ATLANTA (GA) - The Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission encourages you to think about your personal responsibility to be a good steward of the natural resources, including water, during its annual Stewardship Week celebration. The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) has proclaimed April 27 to May 4, 2008 as Stewardship Week with the theme, “Water is Life.”
The Earth’s water is in constant motion in the process known as the hydrologic (water) cycle. There is no beginning or end to the hydrologic cycle. Water available to users can change due to the cycles of weather and changes in water quality. Throughout time, the same water has been transferred into the Earth's atmosphere and dropped on land again where it follows the water cycle through plants, soil, water bodies, animals and clouds. That means the water we use today is the same water that was here when dinosaurs roamed the land.
What can we in Georgia do? Become aware of water quality and quantity in your community. Understand how watersheds work. We all live in a watershed. Watersheds are the places we call home, where we work and where we play. Everyone relies on water and other natural resources to exist. What you and others do on the land impacts the quality and quantity of water and our other natural resources throughout Georgia. Managing the water and other natural resources is an effective and efficient way to sustain the local and State economy and environmental health.
The Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission was formed in 1937 to assist people throughout Georgia. During Stewardship Week, the Commission will coordinate with the 40 soil and water conservation districts across the state to provide conservation education material to school-aged children statewide. To find out what activities your local conservation district has planned, visit our website at www.gaswcc.org or call 706-542-3065.
GSWCC and local conservation districts will be active in the implementation of the New Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Plan, Farm Bill related conservation programs, and conservation field days during the next year.
The Commission is a member of the National Association of Conservation Districts (www.nacdnet.org), which oversees the Stewardship Week program. Stewardship Week is one of the largest national annual programs to promote conservation. NACD represents the nations 3,000 conservation districts, which were established to encourage resource conservation across the country.
For information about Stewardship Week and conservation, contact the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission at 706-542-3065 or www.gaswcc.org. You can visit www.nacdnet.org to learn more about NACD and Stewardship Week.