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Current & Upcoming Events

2025 Conservation School

Scioto SWCD plans to hold our Conservation School again in 2025 on Tuesday evening February 25th.  This event has always been a popular one and we hope to continue to build on past Conservation Schools.

For 2025 we are tentatively planning to have local, knowledgeable individuals present sessions on food preservation, maple syrup production, herbal salve making, raising berries and brambles, hydroponics and the ever-popular raising backyard chickens.

We plan to have everything set and full details available shortly after the first of the year so save the date and check back then for the schedule and registration.

Scioto County Beekeepers Association Meeting

The newly formed Scioto County Beekeeper's Association will be holding monthly meetings on the 3rd Thursday of each month at 6:00 PM at the Lucasville USDA Service Center building. The initial meeting is scheduled for December 19. Due to meeting room space, to keep track of the number planning to attend please call our office at 740-259-9231 ext. 4 or send an email to info@sciotoswcd.org if you plan on attending.

Pike County OSU Extension is holding an Intro to Beekeeping program on November 21 at their Extension office. For more information go to Intro to Beekeeping | Pike

Spring Tree & Wildlife Seed Sale

Don't forget our spring tree, wildlife and pollinator seed, and ground cover sale. We usually have a list of what will be available and the prices in late January, which is when the sale normally begins, with order deadline by late February and items available for pick up the last week of March or first week of April.

If you want to be put on our list to receive an order form when they are available call our office or send a message to info@sciotoswcd.org with your name and email or address.

We will have the list and order form posted on our website when it is available also.

Beginning Gardener Programs

The Scioto SWCD has ended our beginning gardener programs for 2024 but do plan to start them back up again in February or March of 2025. Our plan is to start out with information and hands-on experience regarding starting seeds indoors to get an early start on the gardening season. Our goal with the program is to help more people raise their own healthy, nutritious food and increase their self-reliance. More information to follow as we get closer to February.

Rain Barrels and Kits

Scioto SWCD currently has rain barrel kits for sale. The kit includes a 55-gallon food-grade barrel. The kit contains everything needed to connect to a roof downspout, except for a couple of tools, providing a way to collect and store rainwater runoff.

This can help with stormwater runoff as well as providing a source of water for watering plants and animals. The cost for the kit is $50 including tax. Due to the limited number of kits, there is a limit of 2 kits per person. If interested, call our office to check on availability.

Southern Ohio Grazing Council

The Council is a group of livestock producers in the southern Ohio region that periodically meet at producer's farms to discuss grazing operation management and related topics. If you would like to be added to their email list to receive information on upcoming events, send an email to conaway.adams.swcd@live.com. Include your name, address, phone number and email address.

Report Wildlife Sightings

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife is continually seeking reports of several different wildlife species within Ohio. Wildlife species that can be reported anytime are gray foxes, river otters, black bears, and other furbearers, including fishers, badgers, weasels, and bobcats, as well as other wildlife species found on the wildlife reporting system webpage.

These reports assist wildlife biologists and the Ohio Division of Wildlife in tracking wildlife populations.

Reports can be submitted to the Wildlife Reporting System at wildohio.gov and on the HuntFish OH  mobile app.

Please contact your County Wildlife Officer to submit river otter and gray fox carcasses. Submitted carcasses can be from harvests or roadkill, although it is not permitted to collect roadkill carcasses. One can report the location of roadkill to their local wildlife officer.

An additional ODNR press release can be found at Report Furbearer Sightings to Contribute to Wildlife Research.

More information on individual wildlife species in Ohio can be found at the Ohio Division of Wildlife online Species Guide.

Ohio Landowner/Hunter Access Partnership

The Ohio Landowner/Hunter Access Partnership (OLHAP) Program is a way for Ohio hunters to get access to private properties. This program is funded in part by the federal Farm Bill under their Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP) to implement programs encouraging hunting access on private properties. The OLHAP program is administered by the Ohio Division of Wildlife and uses funds to pay landowners for hunters to access their property.  Participating landowners receive annual payment rates of $2.00/acre for agricultural lands and $30.00/acre for perennial wildlife cover, such as wetlands, grasslands, brushlands, and forest. Enrollment contracts are for 2 years, with the possibility of reenrollment. If you are a landowner interested in finding out more about the program or wishing to enroll your property or a hunter interested in finding hunting property, visit the Ohio Landowner/Hunter Access Partnership Program page to find out more.

You can also call our office for more information.

Public Notice:

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The Scioto Soil and Water Conservation District's Board of Supervisors will meet for the remainder of 2024 on the first Friday of every month, unless otherwise stated, at 8:00 AM at the USDA Service Center, 12167A State Route 104, Lucasville, Ohio.  The Scioto Soil and Water Conservation District strives to work with local landowners, residents, businesses, organizations, and units of government in providing a partnership effort to help conserve, maintain, and improve Scioto County's natural resources.  Anyone interested in conservation practices can find more on the District website at www.sciotoswcd.org or call the District office at 740-259-9241 ext. 4.  The District was formed in 1946 as a legally organized subdivision of the State of Ohio that is governed by a volunteer Board of Supervisors elected by Scioto County residents.  The 2024 Supervisors are Thomas Turner, Wheelersburg; James L. Pertuset, Portsmouth; Travis Garrett, Lucasville; David Otworth, Franklin Furnace; Matt Lewis, West Portsmouth.  Meetings are open to the public and the media.  If you would like to receive notices about special meetings, meeting topics or time and date changes for regular meetings, please contact the District Administrator.

Scioto SWCD 2024 Regular Board Meeting Dates

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January 9

February 6

March 5

April 2

May 7

June 4

July 9

August 13

September 6

October 4

November 1

December 6

Scioto SWCD
12167A State Route 104
Lucasville OH 45648
740-259-9231 Ext. 4
info@sciotoswcd.org

Scioto County Local Foods Guide

Scioto SWCD has compiled a local food and resource guide highlighting local food producers and local businesses where locally produced foods can be found. If you are a local, small farm or business producing or offering foods for public sale and would like to be added to the guide please send your information to info@sciotoswcd.org or call our office at

740-259-9231 ext. 4 and we will add you to the guide. This guide is a work in progress and hopefully the list of local food sources will be expanded so check back for further updates. The guide can be found on the Links page accessed at the top of this page.

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