ELKHART COUNTY, Ind. – A free conservation meeting was held Thursday for women who are land owners in local counties.

The main topics of discussion at the meeting were forestry management, native plants and invasive species.

Women at the event say they participated in order to pass down the knowledge to future generations and help conserve the land.

“It’s essential to have these programs. Introduce people that know nothing about it especially kids. I’m telling you they have no idea what interesting things they can come up against when they’re out in nature,” land owner Carol Navy said.

Women in the Midwest own or co-own between one-quarter and one-half of all farmland.