Thanks to all our friends and collaborators who joined us on Sept. 2nd to celebrate our fifth anniversary at the Bakkum Farm, and an especially big thank you to the Bakkum family for hosting us. More than 80 neighbors, members, first time guests, and conservation partners helped us mark the occasison with a locally sourced meal, breathtaking views, and reflections on watershed conservation.
Community-led conservation has a long history in the Coon Creek Watershed. Ninety-three years ago, Coon Creek residents and their partners came together to carry out the first watershed conservation project in the nation. It was an effort to build healthy soil and good lives, and as they said back in the day, to “learn how to make running water walk.” Their vision and courage live on in our mission to expand access to, awareness of, and adoption of practices that support soil health, flood resilience, and community well-being in the Coon Creek Watershed.
In 2025, we funded nearly $22,000 in soil health and flood resilience practices and projects through our conservation incentive program. This funding supported cover cropping across 440 acres, helped us plant just under 2000 trees, and sustained transitions to perennial systems like managed grazing and hazelnut alley cropping.
Over the next two years, we are on track to more than double our impact, thanks to support from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection, The Nature Conservancy, the Sand County Foundation, and North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education.
But most importantly, we are looking forward to sustaining and deepening the relationships and culture of openess that have made our work so meaningful and joyful. See you all at the next dinner!