Minnesota Students Join NRCS, District to Help Landowner Complete Water Quality Project

Fifty students enrolled in Rich Kincaid’s Ecology and Natural Resource classes at Kenyon-Wanamingo High School took a break from the classroom on May 5 to help the Goodhue County Soil and Water Conservation District and NRCS plant nearly 1,200 trees and shrubs on the Myrtle Neseth property in Kenyon, Minnesota.

Neseth’s son Jerry enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, but passed away before the project was completed. According to NRCS District Conservationist Tom Steger, Neseth was ready to cancel her son’s contract when Kincaid’s class volunteered to see the task to completion.

Kincaid’s students planted roughly 800 black ash walnut, and Norway spruce trees, as well as a number of cranberry bushes, in what was formerly a bean field.

“A lack of vegetation along this streamline could have been detrimental to the water quality without this project,” said Steger. “I wasn’t able to get here until later this morning, but when I came over the hill ‘wow’ was all I could think at the site of all those kids out there working.”

Your contact is Karen Buckley NRCS area public affairs specialist, at 507-289-7454, or karen.buckley@mn.usda.gov.

Excerpts of story courtesy of the Kenyon Leader.