Presentation Topic
Join us at the Madison SWCD Annual Meeting
Please join us to celebrate Madison SWCD's 78th Annual Meeting on Thursday, September 11th. The beautiful Procter Camp & Conference Center, 1235 SR 38, London, OH, is the perfect place to relax and appreciate the rich agricultural heritage that brings hope to the future. One candidate is running for one open seat on the Board of Supervisors. The candidate in this year’s election is Nancy Denes-Sparks.
Agenda
Cast your vote from 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Conservation Awards Banquet begins at 6:00 p.m.
Featured speaker at 7:00 p.m.
The menu includes BBQ pork and chicken along with baked beans, potato salad, coleslaw, buns and dessert.
Purchase your banquet tickets for $20 for adults or $15 for children under 10 by Tuesday, September 2nd at the Madison SWCD Office, from any supervisor, or on our website by clicking the button, below.
About the Candidate
Nancy Denes-Sparks, 7550 Scenic Dr., West Jefferson, is a current SWCD Board Member. She is the Attendance Officer at Dublin Coffman High School and has been with the Dublin City schools for the past 24 years. She lives and grew up in Jefferson Township on her family tree farm, Denes Tree Farm. She served on the Village Council in West Jefferson from 1994-1998, until she moved out of the Village. She has a long volunteer history with SS. Simon and Jude Catholic Church, the West Jefferson Ox Roast and various organizations in the community. She is a third generation 4-H family in Madison County.
Madison County has always been a strong agricultural county, and with current growth, there is a great need to make sure our natural resources are protected. There are many areas of the country that struggle to maintain and collect quality water, so we need to be good stewards of our water and land for future generations.
She has learned a lot serving as Supervisor the last three years. She will continue to welcome the challenges of working for Madison County as we go through the changes and growth our county is experiencing
About the Featured Speaker
Dr. Donald P. Althoff, a Certified Wildlife Biologist and Professor Emeritus of Wildlife Conservation at the University of Rio Grande, will give a talk about southern flying squirrels. Although usually abundant in hardwood forests when present, southern flying squirrels are seldom seen by humans because of their adherence to a nocturnal activity pattern. The focus of this presentation will be on their natural history along with the opportunities provided to volunteers for up close observation of flying squirrels—from handling to witnessing their amazing ability to glide--during winter box checks in southeast Ohio.
Top Ranked County Team
About the Conservation Awards
Two conservation awards will be presented after dinner. The first is the Top-ranked County Envirothon Team, which recognizes the highest ranked team from Madison County at the Southwest Ohio Envirothon Competition. This year’s team members, representing Madison Plains High School, were Abby Damron, Ashley Bailey, Paisley Rice, Andrew Wood, Gavin Cloutier and advisor, Serenity Kirts Pickell. The second award is the Outstanding Cooperator of the Year. The Cooperator of the Year are individuals or families who have gone above and beyond to conserve their soil or water, often by installing best management practices or implementing new techniques in farming based on a conservation plan. This year’s award will go to Young Farms.
About Procter Farm
The property in which Procter Camp and Conference Center sits was originally the Procter family’s property - the same family whose products we use each and every day throughout life with Procter and Gamble. William Cooper Procter was the last of the founding families to run the company as president of Procter & Gamble between 1907 and 1930.
William Cooper Procter and his wife, Jane Elizabeth Johnson, were avid philanthropists. Surrounded by 5,000 acres, the property was one of the biggest at the time. But upon the death of William Cooper Procter, Jane, seeing no need for the large property, donated it to her church. The Diocese of Southern Ohio then allowed farmers from the area to farm the land until 1952. Seeing the need for a place for church members to retreat and congregate, the Diocese established the Procter Center.
Today Procter Center operates as a Camp and Conference Center as well as a small organic farm. The property in total is 1,200 acres, with the facilities sitting on 200.
The Procter Farm operates on 6 acres and is expanding every year. This past spring, the farm has planted over 100 various native fruit and nut producing perennials such as bur oak, pin oak, paw paw, persimmon, white dogwood, American redbud, blueberries, raspberries, and elderberries. They have also planted native pant habitats for pollinators, including black eyed Susan, wild bergamot, butterfly weed, purple coneflower and milkweed.
This season, the farm is growing several different types of produce, such as peppers, potatoes, watermelon, beans, corn, eggplant, and carrots. Alongside the crops, they are rotating pasture for chick and hog meat production and have free range hens foraging throughout the property.
As the farm looks toward the future, they look to establish a multi-purpose area for animal grazing and forest product production. Their farm is a learning lab for children, outdoors groups, families as well as other farmers to experience what permaculture, “the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems,” can provide.
