Columbia, SC--This year, Arbor Day falls on Friday, Dec. 1, and Richland County students in grades preK-12 are invited to celebrate our local trees by participating in the Richland County Arbor Day Youth Contest. Winners will receive $25 cash prizes! Entries may be individual, group or class projects, but only one cash prize will be awarded per winning entry. The contest is open to preK-12 students who live in, or attend school in, Richland County. The submission deadline is Friday, November 3, 2017.
Student Instructions: The Real Trees of Richland County
Step 1: Choose a specific tree in your yard, neighborhood, school, or local park.
Step 2: Learn as much as you can about the tree. Use these questions to spark your imagination and kick-start your research: What species does it belong to?
How old is it?
What kind of fruit or seed does it produce?
What color are its leaves in the fall or flowers in the spring?
What is its taxonomic classification?
How does this tree affect you?
What is its role in the ecosystem where it lives?
What is the history of this tree or tree species in Richland County?
Where is this species found?
Step 3: Share what you’ve learned about your tree by creating one of the entries below!
Video
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Create a video nominating your tree for inclusion in a fictitious Real
Trees of Richland County reality TV show. Why is your tree important?
Why should a TV show about Richland County’s trees feature your tree?
Videos may include skits, songs, dances, infomercial-style speeches, or
other performances. Performances should not exceed five minutes in
length. Submit the performance in a ready-to-play video format on
CD/DVD or through an online video sharing service. If the entry is
submitted electronically, include the information from the entry form in an e-mail to RichlandSWCD@gmail.com along with a link to the entry. Ideas:
Convince the judges to feature your tree by telling them about its
unique location and history, its importance to the ecosystem and to
humans, and why other people would be interested in seeing and learning
more about this particular tree.
|
| Biography |
Become your tree’s biographer. Using words, photos, drawings, maps,
and/or other 2D media, create a brief biography of your tree telling its
life story or important “personal stats” (e.g., species, height, age,
hometown, habitat, special features, etc.). The biography may take the
form of a poster (8.5x11” to 22x28”) or a booklet (five pages or fewer).
Ideas: You may include a portrait of your tree; drawings, rubbings
or pressings of its flowers, bark, fruits, or leaves; depictions or
descriptions of your tree’s location and habitat; information or
illustrations of the roles your tree serves in the ecosystem; and
descriptions of its interactions with other trees, animals or people. |
| Ornament |
Create an Arbor Day ornament that represents your tree, or that
represents something important about your tree. To create your
ornament, you may use only upcycled materials (things that would
otherwise be thrown away—used cardboard tubes and boxes, paper and
fabric scraps, bottlecaps, lids, found items, etc.) or natural materials
(twigs, leaves, bark, etc.) you forage from the habitat where your tree
grows. The ornament must be smaller than 5”x5”x5”, light enough to
hang, and include a mechanism (loop, string, hook) for hanging. Along
with your ornament, submit one index card’s worth of explanatory
information about your ornament and the tree it represents. Ideas:
If your tree’s lumber was used historically for shipbuilding, your
ornament could be a wooden ship; if your tree is important because it
shades your house, your ornament might be a tiny house with a tree
growing beside it. If your tree’s fruits are an important food source
for a particular species of bird, your ornament could depict the bird. |
Submission deadline: Friday, November 3, 2017
How to Enter: Submit contest entries and a completed entry form (or a document or email containing the same information as the entry form) via fax, e-mail, US Mail, or hand delivery to:
Richland Soil and Water Conservation District
2020 Hampton Street, Room 3063A
Columbia, SC 29204
Phone: (803) 576-2080
Fax: (803) 576-2088
E-mail: RichlandSWCD@gmail.com
Printables
Arbor Day Youth Contest Flyer
Arbor Day Youth Contest Student Instructions
Arbor Day Youth Contest Entry Form
Join Richland County in celebrating Arbor Day on Friday, December 1, 2017!