Twenty students will take home honors in this year’s Youth Conservation Poster Contest sponsored by the Richland Soil and Water Conservation District (RSWCD).

Students created posters based on the topic “Healthy Soils: Healthy Life,” raising awareness about how soil serves as the foundation for many items in our daily lives, such as food, clothing, clean water and homes. To be healthy, people need healthy ecosystems, and those ecosystems rely on healthy soil.

“Soil and water conservation districts were born out of a soil crisis,” said RSWCD chairman Kenny Mullis, referring to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, which prompted the creation of soil and water conservation districts nationwide. “It’s our mission to prevent something like that from happening again by raising awareness about soil conservation and teaching the next generation to take care of natural resources.”

To help students explore the contest’s theme, RSWCD provided 27 classroom education programs for nearly 500 students on the topics of soil science and soil conservation during the 2021-2022 school year.

In all, 111 students from nine schools submitted entries in this year’s contest. Winners will receive cash prizes, and four entries will progress to the state competition sponsored by the S.C. Association of Conservation Districts.

The Youth Conservation Poster Contest is an annual education program hosted by the RSWCD with support from the state and national Associations of Conservation Districts. For more information, contact Chanda Cooper at cooper.chanda@richlandcountysc.gov.

This year’s winners are:

Kindergarten-First Grade

• First place: Talia Bowen, Arden Elementary
• Second place: Promise Harris, Edward E. Taylor Elementary
• Third place: Al’Lanya Abraham, Edward E. Taylor Elementary
• Honorable mention: Maurice Livingston, Arden Elementary

Second-Third Grades

• First place: Kayden Ashford-Reed, Edward E. Taylor Elementary
• Second place: Onesty Corbin, Edward E. Taylor Elementary
• Third place: Bella Falk Tvizer, Cutler Jewish Day School
• Honorable mention: Kobee Jones, Edward E. Taylor Elementary
• Honorable mention: Amarie Harrison, Edward E. Taylor Elementary

Fourth-Sixth Grades

• First place: Eisley Johnson, Edward E. Taylor Elementary
• Second place: Beatrice Jones, Brockman Elementary
• Third place: Arleth Dominguez Lucatero, Arden Elementary
• Honorable mention: Savannah Green, Bethel-Hanberry Elementary
• Honorable mention: Eli Shoeman, Cutler Jewish Day School
• Honorable mention: Amanda Enamorado Cortes, Forest Heights Elementary

Seventh-Ninth Grades

• First place: Sarah Hernandez, Spring Valley High
• Second place: Van Ngo, Longleaf Middle
• Third place: Lara Quintero, Longleaf Middle
• Honorable mention: Sophia Hinson, Spring Valley High
• Honorable mention: Ariana Belleastin, Ridge View High