Throughout the year, the Washington County SWCD is involved with many youth programs to promote soil and water conservation education. Youth education events in 2014 included:
Envirothon: Annually, The Washington County SWCD sponsors two teams from each of the three county high schools to participate in the Indiana Regional Envirothon. This program promotes and builds awareness of environmental education to high school students.
Farm Bureau Ag Day: This annual event is for third graders in Washington County to learn about the importance of Agriculture in their lives. The District partnered with Purdue Extension-Washington County to teach 3rd graders in Washington County how the importance of taking care of the soil we have now.
Earth Day/Arbor Day: The Washington County SWCD, along with the Mill Creek-Blue River Watershed, hosted their annual Arbor Day/Earth Day program at Bradie Shrum Elementary, East Washington Elementary and West Washington Elementary in April of 2014. About 1,500 Kindergarten through 4th grade students in the county interacted with presentations that reflected on Earth Day and honored Arbor Day. Students enjoyed a visit by special guest Smokey Bear. Each classroom received numerous handouts, fact sheets, coloring sheets, bookmarks and more to use in the classroom. Each student received a free tree to take home and plant. Third grade students received a Pecan tree from the State Nursery in Vallonia. All other students in attendance received a White Spruce tree, sponsored by the Washington County SWCD.
Catlin Farm Day: Local SWCD staff works jointly with Salem Elementary Teacher, Mr. Catlin to coordinate speakers and topics for his 5th grade class to take a field trip to his family farm. Last year, students learned about farm safety, horses, sheep, hogs, bees, wildlife photography and how to recycle a milk jug into a birdfeeder.
County Fair: The Washington Co. SWCD participated in the Kids Day program at the county fair. Over 250 kids stopped by the SWCD booth to play a game that required them to dig out items from a sand-filled kiddie pool and determine if they were “Environmentally Friendly” or “Environmentally Harmful”. Each child received a slice of watermelon and entered their name into the drawing for a McDonald’s gift certificate.
County Soils Contest: In August, the SWCD hosted a county wide soils judging contest for 87 high school students. The District coordinated the contest with NRCS and Purdue Extension. The goal of the contest is to educate the importance of soil and water by providing hands-on experience and give students a chance to prepare for the regional contest.
Soils Invitational: In September, the SWCD organized and hosted the 2nd Annual Washington County Soils Invitational. In total, 187 students from Blue River Valley FFA, Castle FFA, Eastern FFA, Fairfield FFA, Forest Park FFA, Gibson Southern FFA, Harrison County 4-H, North Harrison FFA, Orleans FFA, Salem FFA, South Decatur FFA, Southern Wells FFA, Southwestern Shelby FFA, Trinity Lutheran FFA, West Washington FFA and White River Valley FFA participated in the event.
The Washington County SWCD Board of Supervisors has historically been a promoter of education for the youth of Washington County. The District has allocated funds and staff for these events each year and feel that educating the youth of Washington County is an investment for the future stewardship of our natural resources.