Category: Kids

LEAVE IT ON THE LAWN

The City of Kearney has multiple street sweepers that run regular routes. These street sweepers are NOT designed to pick up only leaves. To get to their regular routes the street sweepers will be avoiding areas where it is obvious that the property owners have purposely moved leaves off their lawn onto the street.

Composting Ideas

Compost is ready to use when it is dark, brown and crumbly with an earthy odor. It should not be moldy and rotten. Compost should be somewhat fluffy and does not have to be powdery. The original materials should not be recognizable in the compost. Incompletely decomposed materials used in gardens will compete for nitrogen with the soil.

Rain Barrels on Display

By diverting the runoff from our roof, there will be a reduction in stormwater runoff into nearby waterways- such as the Wood River and Platter River. An average barrel costs between $50 and $120. You can make your own out of any used water tight container.

Stormwater Landscaping Ideas

This form of Stormwater Best Management Practice needs a few things to keep in mind: the infiltration rate must be slow enough to lose pollutants but fast enough to avoid prolonged periods of ponded water. It’s usually thought that 24 hours draw down time is optimal.

Waterwise Wednesday: Persistent Perchlorate


Photo © Laura Arredondo

Enjoy the Fourth of July fireworks. And please take time to carefully sweep firework launch and debris landing areas and properly dispose of the debris afterwards.

Perchlorate, a compound used as an oxidizing agent in fireworks (i.e., fuel to make the firework burn), persists in soil and water.

How persistent? Well, Mt. Rushmore National Memorial’s firework shows stopped in 2009. In a 2016 US Geological Survey high levels of perchlorate were still reported in the park – 38 micrograms in a groundwater sample and 54 micrograms/liter in a stream, both in excess of the EPA’s 15 micrograms per liter, and 274 times higher than samples taken outside the memorial park’s borders.

Waterwise Wednesday: Water Safety Tips

Swimmers are bobbing at the pools and lakes. Remember a few tips to stay safe and enjoy the water all summer.

– Always swim with a buddy. Don’t assume that lifeguards can see everything, they’re watching several people at once. Children should always be under active supervision.

– Explore cautiously and make sure you’re comfortable with the body of water you’re swimming in. Rivers and lakes can have undertows. Never dive into an unfamiliar area.

– Remember, more strength is needed to swim in a current. 
If you get caught in a current, don’t panic or try to fight it. Float with it, or swim parallel to the shore.

Photo © Gbphotostock

Walter Walleye Meets Hiram the Pioneer

Hiram from the Western Nebraska Pioneers Baseball and Nebraska H2O’s Walter Walleye

Lied Scottsbluff Public Library hosted a SUN-SATIONAL STAR-STUDDED MORNING on Tuesday, June 11th for A Universe of Stories-Children’s Summer Reading Program. Participants enjoyed a skit by Western Nebraska Community College Theater and variety of activity booths.

Nebraska H2O’s Walter Walleye and Western Nebraska Pioneer Baseball ‘s Hiram mingled with the kids and families.