CONTACT: Sara Kangas, NACD Director of Communications
(202) 547-6223; sara-kangas[at]nacdnet.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May. 3, 2019

CONSERVATION
ORGANIZATIONS CELEBRATE
NACD STEWARDSHIP WEEK

WASHINGTON – Today, the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) celebrated the organization’s 64^th annual Stewardship Week at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s People’s Garden.

NACD Stewardship Week, which is observed this year from Apr. 28 to May 5, was established more than 60 years ago to educate the public on the importance of conservation practices. Each year, NACD Stewardship Week centers around a theme. The 2019 theme, “Life in the Soil: Dig Deeper,” celebrates the living world beneath our feet.

“Soil is crucial to our health as a nation,” NACD CEO Jeremy Peters said. “The earth below us is teeming with life, and it is our duty as stewards of the land to all do our part to protect it.”

Conservation districts across the nation host events each year during NACD Stewardship Week to educate their local communities about the significance of conservation practices, as well as how they can integrate conservation practices into their routines at home.

Eastern Panhandle Conservation District (CD) in West Virginia is promoting the message of soil health by hosting a screening of the documentary “Living Soil.” Released in late 2018 by the Soil Health Institute (SHI) through the generous support of the Noble Research Institute, the 60-minute documentary features innovative farmers, including several NACD Soil Health Champions, and soil health experts describing the state of America’s soils.

“Our soils support food and fiber production, filter our water and host wildlife; the benefits of productive soils are countless,” SHI President and CEO Dr. Wayne Honeycutt said. “‘Living Soil’ challenges its viewers to think of how we can protect this invaluable resource and make this the century of living soil.”

NACD and the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) have partnered with SHI to promote the “Living Soil” film, celebrate NACD Stewardship Week, and take on the opportunity of making this the century of living soil.

“Everyone on this earth depends on soil,” SWCS CEO Clare Lindahl said. “In turn, it is up to all of us to keep it healthy, protected and productive. When we take care of our soil, we are caring for all life that depends on it.”

NACD provides resources, including free educational materials and toolkits covering how to host a film screening of “Living Soil,” on the association’s Stewardship Week webpage to help conservation districts and partners host successful Stewardship Week events.

###

About the National Association of Conservation Districts:

The National Association of Conservation Districts is the nonprofit organization that represents the nation’s 3,000 conservation districts, their state and territory associations and the 17,000 men and women who serve on their governing boards. For more than 70 years, local conservation districts have worked with cooperating landowners and managers of private working lands to help them plan and apply effective conservation practices. For more information about NACD, visit: www.nacdnet.org.

About the Soil Health Institute:

The Soil Health Institute (www.soilhealthinstitute.org) is a non-profit whose mission is to safeguard and enhance the vitality and productivity of soil through scientific research and advancement. The Institute works with its many stakeholders to identify gaps in research and adoption; develop strategies, networks and funding to address those gaps; and ensure beneficial impact of those investments to agriculture, the environment and society.

About the Soil and Water Conservation Society:

With more than 3,000 members around the world, the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) is a nonprofit scientific and educational organization that serves as an advocate for conservation professionals and for science-based conservation practice, programs, and policy. The SWCS mission is to foster the science and art of natural resource conservation. We work to discover, develop, implement and constantly improve conservation practices and systems that sustain the productive capacity of the land while protecting environmental quality. We pursue our mission through a combination of research, education and advocacy aimed at promoting state-of-the-art conservation practices and science-based conservation policy.