Conservation Corner

Have you wondered how you can help keep Van Buren County’s water, land, and air healthy? If so, we hope you’ll join us at the Van Buren Conservation District’s “Healthy Water Week” event to be held from 9:00 AM - 3:30 PM Monday, August 1 through Friday, August 5 at the Van Buren Conservation District Office (USDA Center), 1035 E Michigan Ave., Paw Paw, MI 49079. The event is free and open to the public, and we will provide information, snacks, and take-home activities for kid

The Van Buren Conservation District is excited to have you at the South Haven Recycle Roundup event. They will be collecting household hazardous waste (HHW), paper for confidential shredding, electronics, and passenger and semi tires at this event. This collection will be held at South Haven Department of Public Works located at 1199 8th Avenue on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Van Buren County is so lucky to have a great variety of foods that grow in our region. This is largely because our county features many soil types in a unique microclimate.

The Van Buren Conservation District holds a yearly tree seedling sale to both reforest Van Buren County and to raise funds for...

LAWRENCE, MI – Soil health will be the focus at the Van Buren Conservation District’s annual “Farming for the Future” conference. The...

The Van Buren Conservation District is once again holding our annual tree seedling sale! Our sale of native tree and shrub seedlings supports our efforts to reforest Van Buren County with native species. Between now and April 8, 2022, you can preorder using our online catalog at

Whether you have started listening to seasonal music or not yet, you are probably preparing to put up your holiday decorations soon. And whether you prefer more of a Charlie Brown, minimalist style, or a decked-out Clark Griswold decoration style, you are sure to find at least one strand of string lights that is no longer working. After trying to replace burnt out bulbs and trying multiple outlets, if you determine it is time to be done with a strand of lights, be sure to rec

Residents of Southwest Michigan have limited options when looking for public lands to hunt. Michigan’s Hunting Access Program (HAP) works to fill in the gaps and provide public hunting acres in those communities with limited opportunities. What is HAP? Think of it like a land lease with the state for public hunting. Landowners can collect a yearly payment from the program based on acreage, diversity and quality of habitat, hunt types allowed, etc. Van Buren County is currentl

These hot summer days make you want to jump in a lake! We’re lucky to be able to do that in Southwest Michigan, with easy access to more than one hundred inland lakes. If you’re lucky enough to own property on one of these lakes, you can help keep them clean and healthy for future generations. One of the easiest things you can do is keep your shoreline as natural as possible. Here are a few tips:

This summer, the Van Buren Conservation District partnered with the Lawton Elementary School to organize and lead a series of field trips related to local science and social studies topics. For eight weeks, two groups of students were able to go on four field trips around the school district featuring natural areas, conservation lands, livestock, and fruit farms. More than 50 students from kindergarten through 5th grade had the opportunity to participate in these bi-weekly ex

The Van Buren Conservation District will screen drinking water well samples for nitrates and nitrites from August 2-6 from 8:00 a.m. to...

This summer, as we hit the water in our boats, paddle boards, or waders, the Van Buren Conservation District and the SWxSW Corner CISMA want to remind everyone to Clean, Drain, and Dry before heading home! The State of Michigan passed new legislation in 2019 to help protect our lakes and waters from invasive species, including pests like Eurasian Water Milfoil and Asian Carp. With new fines up to $1000, it’s important to know how to help stop the spread!

Have you ever heard of kudzu? This fast growing invasive plant is sometimes called “the vine that ate the south” and it’s moving north!...

Have you heard about the creepy crawly visitors much of the Eastern U.S. will see this year? “Brood X” may sound like something out of a...

Michiganders are always excited to see spring green things up, both in their yards and at multiple popular hiking trails. Spring...

It’s time to mark your calendars and pre-register for Clean Sweep 2021! Michigan Clean Sweep is a free, safe disposal option for unwanted...

The Van Buren Conservation District, Broken Arrow Recycling, Pratt Industries, Inc., and Gobles Village Market have partnered to expand...

The Van Buren Conservation District would like to recognize and thank Bryan Cronenwett, for his many years of service on the district’s...

There has been a lot of attention on how, as a community, we handle our wastewater – the water that we flush and goes down our drains. In most cities and villages, our wastewater is piped to water treatment plants for treatment before it is discharged to a nearby stream or river. If we live in the country, wastewater is usually treated with an on-site septic system. A septic system collects and filters wastewater before it enters the groundwater or nearby lakes or streams. Bo