We Proudly Present GISW 2020

Getting into Soil and Water 2020

In its eleventh year, Getting into Soil and Water remains dedicated to educating a broader audience on soil and water conservation and the preservation of environmental quality. Soil and water affect our lives in hidden and not-so-hidden ways, providing a medium for food production, delivering ecosystem services, and sequestering carbon dioxide to mitigate global climate change. As co-editors of the 2020 edition, we have had the special opportunity to explore these issues and trends in soil and water, and to create a publication to share others’ insights and research findings with you. Our team of three co-editors is made up of Jacob Wright, Shannon Breja, and Justin Hunter. We wanted to share with you a little bit about ourselves and what soil and water conservation means to us.

 

Jacob Wright: I am a senior in agronomy and environmental studies and joined the Soil and Water Conservation Club in the spring of 2017. Growing up on a dairy farm in Virginia, I always saw numerous articles and heard discussion about nutrient contamination in the Chesapeake Bay. This peaked my interest for soil and water conservation, and being a part of this club and publication has allowed me to learn more about current research and issues in this field of study. I have learned a lot from co-editing through reading different research studies and seeing the diverse perspectives and ideas that came together to showcase the variety of opportunities in soil and water conservation.

Shannon Breja: I am a junior studying agronomy and seed science, and I became a member of the Soil and Water Conservation Club in the fall of 2017. Although I grew up surrounded by agriculture, I did not realize the urgency of conservation until coming to college. With the environmental impacts of agriculture becoming increasingly prevalent, the club has allowed me to learn about current conservation issues. The club has also allowed me to be co-editor of this publication to share some of these relevant issues and provide different perspectives about them. My hope for all of you is that Getting into Soil and Water will increase your knowledge of conservation and strengthen your interests in it.

Justin Hunter: I am a senior in agronomy and joined the Soil and Water Conservation Club in the fall of 2017. My interest in conservation started my freshman year of college. Learning about the effects of soil erosion and water contamination motivated me to always try to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. This club has allowed me to connect with people who share the same motivation as myself and to gain additional knowledge on agricultural conservation practices. Being a co- editor on this year’s publication has brought great opportunities in networking with authors and learning more about the current conservation practices that are working today. I hope this publication gets the readers thinking about conservation and how these practices can improve both agriculture and the environment.

 

This publication would not be possible without the great help of our committee members. We would like to thank them for their dedication to making this publication unique and informative. We would also like to thank our advisors, Dr. Rick Cruse, Dr. Bradley Miller, Hanna Bates, and Heidi Ackerman for their knowledge and support throughout the publication process. They have been essential to this publication, and we are so thankful for them.

Finally, we need to send a huge thanks to you, our readers. Your support has given us the opportunity to create the eleventh edition of Getting into Soil and Water, and we are excited to continue these publications for years to come.

Visit the full publication on the ISU Soil and Water Conservation Club page.

Welcome to the new Iowa Water Center Website

We are so excited to welcome you to the new website for the Iowa Water Center. This new home for IWC content was developed around our mission to advance water science to meet Iowa’s water resource needs. We invite you to explore the numerous resources and IWC initiatives that include signature Center programs as well as key partnership-based programs that impact water resource management in the state.

Research guides everything we do at the Iowa Water Center. Our website now features a database of IWC sponsored research that addresses local water resource issues in Iowa and emergent issues of regional importance. We hope this serves as a resource for you to not only be aware of the diverse range of research the Iowa Water Center supports, but also serves as a way for you to get to know the scientists who are exploring these ideas and addressing emergent water issues across the state.

Outreach and education are critical for water resources. We invite you to check out our Water Scholars Directory of scientists and researchers who are affiliated with our programs. This directory is intended as a resource for potential project collaborators among water scientists, interview/subject matter expert requests for media, and connections to researchers for community members and educators.

Partnerships and collaboration are the foundation for capacity building. Our website now enables you to explore our partnership efforts that address science and technology transfer for programs that include the Daily Erosion Project, the Agricultural Conservation Planning Framework, Water Scholars, the Iowa Water Conference, and more. We seek to provide accessible venues for stakeholders to connect, communicate their science, and train the next generation of scientists.

It is important to thank those who made the site possible, especially Melissa Miller who led site development over the summer and envisioned a new site for years that captures IWC’s mission and vision for water resources. Thank you to Model Farm for designing the website and providing excellent customer service. Another special thank you to Sarah Feehan who co-led this project over the summer and to our student hourly staff.

Hanna Bates

Acting Assistant Director

Iowa Water Center

 

Rick Cruse

Director

Iowa Water Center