The Mirror Newspapers Reflecting Life Along The Maumee River
BY KRISTI FISH | MIRROR REPORTER — The Lucas Soil & Water Conservation District has been serving the people of Lucas County since 1964, and after several decades at the West Dudley Street location in uptown Maumee, Lucas SWCD is moving before the end of the month. The office will be closed for a few days at the end of January while the transition happens.
The new location at 3350 Hill Ave., Ste. K, in Toledo, will be officially open to the public on Wednesday, February 1 and will allow the Lucas SWCD to expand upon the services it is able to provide in the office.
“We are hoping to be able to host on-site classes and workshops. We’ll have a space for that, so that’s going to be awesome,” said Lucas SWCD communication and outreach coordinator Jessica Grisier. “It will also streamline some of the things we do. There’s on-site storage, so we don’t have to drive back and forth. It will be more efficient.”
The new site will also feature a large green space that the property owners are allowing Lucas SWCD staff to use for demonstrations, which is something the staff is looking forward to, Grisier said.
The staff is currently working on the transition to the new office space, so no demonstrations or workshops are scheduled yet, but regular services are available.
“For Lucas County, we do a lot of different things. We have urban, suburban and rural communities that we serve,” Grisier said.
In the more rural areas of the community, there are several agricultural programs available, including the very popular H2Ohio Program, Grisier said. For urban and suburban areas, the SWCD staff can outline different practices residents can use to benefit their homes – from rain barrels to composting to tips on soil and native plantings.
Lucas SWCD also provides educational programming for students and adults and is a source of information for residents.
“We get a lot of questions in our office. If they have drainage issues or are having trouble with their compost pile, we can offer assistance,” Grisier said.
In order to continue providing these services, the organization has expanded over the years and has outgrown the Maumee location.
“We’ve been in Maumee for a long time, and it’s been a great community to work in and a great location. It’s walkable; we get a lot of people that way,” Grisier said. “Change is always difficult at first, but then people get used to it and it’s for the best.”
Grisier said the staff will miss the neighbors they have met in Maumee and the relationships they have formed with businesses.
“We’ll miss the familiar faces, but we’re hoping people will still come and see us in the new spot,” Grisier said.
At the new location, Grisier will be able to continue doing her favorite part of the job: helping spread awareness on conservation and making a difference in the community. Even the smallest of differences, like helping residents install a rain barrel for their garden or switch to a few native plants, can have a big impact, she said.
That impact is because of the people of Lucas County, she said, which is why the staff is grateful to work alongside them.
Grisier encouraged residents to keep an eye out for new workshops, plant sales and more information in the upcoming months as Lucas SWCD settles into the Hill Avenue location.
“People can stay connected with our website and social media for updates,” Grisier said.
Lucas SWCD can be found at lucasswcd.org, under Lucas Soil & Water Conservation District on Facebook and as LucasSWCD on Twitter.
“We just want to say thank you to the city of Maumee and the residents who have been so gracious to us and for the hospitality we’ve received while we’ve been here,” Grisier said.
