The Urban Conservation Learning Lab was established through a partnership between Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Warren County Foundation to promote conservation best management practices. This public education space demonstrates simple, affordable conservation opportunities that Warren County residents can implement to help improve the quality of stormwater and soil, and to support pollinators.
Various small best management practices that most homeowners could build and maintain regardless of their lawn size have been installed on the previous open lawn space next to the Warren County Foundation. This Learning Lab is not only a demonstration site, but also an outdoor classroom and programming space by Warren SWCD. Areas of conservation highlighted include:
Water Quality - In most urban settings, approximately 55 percent of rainwater becomes surface runoff. This can negatively impact water quality as sediment and unseen pollutants, such as lawn fertilizers and chemicals, may be free to move with urban runoff. Extensive surface runoff during and after high intensity rainfall events can increase the likelihood of local and downstream flooding. Conservation measures help to capture and infiltrate stormwater, reducing a property’s contribution to water quality degradation, flashy stream flows, and localized flooding.
Loss of Pollinator Habitat - Pollinating insects are among the most important to human populations and native biodiversity as they facilitate the vital process of pollination, either to perpetuate native plant species or produce many of the crops we rely on for food at the global scale. Pollinators are in decline for a variety of reasons including the loss of habitat. We seek to install a variety of small best management practices that most homeowners could build and maintain regardless of their lawn size.
Various small best management practices that most homeowners could build and maintain regardless of their lawn size have been installed on the previous open lawn space next to the Warren County Foundation. This Learning Lab is not only a demonstration site, but also an outdoor classroom and programming space by Warren SWCD. Areas of conservation highlighted include:
Water Quality - In most urban settings, approximately 55 percent of rainwater becomes surface runoff. This can negatively impact water quality as sediment and unseen pollutants, such as lawn fertilizers and chemicals, may be free to move with urban runoff. Extensive surface runoff during and after high intensity rainfall events can increase the likelihood of local and downstream flooding. Conservation measures help to capture and infiltrate stormwater, reducing a property’s contribution to water quality degradation, flashy stream flows, and localized flooding.
Loss of Pollinator Habitat - Pollinating insects are among the most important to human populations and native biodiversity as they facilitate the vital process of pollination, either to perpetuate native plant species or produce many of the crops we rely on for food at the global scale. Pollinators are in decline for a variety of reasons including the loss of habitat. We seek to install a variety of small best management practices that most homeowners could build and maintain regardless of their lawn size.
Address: 118 E Main St, Lebanon, OH 45036 (next to the Warren County Foundation building)
Hours: Daily from dawn to dusk
Hours: Daily from dawn to dusk
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Snapshot Report of Conservation Practices!
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Thank you to local artist Alisha Trifiro for the beautiful pollinator painting on our rain barrel at the UCLL!
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And another big thank you to the Trifiro family and the Ohio Sports Academy for the donation of a Little Library to share nature stories and resources with our community!
Next time you are walking in downtown Lebanon, make sure to stop in at the Urban Conservation Learning Lab and enjoy a rest on one of the 2 newly installed recycled benches. Each bench is made from recycled plastic bottle caps. Our office, in partnership with Warren OSU Extension, collected over 400 lbs of plastic caps and materials that otherwise would have ended up in the landfill. Now they have been upcycled by Green Tree Plastics into beautiful, functional benches at the UCLL. Conveniently set next to the Free Little Library, come enjoy a good nature book while immersed in this pocket of nature downtown!
Take a virtual stroll with us!
