| | Inside This Edition All About HIP: - Help HIP!
- Fall Awareness Week
- Trade in Program - DUE SEPT 4th
Programs and Services: - T - Shirts for Sale
- Native Tree and Shrub Sale Fundraiser
- Tree Sale Volunteer Call Out
- Rain on Main Winners
- Photo Contest Winners
- Sunflower Field at Conner Prairie
District News: - Local Work Group Information
- 2023 Board Meeting Information
- Conservation Assistance
- Become an Affiliate Member this Year!
Conservation Corner: - Report Wilting Sassafras
- Soil Seed Banks
- Invasive Jumping Worms Wanted
- Notice of Trends
Extras - Jumping Spider Sighting
- Potter's Bridge Festival
- Lunch and Learn
| | | | | | | | | | | | Help Hamilton County Invasives Partnership (HIP) HIP is looking for volunteers! | | HIP is made up of concerned citizens, property owners and managers and representatives from groups such as: municipalities, parks and recreation departments, environmental organizations, community groups, non-profits, businesses, and more.
While there are subject matter experts part of the HIP team, you certainly do not have be an expert to join. HIP is a great place to apply your knowledge and skills or learn. Programs: - Educational Events
- Boot Brush Stations
- GIS Invasive Species Monitoring
- Weed Wrangle Volunteer Workdays
- Strike Team Workdays
- Native for Invasive Trade In
- Workshops & Training
- Invasive Species Property Surveys
- and more!
| | | | | The Hamilton County Invasives Partnership (HIP) was established in 2019 as the county's Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (CISMA). The Partnership serves to unite land owners and managers, organizations, and citizens in the battle against invasive species and the destruction they cause across the county.
Vision: That Hamilton County's ecology, economy, and public health will be unobstructed by invasive species. | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Become an Affiliate Member this Year! | Who are SWCD Affiliate Members?
Affiliate members are concerned about the conservation and proper use and care of our natural resources. Affiliate members are businesses who want to support district efforts and connect with landowners. Affiliate members are event attendees and program participants who were happy with the support they were provided and want to give back to the District.
Members include: - Farmers
- Homeowners
- Landowners
- Businesses and partner organizations
- Teachers & schools
- Community leaders
- Those who care about our environment.
| | | | | | Why is your membership important? By becoming an Affiliate Member of Hamilton County Soil & Water Conservation District, you are helping our organization provide services and educational programs which protect and enhance the natural resources of Hamilton County. Donations, whether volunteer hours or a financial contribution, are a valuable asset. Our supporters ensure we can hold workshops and programs for all ages, produce educational publications, establish demonstration sites, and support the many services offered by the SWCD. All levels receive a Friend of Conservation t-shirt and will be recognized at the Annual Meeting, on our brochure, and on our website. Partner and Champion of Conservation levels will receive ad space in all Town and County Newsletter, a link from our webpage and a social media post sharing your information and website. | | Affiliate Membership Levels
$25+ Friend of Conservation
$50+ Compassionate Conservationist
$100+ Conservation Hero
$300+ Partner in Conservation (Advertisement offered)
$500+ Champion of Conservation (Advertisement offered)
Your donation is tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. | | | | | | | | We Need Your Help, Report Wilting Sassafras Trees in Indiana! August 9th, 2023 Starting in 2019, sassafras trees began wilting and dying in southern Indiana. It was originally thought that laurel wilt, a deadly disease in the southeastern U.S., had made its way to Indiana. However, neither the fungus responsible for causing laurel wilt nor its beetle vector were recovered from wilting trees at the time. A potentially novel fungus was recovered, as well as two invasive ambrosia beetle species. Invasive insects, particularly bark and ambrosia beetles are well-known carriers of devastating disease-causing fungi. Dutch elm disease is one of the most famous examples of a beetle-transmitted disease. Sassafras trees are an important understory tree that aids in nutrient cycling and are important food sources for deer and rabbit populations in the winter months. They are also important to native butterfly populations like the Swallowtail butterfly, that uses sassafras as a host. At this time, we do not know what is killing our native sassafras trees or the range of impacted trees. This is a problem because if we do not know what is causing wilt or where trees are wilting, then we cannot work to identify ways to protect our native sassafras trees. We need more help in identifying locations of wilting sassafras trees. We anticipate trees to start wilting towards the end of the summer, from late July through September. If you see any wilting or dying sassafras trees, please email sassafras.wilt@gmail.com to report it. You can also use the QR code on the bottom of the attached handout. To learn more see the attached Sassafras Wilt Report Flyer. Olivia Bigham, Graduate Student
Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources & Hardwood Tree Improvement & Regeneration Center (HTIRC) Matt Ginzel, Associate Professor
Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources & Department of Entomology | | | | | | | | Notice of Trends Recognizing trends in your own back yard can help you notice trends in the broader realm of the environment. I was speaking with a visitor to our 4H Fair booth back in July who told me she had planted large swaths of Milkweed in her yard. Milkweed attracts Monarch butterflies. The Hamilton County resident, however, had not noticed any butterflies this year, Monarchs in particular. When she said that, I tried to remember seeing any Monarchs myself and I couldn’t. This trend can be extrapolated to local, regional, national levels, and beyond to trace the status of not just butterflies, but also migratory birds. If we look season after season, we can start to recognize when the birds and butterflies start to appear. I am not well-versed in the migratory patterns of butterflies, but with birds we can note the hardships they face in respect to weather trends. As the earth warms, we will see birds starting to show up earlier in the spring and later in the fall with the change in the temperature. This trend can be seen throughout the migration path of the birds some of which make the journey from northern North America to southern South America (a few travel as far as 18,000 miles roundtrip annually – Pectoral Sandpiper!) Another anecdote I can remember comes from my time of surface water sampling in Muncie, IN. My sampling crew and I would know that spring and warm temperatures were right around the corner when turtles started appearing on logs in White River. We even went so far as to record the date and compare to previous years. Unfortunately, this data has been lost through employee turnover. Now is a good time to start gathering this data in your own yard. As we start to recognize trends with animals, we may start to see changing trends in plants as well. Plants are susceptible to temperature and when temperatures rise, we may start to see a change in the flora of our region. This is another chance to start gathering data in our own yards. “That flower bloomed last year but didn’t this year. Write that down!” After speaking with the resident in July about Monarchs, I have noticed a few here and there. I haven’t noticed many. What trends have you noticed in your yard? ~David Bradway, HCSWCD Conservation Administrator | | | | | | | | | | Adorably fuzzy jumping spider sighted for the first time in Indiana Our summer intern, Casey, is credited with first spotting the spider during a volunteer BioBlitz she participated in at Kankakee Sands last month. Way to go Casey. We're proud of you! | | | | | | Potter's Bridge Fall Festival
Enjoy a special autumn day at Potter’s Bridge Park during the 24th Annual Potter’s Bridge Fall Festival. Listen to live music, visit the more than 100 arts, crafts, and food booths, or simply take in the natural beauty of Noblesville’s most scenic park on the White River Greenway Trail. Date: Saturday, October 7
Time: 11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Cost: Free for the public to attend!
Location: Potter's Bridge Park Please email Events Coordinator, Christopher Gullion at christopher.gullion@hamiltoncounty.in.gov for any questions. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
