On Sept. 19, the Kosciusko Leadership Academy cadets visited The Lilly Center for Lakes and Streams at Grace College.  
Dr. Nate Bosch, director of Lilly Center for Lakes and Streams, and Lyn Crichton, executive director for The Watershed Foundation, presented the economic impact of the lakes and explained the many ways their organizations are protecting the greatest natural assets in Kosciusko County, according to a news release from KLA.
Bosch explained his organization’s strategy of keeping Kosciusko County’s waterways clean, healthy, safe and beautiful through research, education, and collaboration. The economic impact study done by the Lilly Center showed that over $300 million is brought into the local economy annually because of the lakes. With over 100 lakes and nearly 600 miles of streams in Kosciusko County, water is the county’s greatest natural resource. The rivers flow into Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico from the continental divide near North Webster.
Crichton presented to the cadets the mission of The Watershed Foundation: “Protecting our Lakes, Protecting Our Future.” TWF will continue to protect and improve water quality for today and for the future generations through projects such as shoreline and seawall naturalization, and riverbank restoration, stated the release. Keeping sediments and artificial nutrients like phosphates from flowing into the Tippecanoe watershed is TWF’s highest priority. To learn more please visit their new website at https://watershedfoundation.org/
The next KLA session will cover law enforcement and the judicial system in Kosciusko County at the old courtroom in the Kosciusko County Courthouse on Oct. 3.