2022 Lake Michigan Champions of Conservation

In 2022, the following nominees were selected as our Lake Michigan Champions of Conservation:

Clean Farm Families of Ozaukee County- led by Andy Holschbach & Mike Paulus

When the Clean Farm Families was established in 2016, their first goal was to educate farmers on the benefits of reducing tillage and incorporating cover crops into crop rotations.  Today, the group of 10 local farmers not only educate, but implement and commend the soil health practices that we incentivize to our community.  Clean Farm Families’ research in innovative and regenerative practices on the land strives to grow soil health practices while maintaining a profitable farmstead. Their demonstration plots, field days, soil health workshops and conservation practice incentive funds have proven to be effective in promoting “healthy soils and cleaner water” as more and more farmers are realizing their resource concerns and making better management decisions on their farms. The Clean Farm Families continues to pursue innovative practices and supports regenerative agriculture.  Practices such as No-Till, Cover Crops, Harvestable Buffers, Planting Green, Low Disturbance Manure Injections, Nutrient Testing and a new practice of incorporating Grazing, are paving the way to a more sustainable tomorrow. They are excited to see their platform for all landowners, not just in Ozaukee County, open to new ideas when it comes to soil health and water quality.  Best management practices happen not just along the lakeshore, but on all farmed land. Clean Farm Families look forward to the continued research and the growth of soil health practices throughout Southeast Wisconsin.

Bill Moren

Upon his retirement as Vice President – Independent Distribution for Principal Financial Group, Bill and his wife Pat moved to Port Washington in 2004.  Over the years he has taken on leadership roles for several local non-profits. He led the Feith Family Y Strong Kids Campaign for two years and served as Board Chair for three years. He was the Co-Chair of the YMCA of Metro Milwaukee Strong Kids Campaign for two years. In 2010 he was chosen as the YMCA of Metro Milwaukee Volunteer Leader of the Year. For nine years, he represented all Wisconsin Ys on the Y of the USA Regional Committee on Membership Standards. He also served as President of the Port Washington Main Street Board as well as on the Steering Committee of the Ozaukee Treasurers Network. From 2012 – 2014, he chaired the Port Exploreum Museum Advisory Board for the Port Washington Historical Society.  As Chair, he led the creation of the Port Exploreum and the successful Capital Campaign, which exceeded its $2,540,000 goal. After the Exploreum opened, he led the development of Lake Michigan Learning Lab that provided middle school students the opportunity to study issues affecting water quality in our region and the future health of Lake Michigan. He also served as the Board President of the Port Washington Historical Society. In 2017, he joined the proposed Lake Michigan National Marine Sanctuary support working group. In 2018, he led the establishment of the inaugural “Love Our Great Lakes Day” in Port Washington, which continued under his leadership in 2019, 2021, and is currently planned for Oct 15, 2022. This spring he headed up a Rotary project, collaborating with the Western Great Lakes Bird and Bat Observatory and the Design-Build class at TJ Middle School, to plant 600 native plants and shrubs and build a rain garden on the grounds of the Feith Family YMCA. He currently serves on the Development Committees of the Kettle Moraine YMCA and the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust. He is a graduate of the University of Colorado and holds the LLIF designation from Babson College and LIMRA.

Julia Noordyk 

Julia Noordyk is the Water Quality Outreach Specialist with the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant where she works with coastal communities on a variety of topics including green infrastructure, clean marinas, flood resilience and First Nations Traditional Ecological Knowledge. A former NOAA Coastal Management Fellow, Julia came to Sea Grant from the Maine Coastal Program where she was a senior planner working on outreach programs in offshore wind energy, water quality and coastal public access. Julia is a leader in the basin and region in green infrastructure. She developed the publication “Tackling Barriers to Green Infrastructure: An Audit of Municipal Codes and Ordinances,” which guides communities through their municipal codes and ordinance to identify any that would prevent the building of green infrastructure. This document won a silver award in the category of Public Relations and Community Relations Projects from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). She has used this document as the basis for working with communities on improving green infrastructure. As a leader and coordinator for the Clean Bay Backers, Julia was instrumental in organizing a series of boat cruises on the Fox River and Green Bay. The cruises brought legislators together with stakeholders to highlight the recent successes and remaining work in cleaning up the bay. Julia connected the group with WISG’s graphic designer to help to create a logo for the group and consistent branding. The group is recognized in the area for its high-profile public events. Julia has a M.S. degree in conservation biology and sustainable development from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a B.S. in zoology from Colorado State University

Glen Hills Youth Team

Glen Hills Youth Team comprises 6th-8th grade students in the Glendale River-Hills School District who are passionate about taking control of their future and protecting our environment and ecosystems. This year, they participated in the community clean-up, partnered up with community organizations like Reflo, Learndeep, MeterHero, Gearbox Labs, STEAM Milwaukee, MMSD, Wehr Nature Center, and Milwaukee Riverkeepers, took field trips, and learned about ways to protect our environment and ecosystems and designed plans to create outdoor classrooms and green infrastructure around our school. Some of them designed their own water sensors and came up with solutions like taking shorter showers, avoiding small loads of laundry, and turning off taps while brushing to save water. They also took online classes on climate change and youth advocacy and participated in the MeterHero program. They participated in the Future City STEM Competition and designed their model city based on the circular economy principles. They created flyers to educate others about the benefits of recycling and reuse and came up with more eco-friendly alternatives to replace plastic use. They believe in their pure energy and vision for a sustainable future and are willing to share their passion, connect and build a community to change our world for a better future. They appreciate the ongoing help and support that they get from the community partners to continue their efforts and education to protect our environment and ecosystems.

The Lake Michigan Stakeholders are very happy to award each of these groups and individuals as this year’s Lake Michigan Champions of Conservation!