Washtenaw County Conservation District

10/09/2026

10/08/2026

At the Well Water Testing event last weekend, the Washtenaw County Conservation District and students from Eastern Michigan University (EMU) tested 113 water samples!

Funding for this program comes from the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP) and helps ensure our shared waterways are free of contamination.

Thank you to Eastern Michigan University staff and students, and to everyone who brought in their well water samples.

If you want to test your drinking water, the Washtenaw County Health Department offers year round water testing:

https://www.washtenaw.org/drinking-water-testing

10/06/2026

Protect your plants and let your neighbors know about your "Plants in Progress" with these custom marking flags!

We offer planting aids to support survival of your planting projects. Marking flags, w**d mats, deer & rabbit repellant, and more. Limited quantities available for sale and pick-up from our office:

🌲shop flags:
https://store.washtenawcd.org/products/marking-flags?variant=43777163984973

🛒 shop planting aids:
https://store.washtenawcd.org/collections/supplies

10/05/2026

Did you know you can rent conservation tools from from the Washtenaw Tool Bank Collective?

We have a no-till drill designed for planting native fluffy seeds, cool season species, small grains, legumes, and wildflowers.

Planting can be accomplished as no-till and inter-seeding in most conditions, as well as on a prepared seedbed, to conventional seed beds.

Seeding of native species is best done either in the dormant/snow season (mid-October thru March) or spring (mid-May to mid-June).

The drill is also effective for seeding cover crops if the site is prepared properly.

🚜Learn more:

https://washtenawcd.org/residents/tool-equipment/no-till-drill

10/02/2026

Grants for projects serving Southeast Michigan were announced this week:

From North Central Region SARE:

Mariel Borgman with Michigan State University Extension was awarded $49,998 for the project, “Michigan First-Generation Farm Mentors.”

From Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development - MDARD Farm to Family Grant:

Green Things Farm Collective – $50,499 to improve produce storage, distribution, post‑harvest processing and sales infrastructure to expand market opportunities within the local community.

It is good to see these dollars invested in moving our agricultural communities forward.

Want to know about upcoming grant opportunities?
Visit:
www.northcentralsare.org/grants

https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/environment/regenerative-agriculture

Photo credit:

10/01/2026

ICYMI (In case you missed it) our Community Forester Matt was on the radio program WEMU 89.1 Issues in the Environment last week. He discussed the new sighting of Spotted Lanternfly in Washtenaw County with Rebecca, the host. The Michigan Invasive Species network reporting tool is the best way to record sightings.

https://www.michigan.gov/invasives/id-report/insects/spotted-lanternfly

If you think you have seen a Spotted Lanternfly, or other pest you think might need to report you can reach out to the Washtenaw County Conservation District for assistance.

Listen to the show:
https://www.wemu.org/show/issues-of-the-environment/2026-09-23/issues-of-the-environment-recent-appearance-of-spotted-lanternfly-in-washtenaw-county-under-close-watch

Learn more about the Spotted Lanternfly Workshop we hosted in August "Sniffing out Invasive Species" using conservation dogs to find spotted lanternfly.

https://washtenawcd.org/news/spotted-lanternfly-workshop-recap-sniffing-out-invasive-species

09/30/2026

Do you want to learn more about composting but you don’t have time to commit to a multi-week master composting program? This composting workshop is for busy individuals who want to learn the basics of composting. This class features 1.5 hours of in-class instruction on various compost bins and 1/2 hour of outdoor hands-on demonstrations on how to set up a HOT compost BIN that produces compost in a fraction of the time of cold compost methods.

09/24/2026

Join us from 5-6pm at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds for extra sales of trees, shrubs, wildflowers, grasses, and more!