Education is such a generic term - the act or process of imparting knowledge or skill. It comes down to how a person can improve their life and the lives of their family and friends. When Beverly and I go to farm meetings together, one of us goes to one session and one goes to another. It does not matter who learns the skills, it improves our lives.

In the past, Clackamas Soil and Water Conservation District emphasized strictly full-time farming assistance. That gave way to assisting all those part-time farmers with jobs in the city. More recently the district has been addressing needs of the city homeowner and all the resource concerns that come with urban life. At this point we find that it does not really matter what the size of the land, the conservation measures are still the same. For example, nutrient management on farms is called lawn and garden fertilization in the urban area. We can oversupply in either of those locations and from recent evidence we know that cities, as well as farms, contribute widespread chemical pollution to streams. Weed control options are either hand, mechanical or chemical (herbicides) or a combination of the three no matter where you are. Hand control is removal of invasives by clipper or lopper. Mechanical removal is by weedeaters, chainsaw, and large brushcutting tractors. Reading the label is a definite requirement of using chemicals. It also helps to talk with someone that has applied the different chemicals in order to avoid applying more than absolutely necessary..

This month is education month at the Clackamas Soil and Water Conservation District. In addition to information tables at Lake Oswego, Milwaukie, Molalla True-Value Hardware, Oregon Small Business Fair, we have classes ranging from lawn care to pasture management. For the city folks, "Golf Course Quality Lawns" and "Rainwater Harvesting" is a possibility. For the country folks, "Advanced Pasture Management" as well as Lawns and Rainwater Harvesting may be beneficial. And if these topics do not seem especially pertinent to you right now, you might consider going as I sometimes do,
SIMPLY FOR THE JOY OF LEARNING.

Clair Klock is Conservation Specialist for urban and small acreages at Clackamas Soil and Water Conservation District and with his wife; Beverly operates a small farm in the Columbia River Gorge. You can contact Clair at 503.656.3499 or clair.klock (at) or.nacdnet.net