ISSUE:
The provision of appropriate levels of funding to support
environmental education programs of Virginia’s Soil and Water
Conservation Districts and the Virginia Association of Soil and Water
Conservation Districts.
IMPORTANCE:
The quality of the environment depends upon the
attitudes and practices of the citizens of tomorrow, as well as the
citizens of today. In Virginia, local SWCDs, as well as the VASWCD,
are primary agencies for providing knowledge and information about the
environment and the importance of conservation. Partnerships with
school systems, the business community, and state agencies allow the
statewide infrastructure of SWCDs to facilitate providing quality
conservation information to the interested public. There is no
dedicated source of funding for environmental education programs,
public or private, in the state of Virginia.
The source of grant funding (319 Grant
Program) that once supported Envirothon and Youth Conservation Camp is
no longer available due to changes in grant criteria focusing on
impaired waters. The VASWCD is constantly looking for replacement
funds to administer these programs.
STATEWIDE
PROGRAMS:
Envirothon
– The Virginia Envirothon Academic Competition has existed since 1995.
Since then, Envirothon has been awarded the 2001 Environmental
Stewardship Award from the Virginia Petroleum Council & the
Commonwealth of Virginia and has placed in the top 15 at the National
Envirothon for the past eight years. Envirothon is a natural resources
competition for high school students. Teams of five students compete
in the areas of: soils, forestry, aquatics, wildlife, an environmental
issue, and an environmental issue oral presentation. Students are
tested on the topics above and their ability to apply that knowledge
to solve real-life environmental problems. The 2003 Environmental
Issue is “The Conservation and Preservation of Agricultural Lands.”
Goals
-
To promote a desire to learn more
about the natural environment and develop knowledge and skills to
apply the basic principles and practices of resource management and
ecology.
-
To promote stewardship of natural
resources and develop critical thinking skills, cooperative
problem-solving skills, and decision making skills of students to
balance the quality of life and the quality of the environment.
-
To provide students with experience in
environmentally oriented activities that enables them to become
environmentally aware, action oriented citizens.
By incorporating the Envirothon
curriculum into classrooms, Conservation Districts in Virginia and
across the nation are taking a notable lead in responding to the
public school system's need for a strong, hands-on approach to
environmental education. In 2002, over five hundred students in the
Commonwealth of Virginia participated in this year long event.
Envirothon teams spend the academic year working with a coach and
advisors to improve their knowledge and skills in the aforementioned
subjects. Numerous Ecology Clubs, 4H Clubs and FFA Clubs have
resulted from the Envirothon Program. Six Area/Regional Competitions
were held to determine the eighteen teams that advanced to the State
Competition, held at the State Arboretum of Virginia. In May the
Harrisonburg High School Team won the State Envirothon and represented
the Commonwealth of Virginia at the National Envirothon held at
Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. The team placed 9th
overall out of forty-nine teams.
Youth Conservation Camp (YCC)
– For over 25 years, the Virginia Association of Soil and Water
Conservation Districts has sponsored week long summer conservation
camps for high school students (grades 9-12) on the campus of Virginia
Tech. The program brings together about 90 interested students for a
week of learning about Virginia's natural resources from conservation
professionals and faculty from Virginia Tech. Most of the instruction
is hands-on and outdoors. The purpose of the camp is to broaden
students' knowledge of conservation and prepare them as future
decision makers in resource management. Camp participants are selected
based on their interest, teacher recommendations and/or
essay applications and come from rural and urban backgrounds. Many
students pursue education and career goals in the areas covered in the
camp curriculum, including: forestry, agriculture, water quality, E&S,
stormwater management, wildlife, conservation and land use planning,
using new conservation technology, soils and groundwater issues.
Scholarships are provided by the 47 Soil and Water Conservation
Districts in Virginia. In 2003, Youth Conservation Camp will be held
July 6-12.
DISTRICT PROGRAMS:
Natural Resources Conservation Week
(fall) - Soil and Water Stewardship Week
(spring) - VASWCD
disseminates information and activity packets to all districts during
these celebrations
Environmental Education field days for school children–
Districts sponsor field days to
expose school children to conservation themes and ideas. The Staunton
River Field School (implemented by the Halifax SWCD) is a great
example of this activity oriented toward middle school students.
Teacher Field Trips and Trainings –
Districts sponsor multiple events during
the year that involves outreach to teachers. Natural Bridge SWCD sends
up to ten teachers on a weeklong “Blue Ridge to the Bay” trip in
cooperation with and under the guidance of the Chesapeake Bay
Foundation. Teacher training is correlated to Virginia’s Standards of
Learning and qualifies for the continuing education recertification
credits.
Poster Contests – Poster
contests with a conservation theme connect SWCDs to elementary
schools.
Water Quality Monitoring Projects –
Many SWCDs initiate watershed monitoring programs as a
way to generate information to be used in local or state
decision-making. However, they have found it to be an excellent method
to demonstrate the sources and effects of non-point source pollution
to the public.
Exhibits and newsletters –
Many SWCDs have displays and exhibits at their local festivals and
events to educate the public about the district practices and
programs. Newsletters are another way to promote the value of
conservation within our communities.
Ag
Field Days and Farm Tours –
Tours of farms and developments that implement Best Management
Practices is an often-used technique to educate the public about
methods of reducing pollution.
There are other state agencies that have
environmental education programs. Each summer the Virginia Department
of Forestry offers Forestry Camp to over 100 students. The Virginia
Department of Game and Inland Fisheries provides several outdoor
education programs. Natural Resource Conservation Service partners in
each activity. Districts use partnerships as an attempt to make
programs work cooperatively and efficiently.
Policy
We need to make Districts and the VASWCD
leaders in the big picture plan for providing
environmental education on all levels in the Commonwealth. The
Association has approved the concept of developing a program that
would be administered through the Educational Foundation of VASWCD.
The program would solicit private contributions to support not only
the Envirothon but other district-based initiatives as well. A
program such as this would give a potential supporter the option of
flexibility by allowing a choice of where and how to contribute.
The legislature could offer assistance
in creating incentives above the tax write off currently existing for
businesses, private foundations, and philanthropists that contribute
to this fund. A program of public recognition is only one of the
incentives that could be created.
Impress upon the legislators the
leadership role that districts are already playing with environmental
education and how much more work is necessary.
VASWCD POINTS OF CONTACT:
Dana Roberts,
Education Coordinator, (804)
559-0324.
ADOPTED:
December 10, 2002
EXPIRES: December 31,
2006
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