Each year Natural Resources Conservation Week materials packets target 3rd/4th grade and or 7th grade. The packet contains hands-on activity based lesson plans with background information and key vocabulary words, SOL correlation’s, and additional references/resources.

To learn more about Natural Resources Conservation Week, contact the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts or your local Soil and Water Conservation District.

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MARK THE DATE:  OCTOBER 14-20, 2007

THEME: LITTER WISE

Litter Prevention and Recycling Given High Priority during Natural Resources

Conservation Week........

No matter where litter starts, it moves. From streets and highways to parks and waterways. Wind and weather moves litter around a community, into the gutters, planted gardens, alleyways and parking areas.  Other influences include changes in household and business trash collection.  When illegal dumping occurs, days and sometimes weeks or months will pass before it gets cleaned up. In the meantime, people, animals and wildlife are naturally attracted, trash bags are opened, and the trash is distributed on the ground. Once this happens, it is easily caught by the wind and becomes ... litter!

Solutions to litter problems are not always about cleaning up, after the fact.  In most cases, solutions come from thoughtful prevention.

Here are some examples of what you -- and others -- can do to help prevent litter in your community.

• Set an example for others, especially co-workers, friends and children by using trash receptacles and not littering.
• Always have available a litter bag and portable ashtray in your car.
• If you are a smoker, carry and use a portable or pocket ashtray.
• Make sure your trashcans have lids that can be securely fastened or use bungee cords to hold them in place.
• Pick up after your dog as you walk through your neighborhood. 
• Coordinate "adopt-a-spot" programs with local community organizations, youth groups and school groups to augment the regular maintenance of public places by your employees.

We know it takes each and everyone of us to make a difference.  Do your part ... Help us prevent litter in your community. 

Waste Jeopardy Game

Litter Less Lunch

A Landfill is No Dump Activity

Teacher Landfill Fact Sheet

Literature

Litter Lesson Plans

Layered Landfill Activity

Quest for Less Skills Index (Full Curriculum is on the CD Rom)

Recycle Craft Projects

Recycling Codes

Recycling Program Outline

Recycling Study Guide

Virginia Litter Coordinators List

Waste Management Pollution Guide

Waste Glossary

Be Waste Aware Flyer

Clean Virginia Waterways - Waterway Cleanups & Litter

Lesson Plans from the Tools for Teachers Curriculum

Grants and Resources For Teachers

Science SOLs Virginia & Water

Classifying Debris Lesson Plan

Waterway Cleanup Lesson Plan

Endangered Species

Litter in Waterways

Scientific Cleanup

Packet Partners: Virginia Naturally, Virginia Department of Forestry, Richmond Clean City Commission, Central Virginia Waste Management Authority, Keep Norfolk Beautiful, Clean Virginia Waterways, Virginia Recycling Association, Virginia Council for Litter Prevention and Recycling, SPSA, Frederick County Litter and Recycling Program. 

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2007 Soil and Water Stewardship Week - April 29 - May 6 - THEME: ENERGY

Basic topics to be covered in the materials include energy saved by no-till farming practices; solar, wind, alternative fuel sources; renewable and non-renewable resources; conservation at home; and partnerships with conservation districts, community and families working together.

2006 Water Wise - October 15-21, 2006

Watershed & Soils Curriculum; Watershed Activity Book; Watershed Slideshow

(scroll down the education page to download files)

Governors Proclamation

Teacher Letter

News Release & PSA

Who Polluted the River Activity

Who Polluted the River Activity Labels

Personal Water Meter

Water Conservation Tips at Home

Drop by Drop - A  How To Guide, Starting a Water Conservation Program

Soda Bottle Hydrology Lesson Plan

Water is vital to our life. Water makes up more than 60% of our body, and about 75% of our brain. Water helps make possible our every movement, thought, and feeling.

All our food and most other products we use require water. It takes about 4,000 gallons of water to grow a bushel of corn, and about 11,000 gallons for a bushel of wheat.

We sometimes take water for granted. But this precious resource may become increasingly scarce as we place more demands on fresh water supplies.

To ensure future water supplies, we need to learn about water resources, and plan to use them carefully. To help achieve this goal, Virginia has chosen "Water Wise" as the theme for the 2006 Soil and Water Stewardship Week celebration.

Join us as we help share with friends, neighbors, colleagues, and children the very important reasons we all need to be "Water Wise." 

2005 Celebrate Conservation - October 16-22, 2005

Governors Proclamation

Teacher Letter

News Release

Thank you conservation effort postcards

Fill in the blank NACD Lucky Town Comic

How to coordinate a conservation field day

Activity Sheet

Share the good reasons why we celebrate! In almost every way, our lives in the United States are richer and fuller than at any other time in history. People live longer and enjoy better health. We can eat an incredible variety of fresh foods any time of the year. Overall air and water quality continues to improve. Our forest resources grow abundant and healthy. People have the ability to produce, travel, learn, and play more than anyone would have thought possible a generation ago.

Many of these improvements in our lives come directly from good conservation practices. Along with our people, our nation's greatest treasures are our abundant and excellent soil and water resources. Good conservation helps make sure we have the essentials of good food and clean water. With our basic needs fulfilled, we can spend our time making better lives for ourselves, our families, and others with whom we share the world.

As we celebrate conservation, we should pause to consider and thank the many people who work every day to protect, manage, and improve our natural resources. We applaud the pioneers of conservation and encourage those who continue to explore its frontiers today.

We marvel at the almost incredible growth of knowledge about our world that allows us to conserve resources wisely. But we should still be humble at how much we have to learn. We still face many resource challenges, and the dynamic nature of our world guarantees that new problems will arise.

As we learn and grow and adapt, we give thanks for this great life. And as we review the many things for which we have to be thankful, let us CELEBRATE CONSERVATION!

2004 Our Living Soil - October 17 - 23, 2004

Teacher Letter

Newsletter

News Release - 2004

Public Service Announcement

Soil & Water Puzzles

Composting 1

Composting 2

Soil Testing

Soil Teaching Resources

Soil Critters Coloring Sheet - click on this separate link to find items on the coloring sheet

Virginia Soil Resources

Soil Texturing

Don’t treat soil like dirt; it’s the stuff that feeds you!  Well, that’s a message that the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts wants you to think about during Natural Resource Conservation Week.  You’d be surprised to find out how much life exists in that soil under you feet.  One cup full may contain as many beneficial bacteria as people on Earth.  So, in your backyard keep soil covered with plants, add organic matter and use pesticides wisely.  It’s your way of treating soil with respect, not like dirt. 

Millions of words have been written about the living soil. Many were scientific and factual, some were emotional and moving, others artistic and creative. But in generation after generation, it is important to bring attention back to the central theme – the living soil sustains all life on earth. Without the soil, nothing lives. Healthy soils support healthy environments, and healthy environments support healthy life.

As you walk across a field or down a forest pathway, your eyes and feet will give you messages about the soil. On your next walk, try to sense those messages. Is the soil hard or does it feel spongy? Is it wet or dry? Look around you. What plants do you see? You may be surprised to learn that most soil has lots of open space below the surface –cracks, channels and pores between the solid grains of sand and soil and around growing plant roots.

You may also be surprised to learn that millions of beneficial organisms are going through their daily routine of eating, breathing, living, and dying in the soil. One cup of fertile soil may contain as many bacteria as there are people on Earth. In one acre – an area about the size of a football field – there may be a ton or more of microscopic bacteria. That’s equal to the weight of two full-grown cows!

We eat the food, drink the water, breathe the air, and enjoy the views, but only a few of us walk the fields and forests on a regular basis and understand what those lands need from us in order to sustain the living soil. However, here are a few things each of us can do in our own backyards to be better stewards of our soil resources:

• Protect the soil from damage by wind or water erosion by keeping healthy plants growing on the surface.
• Restore and maintain organic matter in the soil, such as grass clippings or tree leaves.
• Protect and enhance soil life by using the least amounts and the least toxic materials to control pest problems on growing plants.

2003 Food for the Future

With a world population that could reach eight billion in less than 30 years, we all must do our part to conserve natural resources so we might have Food for the Future.

2002 Trees for Life

Goals:  To increase community awareness of the importance of trees.  To promote personal responsibility to be a good steward of our trees & soil.

Tree Scavenger Bingo Activity Sheet

How A Tree Grows

2001 Habitat for Life

2000 Community Waters