LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

Without fear or favor
Since 2004

Tag: water quality

  • Natural resources grants available for farmers, forest owners

    Natural resources grants available for farmers, forest owners

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced the deadline to submit applications for Ohio’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).  Additionally, NRCS is offering an opportunity for agricultural producers in three watersheds in the East Fork Little Miami River Basin to apply for assistance installing conservation practices that protect water quality through the National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI). The deadline for both applications is Jan. 15.

    The three East Fork watersheds for which the additional NWQI funding is available include:

    • Glady Creek-East Fork Little Miami River
    • Solomon Run-East Fork Little Miami River
    • Five Mile Creek-East Fork Little Miami River

    Together, Ohio NRCS along with the Clermont, Brown, Clinton, and Highland Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) will utilize funds to implement core water quality practices in these watersheds. Applicants for the EQIP and NWQI programs should be farmers, or farm or forest landowners and meet eligibility criteria.

    “The additional NWQI funding available is a great opportunity for landowners to implement conservation practices in their operation to help and improve water quality on cropland, forest, pasture, and farmsteads,” said Christina Gates, NRCS district conservationist for Brown and Clermont Counties. “If your property is located within the outlined funding area please contact me prior to Jan. 15 at christina.gates@usda.gov to schedule a field visit and submit an application for funding for 2021.”

    Property owners in Clinton and Highland Counties with land in the funding area should contact their local NRCS office.

    Applications signed and submitted to NRCS by the Jan. 15 deadline will be evaluated for fiscal year 2021 funding. Visit Ohio NRCS website under “EQIP Funding Categories” for more details. To learn more about EQIP or other technical and financial assistance available through NRCS conservation programs, visit Get Started with NRCS or contact your local USDA Service Center.

  • Loveland High School science teacher Amy Aspenwall to attend highly selective national teacher leadership training

    Loveland High School science teacher Amy Aspenwall to attend highly selective national teacher leadership training

    Amy Aspenwall (center), surrounded here by students in one of her AP Environmental Sciences classes at Loveland High School, is one of 20 teachers nationwide selected for “Nourish the Future” national teacher leadership training in San Antonio, Texas, in February.

    Loveland, Ohio – As one of only 20 teachers nationwide, Loveland High School Science Teacher Amy Aspenwall has been selected to attend the national teacher leadership training by EducationProjects.org in San Antonio, Texas, in February. The training will take place at the Commodity Classic, the nation’s largest agricultural trade show, and professional development event.

    “This is really exciting for me personally, but also for Loveland High School,” said Aspenwall. “It will provide leadership opportunities and allow collaboration with teachers around the country to identify and create new problem-based modules, flipped classroom materials, and science labs for our students.”

    It will also highlight the connection between the science they teach in the classroom and the application to food production and food security.

    Loveland High School science teacher Amy Aspenwall

    EducationProjects.org has connected industry to the classroom for more than 20 years. The upcoming training, “Nourish the Future,” will introduce participants to the latest developments in water quality, sustainable agriculture, and 21st-century tools and technology in precision agriculture. It will allow teachers to take part in a curated tour of the trade show, with a focus on the science and engineering that support the production of food, fiber, and fuel. It will also highlight the connection between the science they teach in the classroom and the application to food production and food security. After the three-day event, teachers will continue to collaborate and access additional training through webinars and national and regional conferences.

    “Agriculture is an important aspect of our work and a great opportunity to engage students in concepts and activities that impact their own lives,” said Aspenwall.

    “Agriculture is an important aspect of our work and a great opportunity to engage students in concepts and activities that impact their own lives,” said Aspenwall. “When that connection is made, students are empowered to become more involved and engaged in environmental issues.”

    Loveland City School District and Amy Aspenwall receives Sustainability Award by local chamber in 2018

    Through the nomination of Aspenwall and her AP Environmental Science class at LHS, Loveland City Schools earned the Sustainability Award by the Little Miami River Chamber Alliance in 2018. The award recognized the work with students and the commitment to developing environmental leaders for the future. Aspenwall’s class continues to offer authentic, hands-on opportunities for students to understand issues like water quality and biodiversity, and allows them to develop innovative solutions to problems. The class was implemented at LHS in the fall of 2016 and was filled to capacity after only a couple of years.

  • Loveland City School District and Amy Aspenwall receives Sustainability Award by local chamber

    Loveland City School District and Amy Aspenwall receives Sustainability Award by local chamber

    AP Environmental students trying on waders for the first time in preparation for a water quality study field trip.

    District recognized for impact on students and community through
    environmental sciences coursework

    Loveland, Ohio – The Loveland City School District, through the nomination of Advanced Placement (AP) Environmental Sciences Teacher Amy Aspenwall, has earned the Sustainability Award by the Little Miami River Chamber Alliance. The award recognizes the district and Aspenwall for her work with students, and the devotion to developing environmental leadership for the future.

    “It’s an honor to be recognized for work that means so much to me and my colleagues at Loveland,” said Aspenwall. “We promote sustainability by developing environmentally educated and responsible leaders, and are committed to continuing to create programs that heighten awareness not just for our students at school, but for them as Loveland citizens and stewards of our world.”

    The AP Environmental Sciences course at Loveland offers authentic, hands-on opportunities for students to understand water quality and biodiversity, consumer habitat design, and the impact of a population that shifts the needs and municipalities of the community. Students examine solutions to various environmental issues and are empowered to develop new ways to solve problems. Loveland Schools has a long-established, integrated recycling program, but the course work now offered helps develop a greater understanding of consumer goods, product development, and the power to choose sustainable methods. Students track their carbon footprint in the areas of food and fuel consumption, waste generation, and water and electricity use, and learn about ways that small changes can have a large impact for the benefit of the environment.

    The AP Environmental Sciences course was implemented at Loveland High School (LHS) in the fall of 2016, resulting in a perfect 100 percent CollegeBoard passage rate in 2017. The program has doubled in size every year since its inception and is now filled to capacity until new sections can be added. Many students who completed the course have gone on to major or minor in environmental studies in college.

    “APES challenged the typical AP class by making students think in a different way,” said Maddie Craft, a 2017 LHS graduate. “I’m about two years out of the class now, and I can still see how the topics that we discussed impact not only me personally but the world around me. I am going into Logistics Management and one of my goals in my career is to help build a more sustainable supply chain. This really stems from things that I learned in APES and the values that the class made me realize I have.”

    Loveland Sweets is a purveyor of hand-crafted chocolates, caramels, marshmallows, and ice creams. Our house-made candies are prepared in small batches.