Helping gardeners understand water systems
Water — far too little of it or way too much — is becoming a hot topic for Minnesota gardeners across the state as extreme drought and severe storms intensify.
Extension’s Master Gardener Volunteer Program is launching new clean water educational materials statewide to help volunteers communicate larger scientific concepts to the gardening public. At a volunteer gathering in Lyon County, Extension Educator Jennie Wagner (center) led a hands-on activity, showing how vegetative soil coverage affects erosion and water quality.
“It’s not just about people on lakeshore properties who impact water quality,” Wagner said. “All gardens drain to somewhere. Home gardeners can play a surprisingly important role in keeping water clean — with or without rain gardens.”
Highlights
- Extension’s agricultural business management team helped farm families plan for multi-generational farm transition at a retreat in Marshall.
- A 4-H Helping Hands Grant supported the Swan Lake Skippers 4-H Club in helping the Lakeview Backpack program by purchasing the items that are often skipped when money is tight.
- U of M Farm Family of the Year: The Olson family
- Ruth Lanoue and Cory Prins are in Class 13 of the Minnesota Agricultural and Rural Leadership (MARL) program. Lanoue is an owner-operator at Verly-Lanoue Cattle. Prins is the president of Northwestern Farm Management Company.
- Master Gardener volunteers in Lyon County held free gardening classes at the Marshall-Lyon County Library in Fall 2025, including activities for K-5 kids.
- SuperShelf locations: Marshall Kitchen Table Food Shelf, Tracy Kitchen Table Food Shelf
- The Climate Adaptation Partnership is helping characterize future flood and drought extremes in the Cottonwood River watershed, equipping natural resource managers, farmers and communities with education and resources to inform resilience strategies.
Lyon County office
Extension has 14 regional offices supporting all 87 counties in Minnesota.
Lyon County partners with Extension to deliver practical education and research you can use at home, at work and in your community. More about Extension in our county.
About the Minnesota 87 project
Spend time in any Minnesota county, and you will almost certainly encounter University of Minnesota Extension. Our faculty and staff, volunteers, participants, alumni and partners are woven into the fabric of rural, urban and suburban Minnesota life. This project showcases Extension in action through photos, stories and a sampling of the many ways Extension has touched the lives of people in every county.