Columbia, SC – Twenty-three students will receive awards in this year’s Conservation Poster Contest sponsored by the Richland Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD). Student posters addressed the topic “Life in the Soil: Dig Deeper,” raising awareness about the importance of healthy soil ecosystems and how humans can protect and promote soil life. Students illustrated this theme in a multitude of ways, from the colorful biology of soil ecosystems to conservation practices such as silt fences which reduce soil erosion on disturbed ground. This year’s participants demonstrated that soil is more than just “dirt,” and that we should take precautionary measures to ensure its health.
This year’s winners are:
K-1st Grades:
- First Place: Samara Wilkins, Edward E. Taylor Elementary, 1st grade
- Second Place: Zipporah Bull, Arden Elementary, 1st grade
- Third Place: Rylie Cureton, Catawba Trail Elementary, 1st grade
- Honorable Mention: Lily Rankin, AC Moore Elementary, 1st grade
- Honorable Mention: Ian Pordes, AC Moore Elementary, 1st grade
2nd-3rd Grades:
- First Place: Evan Outlaw, Catawba Trail Elementary, 2nd grade
- Second Place: Natalie McElveen, Logan Elementary, 2nd Grade
- Third Place: Nigeria Brown, Edward E. Taylor Elementary, 3rd grade
- Honorable Mention: Tanner Toogood, Lake Carolina Elementary, 3rd grade
- Honorable Mention: Janely Resendíz, L.W. Conder Arts Integrated Magnet School, 3rd grade
4th-6th Grades:
- First Place: Annie James, Crayton Middle School, 6th grade
- Second Place: Sara Weston, Crayton Middle School, 6th grade
- Third Place: Gabrielle Franklin, Bethel-Hanberry Elementary, 4th grade
- Honorable Mention: Eliza Brown, Saint John Neumann Catholic School, 5th grade
- Honorable Mention: Ayanna Frederick, Catawba Trail Elementary, 5th grade
- Honorable Mention: Lillie Brown, Bethel-Hanberry Elementary, 4th grade
7th-9th Grades:
- First Place: Destiny Houston, Longleaf Middle School, 7th grade
- Second Place: Lillie Graham, Longleaf Middle School, 7th grade
- Third Place: Erin Kohn, Sisältö Institutti, 8th grade
- Honorable Mention: Samaiya Days, Longleaf Middle School, 7th grade
- Honorable Mention: DeAsia Jacobs, Longleaf Middle School, 7th grade
- Honorable Mention: Abdurhman Quzah, Longleaf Middle School, 7th grade
10th-12th Grades:
- First Place: Taylor Kohn, Sisältö Institutti, 10th grade
Winners will receive cash prizes and will be recognized at the Richland SWCD’s Conservation Cookout on May 22nd. Five entries will progress to the state competition sponsored by the SC Association of Conservation Districts.
Nearly 150 students submitted entries to this year’s contest, and nearly 2,000 students learned about the contest topic through interactive presentations conducted in classrooms across Richland County. “When students can understand a natural resource better, they are more likely to want to conserve and to take care of it. This poster contest allowed the students to understand soil better, and to turn it into art,” says Mary Hannah Lindsay, a recent University of South Carolina graduate and Richland SWCD Education Program Assistant. “There is beauty in soil, and even more in protecting it, and this was a great way for students to see that and teach it to others through their posters.”
The Conservation Poster Contest is an annual education program hosted by the Richland SWCD with support from the South Carolina and National Associations of Conservation Districts. For more information about this or other conservation education programs, contact Chanda Cooper at cooper.chanda@richlandcountysc.gov.
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Conservation Districts are political subdivisions of state government under the local direction of five-member Boards of Commissioners. In South Carolina, Conservation District boundaries conform to County boundaries. The Richland Soil and Water Conservation District promotes the wise use and care of natural resources for long-term sustainability.
Contact
Richland Soil and Water Conservation District
2020 Hampton Street, Room 3063A
Columbia, SC 29204
Phone (803) 576-2080
Fax (803) 576-2088
E-mail soilandwater@rcgov.us
Facebook www.facebook.com/rswcd