About

For over 70 years, Soil and Water Conservation Districts have led communities in making sound decisions about the use and care of natural resources.

Hendricks County Soil and Water Conservation District is an agency that works with the county’s citizens and organizations to conserve our natural resources. The SWCD works closely with all partners in the Indiana Conservation Partnership.

Our mission is to provide education, technical assistance and leadership to the public and landowners; to conserve soil, water and all natural resource.

Watch a video about our work!

Click on the center of the image below to play video.

 COnservation

Services

We focus on conservation throughout Hendricks County.

Whole-Farm Conservation Planning

The SWCD works closely with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA), and other agencies in the Indiana Conservation Partnership to help you develop conservation plans for multiple aspects of your farm. We provide technical assistance, site visits, and additional resources.

Annual Native Plant Sale

The SWCD hosts an annual native plant sale offering 3 gallon containerized trees, native flowers, and grasses. SWCD staff are available to help you with species selection and planting instructions.

Construction Stormwater General Permit

Butler Fairman and Seufert are contracted through the SWCD to review construction plans, and help implement the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP), and conduct general construction stormwater permit work. We work together to provide technical assistance to improve construction sites’ impact on soil and water quality. 

Need to submit plans for review? Plans can be electronically submitted to SGroce@bfsengr.com

check out the hendricks County partnership for water quality facebook to keep up on stormwater education, resources and events.

Whole-Farm planniNG

The SWCD works closely with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA), and other agencies in the Indiana Conservation Partnership to help you develop conservation plans for multiple aspects of your farm.

We provide technical assistance, site visits, and additional resources.

Enhance conservation on your farm

Are you looking to make improvements on your farm? Let us learn about your current practices, and we will provide additional options for managing your land, all with conservation in mind. We can guide you through farm enhancements that will help you preserve topsoil and build soil health, which may include grassed waterways, cover crops, no-till crop planting, field borders, and pollinator plantings.

Partnership

The SWCD works closely with many conservation agencies, including the NRCS. These valuable partnerships mean that multiple staff with a wide range of experiences are ready to answer questions about your operations. The NRCS District Conservationist for Hendricks County, Jerod Chew (above), is an additional resource for County farmers, and can be contacted through the Hendricks SWCD office. Give us a call to set up a visit.

conservation plans

Our staff will help create a conservation plan that is based on your goals, priorities, and on-site assessments. The plan lays out various methods for how to achieve your conservation and production goals. The plan can be used throughout the year to implement new practices on your land. It is a living document that provides a snapshot of your current practices and long-term goals.

Setting goals

The SWCD and NRCS staff will listen to your questions, and get to know you and your current practices. We then help you identify goals and priorities for your farm operations. Set up a site visit with our staff, and we will walk your property with you to get a tangible understanding of any areas where you are experiencing issues or want to make improvements. We provide follow-up technical assistance based on our conversations and farm field assessments.

Long term conservation

The practices you choose to use on your land guide the future of your farm. You put the conservation plan in action. Our staff are available along the way to answer questions, offer further technical assistance, workshops, and site visits. The SWCD and partner agencies offer a range of grant options for conservation practices. Contact us directly to discuss local, state, and federal grants.

2025 Events

 Mill Creek Watershed Management Plan

The Hendricks County SWCD and partners have identified a need to focus education, outreach and implementation efforts in the Mill Creek watershed. Based on water quality degradation, sediment transport, flooding and E. coli concerns the SWCD and partners are launching the Mill Creek watershed management planning project in 2025.

This effort will

1. Identify projects completed and highlight successes and failures since the 1965 watershed work plan and 2005 TMDL development

2. Provide a foundation from which future efforts can be based

3. Bring Mill Creek stakeholders together to create shared goals to address water quality and quantity

Our goals throughout this project are to

1. Build a steering committee

2. Complete watershed inventory

3. Conduct water quality monitoring

4. Develop a watershed management plan

5. Develop a focused outreach and education program

Steering Committee Meeting - September 11th

Porter FArm

About

Porter Farm was established in 2019 as a working veteran farm and demonstration space. The farm is a partnership between Indiana Farmer Veteran Coalition and Hendricks County Soil and Water Conservation District. The farm is currently being farmed by veteran tenants and hosts workshops for the community on various small farm and urban farm topics.

Conservation Practices

Currently the farm produces vegetables, meat chickens, sheep, berries and honey. All of these products are maintained and grown with conservation practices such as cover crops, no-till, mulching and rotational grazing. Porter has a host of native plantings for pollinators and also a raingarden to improve water infiltration and water quality.

2025 porter workshops

Workshops are held the 2nd Thursday of the month at 6pm

• April 10th

  • Rain Barrels

• May 8th

  • Mushroom Inoculation

• June 19th

  • Planting Natives

• July 10th

  • TBD

•  August 14th

  • TBD

• September 11th

  • TBD

Contact Us

Our Office

195 Meadow Drive, Suite 2
Danville, Indiana 46122

Call us:
317-745-2555 ext. 3

PUBLIC MEETINGS

The public is encouraged to attend our monthly board meetings, held at 7:30am on the 1st Tuesday of the month. Occasionally, we will move the time up or back to accommodate other district business. To find out about this month’s meeting, please call our office (317-745-2555 ex. 3).

2025 Sponsors

Gold Sponsors

Fleece Insurance Inc.