The concept of stewardship involves personal and social responsibilities. We have a duty to learn about and improve natural resources as we use them wisely. This year our focus is water, which is vital to our lives. Water makes up more than 60% of our body and about 75% of our brain. We have never had it so good. We drink water that is clean and free

from water-borne

diseases.

All our food and most other products we use require water. It takes about 4,000 gallons of water to grow a bushel of corn and about 11,000 gallons for a bushel of wheat.

We sometimes take water for granted, but this precious resource may become increasingly scarce as we place more demands on our fresh water resources. To ensure future water supplies, we need to learn about water resources and plan to use them carefully. To help achieve this goal, we celebrate this national Soil Stewardship week and pause to focus on "conservation" of our natural resources. Free resource materials are available such as bulletin inserts, litanies, and posters. Please contact Richland Conservation District 803-576-2080 or email soilandwater@richlandonline.com