Welcoming Wednesday Webinar #1: Conservation Plans, Feb 26 2025

In this Feb. 26, 2025 webinar we explored “Sowing Seeds of Conservation and Community: We're so delighted to have launched our Welcoming Wednesday Webinars!

Welcome to the 2025 Spring Series: Sowing Seeds of Conservation and Community. The first webinar in the series focused on Conservation Plans.

Burke Murphy, MNWiC State Project Coordinator, hosted this introduction to conservation practices and programs offered by the Natural Resources and Conservation Service (NRCS) of the USDA. We heard from Claudia Ciganik, Soil Conservationist, NRCS, NE Region. She can be reached at Claudia.Ciganik@usda.gov

Claudia is a Soil Conservationist who has been with NRCS for two and a half years. Last fall, she moved up to Duluth and is now serving the Arrowhead region. She previously worked with the Glencoe office, serving McLeod county. She is passionate about better serving operations of all sizes and types. Before joining NRCS, she worked with community gardens and urban agriculture around the Twin Cities. Currently she is a container vegetable grower, she looks forward to having a garden of her own someday.

We also heard from Wendy Johnson, Hay Creek Hills Farm owner. She can be reached at wendyjohnson2016@gmail.com. Wendy splits her time between working at the local public library and restoring a long since abandoned farm just outside Red Wing, Minnesota. The storytelling arts, including writing and filmmaking, are her creative passions as well as horticulture and prairie restoration. Raised in Minnetonka as one of five siblings, she grew up camping, paddling, fishing, and hiking with her family across Minnesota, the Great Plains, and the Rocky Mountains. Her long-term goal is to restore her 100 acres to its greatest potential, providing rich native habitat to attract and sustain an abundance of plant and animal species.

Content Disclaimer: While the MNWiC project strives to make the information provided to individuals as timely and accurate as possible, we make no claims, promises, or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the content of our webinars. The information presented is solely the speakers’ expressed views and MNWiC expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in content. About Minnesota Women in Conservation: Minnesota Women in Conservation (MNWiC) is a brand-new statewide collaborative effort led by Renewing the Countryside in partnership with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). MNWiC brings together Minnesota's women landowners, farmers, farm workers, urban growers, and conservation professionals to connect, learn, and share about conservation practices, resources, and funding opportunities.

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