Tuesday, February 28th - 5:30 pm
Ravenna Conservation Club
2530 S Slocum Rd
Ravenna, MI 49451
Last summer, the Ottawa Conservation District sent out a water quality social survey to 2000+ farming and rural residents throughout the Crockery Creek watershed. This survey was an integral part of the initial stages of the Crockery Creek & Sand Creek Restoration Project started by OCD in 2021. Before this project, the District’s reach had been limited within the Crockery Creek watershed, and more info was needed to better serve its residents. The goal of this survey was to better understand the water quality priorities of residents within the watershed, to understand any potential knowledge gaps there may be on local water quality issues, and to gain a better understanding of the types of conservation practices residents are already doing and what constraints might be causing residents to not try out new conservation practices.
This information will be useful to the Ottawa Conservation District as it will help guide our conservation efforts to improve water quality throughout the watershed. Results from this survey will help us figure out what sort of conservation practices farmers and residents are interested in and what sort of educational opportunities may be the most needed. The Grand Valley State University Social Science Lab has been hard at work analyzing the results received from this survey and we would like to share this information with Crockery Creek residents, along with information on resources available and next steps to be taken by the District.
On February 28th, 2023, the Ottawa Conservation District in collaboration with the Grand Valley State University Social Science Lab and the Ravenna High School FFA, will be hosting an informational public meeting to share the results from this survey. This meeting will be held at the Ravenna Conservation Club in Ravenna, MI from 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM. The evenings agenda will include:
- A review of the Crockery Creek & Sand Creek Restoration Project priorities and actions taken, including stream E.coli monitoring efforts within Crockery Creek, education and outreach efforts, and resources available to residents through the program. Presented by the Ottawa Conservation District.
- A review of the Crockery Creek Speaks social survey results, identifying key water quality priorities, knowledge of water quality issues, and practices residents are already doing and are interested in trying. Presented by the GVSU Social Science Lab and Ravenna High School FFA.
- A review of the Crockery Creek water quality monitoring efforts by the students of the Ravenna High School FFA.
- A review of additional resources available to Crockery Creek residents, including resources from the NRCS and Muskegon Conservation District.
- We also hope to include an interactive portion to the evening where we can gain additional input from meeting attendees on the questions included in the initial survey.