Roland “Rollie” Spaniol, age 86, went to his Heavenly Home on Feb. 7, 2018. Rollie & his wife Lois moved their family to Charleston in 1960. After retiring from teaching at Eastern Illinois University in 1989, he became active in…
Read more
Spring is a busy time of year for Terina Coffey, Coles Co. SWCD’s Education Co-ordinator. She’s been traveling around to local elementary schools educating students on environmental topics. One of her most popular programs is the Lorax Project, in which…
Read more
A prescribed burn seminar was held at the Hutton Fire Department on March 24th. Despite the cold, rainy weather, over 35 attendees learned about the benefits of native prairie and wildflower ‘pollinator’ habitats, pre-scribed burning as a management tool for…
Read more
A rain garden is a shallow depression planted with deep-rooted native plants that captures rainwater runoff from impervious urban are-as, like roofs, driveways, walkways, parking lots, and compacted lawn areas, giving the water the opportunity to infiltrate the soil. By…
Read more
The annual election for Coles County SWCD Directors was held on February 8th. This year there were 3 positions to be filled. After all of the ballots were counted, the Coles Co. SWCD’s 2018 Board of Directors consists of Bill…
Read more
Congratulations to the Coles County Soil and Water Conservation District’s 2017 Conservation Farmer of the Year: Dalane Allenbaugh of Allenbaugh Farms! Dalane is a Coles County native. He grew up in rural Mattoon, and started farming with his father, Duane.…
Read more
Entries for the Coles County SWCD conservation photo contest must be received by March 9th to be considered for this year’s contest. In addition to the chance to win at the local level, photos will be entered in the statewide…
Read more
We are gearing up to teach Coles County’s third graders all about trees this Arbor Day! Every third grade classroom that we visit will be presented with the history of Arbor Day, a discussion of the importance of trees, and…
Read more
SPRINGFIELD, IL – A new website and free classes are enabling Illinois farmers and commercial pesticide applicators to get a jump on required dicamba training. The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) is working with agriculture industry groups to facilitate statewide,…
Read more
Springfield, IL – The Illinois biennial Soil Erosion and Cropland Tillage Transect Survey was completed this past spring and summer by the Illinois Department of Agriculture, in cooperation once again with Illinois’ 97 Soil and Water Conservation Districts and the…
Read more