Sparks make the world go round!

As I work with different communities across the state of Nebraska, each of them has their own way of getting projects accomplished. Some of them are lead by a strong central government, while others are more grassroots with citizens across the community taking up the good fight!

But all of them have sparks! You know that segment of the community that gets projects going and done with tremendous results. You just never know where you might find them. Sure they can be part of the governmental structure but many times they are behind the scenes in a community and just want to do their part to help a project succeed.

On Tuesday I was in Fairbury doing work for my Let’s Keep It Clean program and I was fortunate enough to have meetings with a couple of sparks. I won’t name them but be assured that they are doing the right things in Fairbury and moving the town in a direction that will be great. They give me energy too. After distributing toolkits throughout the community to make my program even more sustainable I left with a great feeling about the home of the Jeffs.

So what about you? Are you a spark? Let us know what you did today to help protect water resources within your community, state or the world!

-- Brian Reetz

Spaceship Earth

Spaceship Earth. A concept I was first introduced to in my high school environmental studies class. We are all on this one ship and must share the available resources.  Are there enough resources for the people that live here? Are we taking care of these resources for future generations?
This past week there was some media coverage on the world reaching 7 billion people. It has also been estimated by 2050 the world population will be at 9 billion.  What does this growing population mean for our “Spaceship Earth?”

Recently I read an interesting article on water use and population growth. With the growing population there is an ever growing need for water.

What are your thoughts on the growing world population and the future of the Earth’s natural resources?  

Fall and Pumpkins!

Fall is a beautiful time of year—the trees are painting a beautiful countryside picture, there is a crispness in the air, football is in full swing, and pumpkin patches are popping up everywhere.   Have you ever grown a pumpkin in your garden?  Well, here is a simple recipe to grow your own pumpkin.  Of course, you will need pumpkin seeds, some good well-drained soil in a sunny spot and lots of water!  If pumpkins could speak, their first words would probably be:  “Gimme a drink!”  Between 80 to 90% of every pumpkin is water; and water is an essential medium for bringing nourishment to the entire plant.  Fortunately, the plant has a built-in water-gathering and water-conservation system.  The huge leaves are a hovering mulch, mediating ground and sky, shading the soil, keeping it moist, and inhibiting competition from weeds.  They are also exquisitely designed to draw nourishment from the sun and guide water to the base of the plant.  If a pumpkin seed is planted in the spring, you should have a pumpkin in approximately 85-125 days depending on the pumpkin variety. 

So here’s to fall, growing pumpkins, and our most precious resource--water!  Without it, there would be no pumpkin pie!

 

Become a Part of the Winning Team!

In these tough economic times we have been experiencing over the past few years, it has become more and more difficult to find the dollars to support the work of educating about groundwater and inspiring people to act to protect it for the future.  I know there are hundreds of very worthy causes out there, each of them vying for dwindling philanthropic dollars.  So how do we make potential funders understand the importance of our cause?  Do we have to move towards scare tactics – you know the “without water we cannot survive” message? 

This has never been the Groundwater Foundation’s way of operating. We have always felt that helping people understand groundwater’s importance in a positive way would inspire them to do the right thing; that the “winning team” approach of recognizing the good work done towards protecting and conserving the resource is the better way to go.  So while these tough times put that belief to the test – let’s show that it will prevail -- join us as we work to “recharge our aquifer” through our membership campaign.  You can become a member today by clicking here and supporting our goal of clean, sustainable groundwater for future generations.