Fall 2018 Logan County
Farm Outlook Magazine

Creekside presents soil preservation workshop
By Catherine Carkulis

Send a link to a friend  Share

[November 05, 2018]  On Saturday, October 20th, 2018, Lincoln College hosted a free workshop "Solutions for Soil." The event was held at Creekside.

Creekside is also known as Lincoln Colleges’ Outdoor Environmental Learning Center. Sugar Creek runs along the backside of the property. The center is recognized by the scientific community for its biological diversity and geological significance.

The workshop was a joint project of Lincoln College, the Cardno Native Plant Nursery, Logan County Soil and Water Conservation Agency, and the Logan County Natural Resource Conservation Service.

Dr. Pam Moriarty of Creekside opened the day by welcoming everyone and saying, “The goal of the workshop is to share what are feasible solutions to soil erosion.” She introduced Eric Anderson and Angie Richter from the Cardno Company, who would talk about their soil erosion management program.

The Cardno Company helps municipalities, state and federal government, private property owners, developers, and contractors with stream bank erosion projects. They do remarkable erosion control planting, design and implementation work that provides environmental protection of soil up to the next 10 to 20 years. The company provides such treatments as native planting and seeding restoration. They channel creeks and treat erosion shoreline. They also take care of problems with evasive control, modeling, and slope protection.



Eight years ago the Cardno Company helped select the seed for Creekside’s one acre tall grass prairie.

Dr. Campbell said, “I bought plants to do the bioswale that holds water till it soaks in. Creekside depended on these plants.”



Lincoln College has an innovative conservation program with students participating in environmental studies and public education. The students presented a number of preventative solutions farmers could use on their croplands.

Creekside is surrounded by fields and along the creek nearby are steep bank drop-offs. Year's when there has been heavy spring flooding after planting time, it is common to see corn stalks falling over those edges.

Soil, nutrients and pesticides slowly ebb down the creek. Sugar Creek meanders into Salt Creek. The conjoined creeks join the Sangamon River, which then combines with Illinois River and eventually enters the Mississippi River and then empties into the gulf, where silting and contaminants have created significant problems.

There are effective ways to conserve soil by reducing erosion from wind and water. The benefits are multifold: to ensure the soil’s fertility, keep soil where it is needed in the field, prevent soil and contaminants from entering waterways, which are damaging to the environment and costly to commerce.



EcoLynx Secretary Alyssa Summers said one of the ways to control soil eroding into Sugar Creek is for farmers to cut back on how close they plant to the creek bank. Reducing by just two rows would help prevent erosion damage.

A buffer zone of prairie grass also helps to manage erosion as roots help hold soil in place and upper vegetation protects from wind and water movement. Some field nutrient run-off is also absorbed.

“Lincoln College needs to collaborate with farmers to make sure everyone is on the same page,” Summers said.



The zoology class at Lincoln College presented posters that emphasized the effects that soil erosion has on wildlife such as flooded banks that wash out otter’s homes. Erosion also causes shallow, slow water and depletes oxygen to fish, reduces food to turtles and the native species as well.

[to top of second column

 

Soil erosion from farmland compromises alkalinity in Sugar Creek’s water and leads to adverse health effects for humans, aquatic organisms, and adds financial distress to recreational fishing industries in other locales.

Practical soil conservation measures suggested by environmentalist Rinkesh Kukreja:

  1. Buffer strips come in handy for soil protection where stream banks exist. Farmers can create them with tall grass, trees and shrubs that root deep into the ground.

  2. No-till farming allows crops to stay in place a season and keeps soil from being left bare. Good for soil composition.

  3. Plant windbreak areas composed of trees, shrubs and plants to slow the force of wind over ground area and soil erosion.

  4. You can maximize the topography by terrace planting. It will encourage growth from moist soil areas and cause a natural flow of water.

  5. Planting trees to secure roots in the soil that prevent erosion.

  6. Farmers can rotate their crops to prevent overgrowth of pathogens and a lack of fertility in the soil.

  7. Maintain Ph: pollutants and acids are bad on soil. The higher the alkaline level, the more resistant water is to chemical pollution.

  8. Monitor growth by checking salient composition and fertility.

  9. Accent vegetation can work to prevent runoff and help plants grow properly. Such plants are rye and clover.

Creekside Director Dr. Dennis Campbell said the basis of all bio tend to be soil. The terrestrial of all ecosystems along with the climate and organisms is literally the foundation of humans.



Creekside was developed for the students and its Lincoln community. It is a small outdoor exhibit of everything environmental you can think of: 1,250 sq. ft. greenhouse, insectarium, education pavilion, bioswales, retention pond, restored grass prairie, pollinator plot, wind and solar energies, and new this year is the Wibben Overlook platform along Sugar Creek. The boardwalks and sidewalks made by the Rotary make the grounds handicapped-accessible.

Creekside is considering hiring the Cardno Company this year to manage soil restoration. The treatment of soil erosion will be a boon to the different studies of soil by Lincoln Colleges’ agriculture, biology, geology and zoology students.

Dr. Dennis Campbell added that Lincoln College has a transfer agreement with the University of Illinois for students pursuing a degree in agriculture. They must complete their two years degree to qualify for the U.of I.

After presentations, Dr. Moriarty took everyone through Creekside to show what the students have been doing and different things they have encountered.



Contact dcampbell@lincolncollege.edu to book outings at Creekside including school events.

Sources:
www.cardno.com

Recent articles on Creekside:
Lincoln College Receives Environmental Grant for Conservation Projects

 

Read all the articles in our new
Fall 2018 Logan County
Farm Outlook Magazine

Title
CLICK ON TITLES TO GO TO PAGES
Page
The silver lining in Logan County's Ag economy 4
Less corn acres planted, but lower prices - where is the silver lining in that? 6
The expansion of e15 and consumption of corn 12
Ag subsidies lift producers to balance the effects of tariffs and world trade 16
Better handling of dicamba results in a reduction of claims nationwide 19
Local land owners reap a bounty on land sales 23
An ancient practice still works to improve land and crop viability at less cost 27
The benefits of managing soil health 35
Creekside presents soil preservation workshop 41

< Recent features

Back to top