The Warren County Conservation District hosted its annual conservation tour Saturday.

Conservation District Manager Heather Wilcox said the tour would contain a sample of programs the district has worked on in the past year.

"One of our goals is to educate people about our efforts to reduce non-point source pollution," she said. "Non-point source pollution is pollution which can't be pinpointed to a source."

Everyone is responsible for it, Wilcox emphasized.

"It's the nature of human activity," she said. "Today, we'll look at places where they've tried to reduce non-point source pollution."

Wilcox said she hoped participants would pick up on something they can do themselves or influence neighbors to do.

Office Manager Judy Froman gave a presentation on plastics pollution.

"It is hazardous to people and the environment," she said. "A throw-away lifestyle began in the '50s and continues today."

In that time, the majority of the plastics produced are still on the Earth, Froman said.

"They're not like paper," she said. "They don't biodegrade. They're made from oil, a non-renewable resource."

Froman said plastic stays around for at least 1,000 years.

"They escape landfills and get in our oceans," she said. "Plastic bags look like jellyfish to animals."

Animals can get tangled up in plastics and try to eat them.

"Birds will try to eat lighters, toothbrushes and bottlecaps," she said. "They block their intestines and cause malnutrition. They feed them to their young."

The tour stopped at Warren Commons where District Technician Josh Dean discussed the stormwater management system there.

"Half of the water from the site goes to the Conewango Creek," he said. "There's an underground filtration system with plastic cones stacked on top of each other."

Dean also talked about the community gardens at the Hatch Run Conservation Demonstration Area.

"Last year was the first year for the gardens," he said. "There were ten plots and they were all rented out. This year, we have 18."

The potatoes and tomatoes were struck with blight, Dean said.

"We requested renters dig those plants up," he said. "It's a shame because some people had nice tomato plants."

Agricultural Conservation Technician Michael Wright discussed the cattle in the grazing area.

"There's been some mowing but no chemical fertilizer on the land," he said. "If we wanted them to eat weeds down, we'd take away some of the area they have to work with."

Wright said the goal was for the animals to take half and leave half of the plants.

"They could graze until Christmas time," he said. "The ground's solid enough it won't turn to mud."

Beef cows do not need to be fed grain, Wright said.

"Grass doesn't produce cookie-cutter animals," he said. "They have different back fat cover."