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 & DROPLETSPARTICLES & DROPLETSPARTICLES & DROPLETSPARTICLES & DROPLETSPARTICLES & DROPLETSPARTICLES & DROPLETSPARTICLES & DROPLETSPARTICLES & 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 2013Summer 2013Summer 2013Summer 2013

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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 gheathman@haywoodnc.net

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 & WaterHaywood Soil & WaterHaywood Soil & WaterHaywood Soil & Water Conservation DistrictConservation DistrictConservation DistrictConservation District 589 Raccoon Rd., Ste. 203 Waynesville, NC 28786 828.452.2741 ext. 3

Board of SupervisorsBoard of SupervisorsBoard of SupervisorsBoard 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 NRCSUSDA NRCSUSDA NRCSUSDA 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

2013 Winning Essay: Water...the Cycle of Life Daniel LaFata, a 6th grader at BMS, wrote this year’s

winning essay. Janet Frazier is Daniel’s AIG teacher. Here are

some excerpts from his essay: — Did you know that we drink, shower, and cook with the same wa-ter that the dinosaurs used?! That’s right. But how does this happen? This process is called the water cycle. It’s the way we humans, plants, and animals survive. So read on to learn more about this ex-tremely interesting process. — Water is important because we could not live without water. Did you know that the average American uses one hundred gallons a day?! That’s right! So we need to conserve water. — We can all help conserve water by turning off the water while brushing our teeth or turning off the water while putting soap on in the shower. You could also only start the dishwasher when it’s full. — And this process keeps going, and going, and going! It will never stop! That’s how we still use the same water. So, let’s all work together!

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2014 Contest Theme: The Living Soil

Below are brief details about our five contests. Student info should always include name, grade, school, teacher’s name and our name (Haywood SWCD). Please contact Gail for further information, resource materials or a classroom visit:

gheathman @haywoodnc.net or call 452-2741, ext. 3.

• Poster Contest: 3rd, 4th and 5th grades Posters should be submitted flat, no larger than 24 x 36 inches with student info on the back and contest title on the front.

• Essay Contest: 6th grade Essays should contain 300—500 words, have the title on the front, student info on the back, on regular sized paper.

• Slide Show Contest: 6th grade (PowerPoint) Up to 15 slides allowed (less accepted), followed by a blank slide, then student information. Animations and audio are allowed; video is strictly prohibited. Do not save as PPTX file.

• Speech Contest: 7th and 8th grades Speeches should be 4—6 minutes in length. Students com-pete during Awards Night in February. No personal identification to be given, no visual aids. Please notify Gail of student plans to com-pete no later than January 30, 2014.

*The teacher/mentor to the 1st place winner gets $50!

• Computer Generated Poster Contest: 9th grade Students can use software of choice If printed, poster should be no larger than 24 x 36 inches. Should be submitted elec-tronically using one of the following file formats: JPEG, GIF, PDF, PPT, PNG, PUB. Student info should be put on 2nd page including file format. *The 2013 winner used PowerPoint.

Prizes! 1st Place: $50 & trophy 2nd Place: $25 & trophy 3rd Place: $15 & trophy Hon. Mention: $10 & trophy

Deadline: January 30, 2014

2013-14 The Living Soil

2014-15 Wetlands are Wonderful

2015-16 We All Live in a Watershed

All critters need healthy soil, and that includes YOU!

Like, water is US!Like, water is US!Like, water is US!Like, water is US!

Actually, you would

not hear these two

using incorrect Eng-

lish. What you would

hear, if you listened

to each WMS stu-

dent’s carefully

honed speech (no less

than 4 or more than 6

minutes, mind you) would be a veritable ocean of infor-

mation pertaining to processes like transpiration,

evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltra-

tion...in other words, exactly why water IS the cycle of

life!

Brittani Clark (8th) and Natalie Swaim (7th) were first

place winners during Awards Night in February, ad-

vancing to the Area 1 (Association of Soil and Water

Conservation Districts) contest soon afterward, com-

peting against District winners from other WNC coun-

ties. In May the two headed to Raleigh to compete in

the State Speech Contest.

The girls’ trip was sponsored by the District and Area 1.

Both girls received Honorable Mention. We’re ex-

tremely proud of “our girls” for bravely taking on the

challenging (and quite terrifying, for many) task of pub-

lic speaking. And we also applaud the efforts of their

mentors, Sherry Swaim (Natalie) and AIG teacher Nata-

lie Howell (Brittani).

����Brittani�Clark�and�Natalie�Swaim�

Junaluska 5th grader wins Area contest!

Alexandria Traynham, left, a fifth grader at Junaluska Elementary (Joyce Massie), did a poster that also won the Area 1 Poster Contest, getting an additional $50 in prize money. Her poster represented Area 1 in Raleigh in the State Poster contest.

One 6th grader and two contests = four prizes!

What’s better than submitting an entry in a local contest and winning first place? From the smile WMS sixth grader Sarah Swaim is wearing, it may be to walk away carrying a trophy in each hand! Only sixth graders have two contests they can enter, and like her sister Natalie before her, Sarah entered both, winning 1st place in the Slide Show contest and 2nd in the Essay. And the victories didn’t stop there — Sarah’s slide show went on to win the Area contest and sec-ond place in the State contest!

Of course we don’t know what Margo Leek, member of the THS team Inner Circle was thinking, but here are some guesses:

It’s awesome to be here!

I’m glad I have other proms ahead

of me so I didn’t have to miss

coming to the State Envirothon this

year like those older kids!

Even though I’m on crutches and

Cedar Rock Park is a big place, I’m still glad I’m here!

It was indeed awesome to be there among teams from across the state! When the State Envirothon fell on the same date as both high school proms, two THS teams had to make a choice, opening the way for the freshman THS team to go, and each middle school had a team compet-ing.

As for the Area Envirothon, held earlier in March at the Test Farm, Haywood was well represented by 14 teams! We appreciate the dedication of all the advisors — Sue Miller and Mark Ethridge (THS), Amy Warren (4-H), Steve Wyatt (PHS), Natalie Howell (WMS), Diedra Boone (BMS) and Janet Frazier (both BMS and CMS)!

Lastly and very importantly, we are hugely indebted to the Pigeon River Fund for providing the funding to Haywood, Madison and Buncombe SWCD’s! What a tremendous thing, to have financial help so that kids can learn about the environment and love every minute of it!

Digging deeper: THS students Dinwiddie and Rogers off to NCSU in June

Envirothon teammates Allie Dinwiddie and Maggie Rogers, right, will begin a new adventure

together in June when they travel to Raleigh, sponsored by the District, to attend the Re-

source Conservation Workshop at NCSU. The RCW offers an opportunity to spend time in the

field with natural resource professionals studying wildlife and fisheries management, forest

management, soils, water quality, watershed management plus scholarship opportunities.

Allie’s relationship with the District began back in 3rd grade when she drew a poster about soil

that went on to win 1st place in the State Poster Contest. Later she attended the YES Camp

and competed on Envirothon teams.

Maggie has also competed in the Envirothon for several years. And if she has questions about

the RCW, she need only ask brother Brian, who attended the RCW in 2009.

...change must be made with

each human becoming more

aware of themselves and the

environmental footprint we

are all leaving behind. — Maggie Rogers

Having students participate in our contests undoubt-

edly adds to an already long “to do” list for busy

teachers, and yet, many of you manage it. Sincere

thanks go to all of you who helped your students learn

about conservation in creative ways!!

Clyde Elementary: Alison Lipham, Debbie Howell, Ms. Wells

Junaluska Elementary: Amy Kilgore, Connie Allen, Joyce Massie

N. Canton Elementary: Jill Mann, Lisa Holland, Will Hicks, Lori

Moody, Sara Jenkins

Riverbend Elementary: Susie Nassis, Julia Hernandez

BMS, CMS—Janet Frazier (AIG)

WMS—Natalie Howell (AIG)

Bethel Christian Academy—Cathy Clampitt

*And last but not least, one special mom who made sure her 3

daughters entered no less than 4 contests: Sherry Swaim!

Thanks!

Thanks!

Thanks!

Thanks!

Third grade teachers...did you know that for the upcoming poster contest you can request resources for your classroom and/or a classroom visit for activities such as…

• Making soil babies

• Perc thru the Pores (soil particle size & pore space)

• Composting & vermicomposting (Gail with Tim Mathews) Call Gail at 452-2741, ext. 3 or email gheathman@haywoodnc.net