. The site contains streams, wetlands, ponds, spring, a bur oak stand and trail ruts from the Nebraska City - Fort Kearny Cutoff to the Oregon Trail. More than 350 plants and 205 birds have been documented on the site.
For the past three years, WasteCap Nebraska has had funding from the Nebraska Environmental Trust to educate businesses and households about universal waste recycling and to collect these materials for recycling through local recycling collection events. Through these events and others, WasteCap has planned and executed 17 collection events serving 1,354 households and businesses in 9 communities and collected 249,657 pounds of recyclables since 2001. In addition, over 230 businesses were educated on e-waste and universal waste regulations. WasteCap is currently in the final stages of developing a CFL recycling program and has started another grant that will create educational and marketing materials for electronics recycling and develop a small grant program for electronics collection events
The trees were just planted a few weeks ago, but they’re already making a difference in this small community. Anselmo is one of the recipients of a Trees for Nebraska Towns (TNT) grant from the Nebraska Environmental Trust. With the newly-planted crabapples in full bloom, grant coordinator Robin Christen says she hears comments all the time about how beautiful they are.
Like a lot of small towns, Christen says, “there simply is not funding for landscaping, so we really appreciate what we were able to do with this funding. A thousand dollars can go a long way in a town this small.” The ballpark in Anselmo hosts a lot of sports events for the area. Before the new TNT trees were planted, there were only a few cedars and one ornamental tree, and none of them provided any shade. Anselmo is on the edge of the Sandhills, so the plantings have to withstand hot, dry summers and challenging conditions. Christina Hoyt of the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, TNT coordinator, said “I really enjoy working on small-town landscaping efforts like this where the whole community benefits from it.”
The goals with this planting project were to provide shade and improve the appearance of the park. It will take a few years for the new bur oak, hackberries and lindens to provide shade, but the landscape is already much more appealing, Christen said, “we can’t wait for things to leaf out more.”
TNT was developed to address tree loss in Nebraska and to improve the overall health, sustainability and species diversity of Nebraska’s community trees. It is coordinated by Nebraska Statewide Arboretum and is part of ReTree Nebraska’s efforts to plant a million trees by 2017. To help achieve these goals, the Nebraska Environmental Trust, a beneficiary of the Nebraska Lottery, is providing $1 million in grant funding to enable high-quality tree planting and associated landscaping in communities across the state.
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.
Pheasants 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."
Initiated in 1994, H2Omaha: Missouri River Science Education Initiative is a collaborative education program developed jointly by Fontenelle Nature Association and the Omaha Public Schools science specialist. The program creates a “living laboratory” from the Missouri River and its surrounding floodplain within Fontenelle Forest. Content is based on State Science Standards and meets the curriculum requirements of the Omaha Public Schools. Trust funds were provided for expenses related to the delivery of the program.
Through a three-and-half hour, two part course, students gain comprehensive understanding of aquatic ecosystems and the human impact on water quality. The course begins with a theatrical presentation illustrating the basic concepts of the life cycle, water cycle and watersheds. In the second part of the course, each student is involved in the actual collection and identification of macro invertebrates at Fontenelle Forest Nature Center’s teaching pond. Then, using their 'bugs' as living pollution indicators, the students determine the health of the wetland’s water.
The program was designed with four main components: teacher training workshops; a teacher resource manual; an auditorium-style introduction to the Missouri River ecosystem; and student field study programs presented at Fontenelle Forest's Great Marsh. The goal of this program is to provide all OPS fifth graders, approximately 3,500 annually, with the opportunity to attend this natural science program at no cost. Since its inception, this program has served nearly 50,000 students and nearly 300 teachers.
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission had its dedication and grand opening of its Ponca State Park Green Cabin Project on July 30th at the park. More than 100 people attended the ceremony including media members.
The two energy-efficient units built are mostly made of recycled materials. The cabins will introduce guests to "green" energy concepts and straw bale construction and can be replicated in homes, thereby expanding environmentally friendly practices as part of daily routines. The cabins feature geothermal heating and cooling and straw bale insulation. Signs throughout the cabins also offer visitors a chance to learn about the importance of energy efficiency.
Partners of the Green Cabin Project include the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Nebraska Environmental Trust, Nebraska Public Power District, AAA Nebraska, the Cornhusker Motor Club Foundation and the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality.