Haywood Soil & Water Haywood Soil & Water Haywood Soil & Water Haywood Soil & Water Haywood Soil & Water Haywood Soil & Water Haywood Soil & Water Haywood Soil & Water Conservation District Conservation District Conservation District Conservation District Conservation District Conservation District Conservation District Conservation District PARTICLES & DROPLETS PARTICLES & DROPLETS PARTICLES & DROPLETS PARTICLES & DROPLETS PARTICLES & DROPLETS PARTICLES & DROPLETS PARTICLES & DROPLETS PARTICLES & DROPLETS A Newsletter for Educators and Other Interested People A Newsletter for Educators and Other Interested People A Newsletter for Educators and Other Interested People A Newsletter for Educators and Other Interested People Summer 2013 Summer 2013 Summer 2013 Summer 2013 4 Looking Ahead… June 23 — 28: Resource Conservation Workshop at NCSU for high school stu- dents. THS students Maggie Rogers and Allie Dinwiddie have been chosen to attend. June 24—28: YES Camp (Youth Environ- mental Stewardship) for middle school stu- dents. No vacancies remain. July 15 —19 YES Camp (Youth Environ- mental Stewardship), Week II for campers who attended Week I in 2012 August 20 — 26: Haywood County Fair Sept. 16—18: Kids in the Creek (HWA) Sept. 28: Project Aquatic Wild, Purchase Knob (Elementary teachers — Haywood Environ. Initiative) October 9, 10: Conservation Field Days (5th grade) Rain dates October 9th — 10th January 30, 2014: Contest deadline for Poster, Essay, PowerPoint and Computer- generated Poster entries —The Living Soil In this issue: Page 2 Speaking, Writing, PowerPoint & Posters Haywood students excel! Page 3 2014 Contests: The Living Soil Envirothon: Area and State Two from THS: Resource Conservation Workshop Page 4 Conservation Scholarship Winner New Area Scholarship Soil & Water Auxiliary Grant helps WMS Teacher PHS Senior Christina Harvey Awarded Careers in Conservation Scholarship Christina Harvey is no stranger to soil and water conservation districts. With a father who retired from the Haywood Cooperative Extension Office, she’s grown up knowing folks in many of the agencies related to natural resources. She attended both weeks of the District’s YES Camp in middle school, is a seasoned Envirothon team member and last year was one of two students cho- sen by the District to attend the Resource Conservation Workshop at NCSU in June. During the awards luncheon on the final day of the RCW, Christina was named the recipient of the S. Grady Lane Award, winning $100 cash and a $500 scholarship. Now, thanks to The North Carolina Foundation for Soil and Water Conservation, Christina re- cently learned she has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship. The Foundation established the new Careers in Conservation Scholarship to increase the number of qualified people committed to working in the field of natural resource management or other closely related fields that directly support the programs offered by soil and water conservation districts in North Carolina. To learn more about the Foundation, visit www.ncfoundationforsoilandwater.org New! $500 Area I Scholarship Available for WNC Students Haywood SWCD, along with 15 other WNC districts, belongs to the Area 1 Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts. Area 1 recently established a $500 scholarship for students pursuing a degree in agriculture, energy, natural resources, environmental science, field science or a related field. The scholar- ship is open to high school students (seniors will be given priority) and to college students. The deadline will be in April each year with a firm date to be established in the future. Depending on funding, the Area hopes to offer more than one scholarship per year. Contact Gail Heathman at [email protected] 2013 Conservation Teacher of the Year: Janet Frazier She is an outstanding addition to Haywood County Schools. — Jan Nesbitt, Elementary Supervisor Two years ago when AIG teacher Janet Frazier began teaching in Haywood County, she wasted no time picking up where her predeces- sor left off in serving as an Envirothon advisor. Advisors guide teams through preparing for the five-part competition that includes forestry, soils, aquatics, wildlife and current environmental issues. And, if teams rank high enough in the Area Envirothon, advisors also travel with them for an overnight trip to the State Envirothon. This year the unflap- pable Janet took on the job of advising teams at two schools, BMS and CMS, accompanying them to Burlington in April. Each winter the District offers a variety of contests for students. Three of the five (essay, slide show and speech) are open to middle school students, so when she learned about them, Janet involved her students in all three contests. In view of the extra time and effort Janet has invested in helping her students learn more about conservation through participation in District programs, she was (pardon the pun) a natural choice when it came to naming the Conservation Teacher of the Year during Awards Night in February. Congratulations, Janet! Haywood Soil & Water Haywood Soil & Water Haywood Soil & Water Haywood Soil & Water Conservation District Conservation District Conservation District Conservation District 589 Raccoon Rd., Ste. 203 Waynesville, NC 28786 828.452.2741 ext. 3 Board of Supervisors Board of Supervisors Board of Supervisors Board of Supervisors Carlyle Ferguson Bill Yarborough James Ferguson Charles Boyd Robert Cathey Staff: Staff: Staff: Staff: Leslie Smathers Duane Vanhook Kila Thompson Gail Heathman Ryan Manning USDA NRCS USDA NRCS USDA NRCS USDA NRCS John Ottinger I have been amazed with all the students learn through the Envirothon competition! My students enjoyed preparing PowerPoints and essays about “Water... the Cycle of Life! And I have learned so much!! I hope to influence my stu- dents for a love of their county and its resources through the Soil and Water activities that we participate in. - Janet Frazier District Auxiliary Grant Funds WMS Project It wasn’t a huge request—but taking the time to fill out the grant request to the NCASWCD Auxiliary was time well spent for Linda Estes (WMS). Come fall, Linda will welcome some small beings (red wigglers) into her classroom that will help the much bigger beings (students) learn all about vermicomposting. The Worm Factory, purchased by the grant, will occupy less space and be more efficient as the worms turn those apple cores and coffee grounds from teacher lounges into Valuable Stuff. Plus, every single item kept out of the landfill is a bonus for all of us! Grant applications should be turned in to the District office by November 1st; you can obtain the application form here: http://ncaswcd.org/Auxiliary.htm The Area, Division, Foundation...who belongs to what!? Here’s a brief explanation: Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD’s) were established following the Dust Bowl. Each is governed by a 5-member Board of Supervisors (you vote for 3; 2 are appointed). The 96 districts in NC are grouped into 8 Areas — we belong to Area 1, along with 15 other districts in WNC. District Board members make up the NC Association of SWCD’s (NCASWCD). While dis- tricts are county agencies, an Area Coordinator with the NC Division of Soil and Water Conservation coordinates Area events (we have the best, Davis Ferguson!) and serves as a liaison between local districts and the NC Dept. of Ag. & Consumer Services (NCDA&CS). The NC Foundation for Soil and Water Conservation is a non-profit entity that helps fund district projects. THS Student’s Poster Wins State Award! Rachel Swaim, a Tuscola freshman, produced a 3-time winner in the District’s Com- puter Generated Poster Con- test, winning a total of $300 in prize money! The District offers five different contests each winter, with a chance to advance to the Area, then State competition. Winning contests is apparently a Swaim family tradition, with Rachel’s sisters Sarah and Natalie, students at WMS, also advancing to state competition (see page 2). Janet Frazier and Gail Heathman When the land does well for its owner, and the owner does well by his land—when both end up better by reason of their part- nership—then we have con- servation. - Aldo Leopold