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"Better
Working Together"
PRIDE Day 2008

Mark your calendars for October 11, 2008 for PRIDE Day
at the Sedgwick County Extension Office in Wichita! This year's theme
for PRIDE Day is "Better Working Together" - a familiar concept for
PRIDE Communities. With judging Community of Excellence, STAR and
Youth Awards currently in progress, there is one more award to
consider: PRIDE Partner. If you have a K-State Extension agent that
has been a great help to your community, and you would like to
nominate him or her for the PRIDE Partner Award, please take the time
to CLICK HERE
and fill out a nomination form. More information on PRIDE
Day will be provided in the coming weeks.
Healthy Ecosystems-Healthy Communities: Working
Toward a More Sustainable Future!
The PRIDE Healthy Ecosystems-Healthy Communities (HEHC)
Program, a project supported by the Kansas Department of Health and
Environment,
has helped two communities learn more about their local natural resources and how to use them to create a more sustainable future.

Melvern's HEHC project work has resulted in a
city-supported public walking trail along the Marais de Cygnes
River. The city-owned riverfront land was identified as a valuable
resource that would provide new opportunities for their community.
Working in partnership with local and state entities, they are
building more than 7 miles of recreational trails. The trails will
be a boost to the community fitness programs and will provide
educational opportunities to the school system and community groups
to teach about native plants and animals and the importance of
protecting their local water supplies.

(A
special thanks to raingardens.org for supplying this image)
Rossville's HEHC citizen teams have undertaken
a rain garden and native grasses demonstration project to help
citizens learn how to protect local water supplies. Rain
gardens "soak up" or recharge local water supplies, reduce runoff,
erosion and flooding, and filter contaminants to clean up
storm water. While an individual rain garden may seem like a small
contribution, collectively, rain gardens can produce significant
water quality benefits. In addition, native plants are more disease
tolerant and adapted to local soils which will reduce the use of
fertilizers, pesticides, and require less maintenance for
community park personnel.
Want to learn more
about how the Healthy Ecosystems-Healthy Communities program can
help your community? Contact
Sherry Davis,
HEHC Project Coordinator
at (785) 532-3039. We are currently accepting nominations for new
PRIDE Communities to participate in the HEHC process!
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