Conservation Districts News and Events

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources- Land, Water, and Conservation Division and South Carolina Association of Conservation Districts
	Conservation News

Calhoun Conservation District

2001 Earth Day Poster Contest State Winners

The Calhoun Soil and Water Conservation District sponsored the 2001 Earth Day Poster Contest, "There's A Tree in My Pocket." The contest was opened to all Calhoun County Elementary Schools K-5 through 4th grades.

Students germinated seeds in their pockets (body heat speeds up sprouting) and then planted them in the soil. The students predicted how different conditions such as the amount of light, water, and type of soil would affect plant growth, and then grew the seedlings in these different situations to see if their predictions were correct. Posters included pictures of the students growing the plants, results of the growth experiment and student ideas about how forests are important in our everyday lives.

We are very proud to announce that Calhoun Conservation District had three state winning posters and two runners up. The state winners are: 1st Grade _ Vicky Burk and Betsy Boland, 3rd Grade _ Stacie Jones and Michele Hiers, and 4th Grade _ Belle Perrow and Beth Felder. All of the state winners are from Calhoun Academy. The State runners-up are: K-5 _ Lisa Carter, Becky Blanton, Cathie Atkinson and Tommie Jones of Calhoun Academy and 2nd Grade _ Marla Fanning of Guinyard Elementary School.

State winning posters will be on display at the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia, SC. The state winning classes and runners-up were given a pizza party by the Calhoun Conservation District.

Spartanburg SWCD Sponsors Summer Camp

The Spartanburg SWCD, Clemson Extension, and University of South Carolina-Spartanburg (USC-S) Watershed Ecology group recently sponsored an "H2O Pontoon Classroom Camp." The three-day camp took place at Lake Bowen in Spartanburg County. The students learned about water quality and water ecology, measured the clarity of the lake and also studied watersheds and aquatic insects. They also took water samples and studied them under microscopes. Dr. Jack Turner, Spartanburg SWCD commissioner, taught the students about different organism in the lake. The participants then measured the dissolved oxygen and recorded their findings in notebooks provided by Clemson Extension.

Lancaster Conservation District Introduces Students to "Scientific Knowledge" (S.K.) Worm

Sheila Outen, Lancaster manager, agreed to teach a series of conservation lessons at day camps sponsored by the Joint Recreation Commission of Lancaster County. The day camps are part of the after-school programs of the Recreation Commission and are offered to children in grades K-5 in Lancaster County.

As you can imagine, keeping 50 to 60 children occupied five days a week is a real challenge! The Recreation Commission was very pleased to have the Conservation District teach one morning each week. Outen began searching for topics and teaching tools to do "hands-on" classroom work. "I knew that talking for three hours wasn't going to work," Outen said. "I found S. K. Worm on the SC-NRCS homepage and thought it would make an excellent lesson plan. It teaches the students all about soils."

Outen printed the S. K. Worm information off the website for each student, and presented the students with certificates stating they had completed the training on soils to become `an honorary worm.' Outen prepared several buckets of different soil types and let the students make their own soil profile on a paper plate with glue. The students also read the S. K. Worm information to Outen and answered the 13 different questions about soils.

Outen praised NRCS Civil Engineering Technician Randy Taylor who is also the webmaster for SC-NRCS. "I am so glad there is educational information available on the SC-NRCS website. I am very pleased Randy keeps the website so up to date and remembers those of us in the field who work with children."

Sumter SWCD Hosts 2001 Quad-County Meeting

The Sumter Conservation District hosted the quarterly meeting of the Sumter, Lee, Clarendon, and Williamsburg Conservation District Boards of Commissioners. Larry Nates, SCACD president, and PeeDee Area Representative Jimmy Lynch were present for the meeting and brought the commissioners in attendance up to date on association activities. The Quad-County Meetings were initiated by Sumter District Commissioner Charles Broadwell to facilitate across county line district efforts. The meetings are informal and allow the commissioners to exchange ideas and current projects in each of their districts.

Hampton SWCD Celebrates Wild and Well Day 2001

The Hampton SWCD hosted another outstanding Wild and Well Day at Lake Warren State Park with nearly 200 in attendance! The fourth graders from Hampton and Varnville Elementary Schools rotated among eight learning stations including forestry, anti-tobacco, wildlife, food fun and nutrition, "Snakes Aren't Scary," recycling, water quality and water conservation. This action packed day was designed to promote an appreciation for the environment and wildlife and to encourage healthy life-style choices.

This successful event was a partnership between Beaufort SWCD, Clemson Extension 4-H Service, Hampton SWCD, Hampton Recreation Department, Lake Warren State Park, Orangeburg SWCD, NRCS, SCDNR, and SC Forestry Commission. For more information, contact Education Coordinator Paula Rhodes at (803)943-2586.

Sumter SWCD Hosts Environmental Institute for Teachers

The Sumter Conservation District hosted an Environmental Institute for Teachers on May 29 _ June 6, 2001. The workshop, entitled "Mapping South Carolina," featured the SC Maps program for two days and then incorporated wildlife habitat, soils, urban development, and backyard conservation. The workshop was a combination of lecture and hands-on field trips. The teachers received three non-degree graduate credit hours through the Citadel, and the course may also be used for re-certification credit.

State Technical Committee Tour

On Wednesday, May 30, 2001, the State Technical Committee took their annual tour in Newberry County. The tour began in the Newberry Service Center with a brief overview of the Newberry SWCD given by Annette Davis, the district and education coordinator.

Wayne Kesler, the county executive director, gave a summary of program eligibility for the Continuous Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Kellee Melton, soil conservationist, gave a Toolkit demonstration of a conservation plan for a dairy farm owned by Wayne and William Satterwhite. Afterwards, the committee toured the Satterwhite farm. The participants watched as Wayne Satterwhite operated a pasture aerator and Charles Barr, NRCS soil conservation technician, discussed the benefits of the timing of aeration with fertilization and rainfall.

Satterwhite led the group to his CRP site where riparian forest buffers have been planned. Cows and hogs, at one time, had free access to the creeks before the implementation of CRP which allowed fencing of half of his streams (the other half is in the process of being fenced). The group discussed the value of CRP and EQIP as they toured the Satterwhite Farm operation.

USDA-NRCS is an equal opportunity employer and provider.