Mike Parker: Soil and Water Conservation award winners honored
I attended the Annual Education Celebration of the Lenoir Soil and Water Conservation District for the second year. The celebration took place on May 9 at the Cunningham Research Station.
Local soil and water conservation district offices exist in every county in this state, so North Carolina has 100 district offices. These district offices are organized into eight Areas. Lenoir County is one of the 12 counties that comprise Area 6. During the education competition, winners at the district level advance to the Area competition. The Area winners advance to the state competition.
To ensure fairness, when judges evaluate student submissions, the projects do not provide the names of students, their teachers, or their schools. The judges first check to see if the students have followed all the rules and met the parameters of the competition.
Sixth-grade essay winners included Flo Knight (1st), Ellie Yang (2nd), and Eleanor Vinson (3rd), all students of Mrs. Basden at Arendell Parrott Academy.
Sixth-grade winners in the PowerPoint competition were Sarah Litchfield (1st), Delaynie Anderson (2nd), and Riley James (3rd), all students of Mrs. Sugg-Kennedy at Arendell Parrott.
The poster competition focused on students from third grade through fifth grade. Third-grade honorees were Kaden Graham (1st) of Mrs. McLawhorn’s class at Pink Hill Elementary, Sofia Guzman Mojica (2nd) in Mrs. Whitfield’s class at Pink Hill Elementary, and Le’Gaci Wilkins (3rd), in Mrs. Lee’s class at Bethel Christian Academy.
Fourth-grade poster winners were Hailey Abreu (1st) in Mrs. Finch’s class at Pink Hill Elementary, Bryson Canady (2nd), and Alessandro Juarez (3rd), both in Mrs. Gray’s class at Pink Hill Elementary. Fifth-grade poster winners were Yorley Yanez (1st) of Mrs. Mercer’s class at Pink Hill Elementary, Riley Johnson (2nd), and Lizabeth Guzman (3rd), both students in Mrs. Hall’s class at Pink Hill Elementary.
Parrott Academy dominated the speech competition. Seventh-grade winners were Caroline Clark (1st), MJ Jonnalagadda-Cucksee (2nd), and Anna Grace Briley (3rd), all students in Mrs. Sugg-Kennedy’s class at APA. Eighth-grader winners were Preethi Chada (1st), Carmala VanFosson (2nd), and Chloe Lewis (3rd), all students of Mrs. Edwards at APA.
The Envirothon is a fun, hands-on, natural science academic competition for teams of middle and high school students sponsored by the N.C. Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts with help in organization and implementation from the N.C. Division of Soil and Water Conservation.
A year-long curriculum combining in-class studies with outdoor ecology and natural resource management training emphasizes teamwork and higher-order thinking skills, such as analysis and interpretation. The Envirothon helps develop environmentally aware citizens who can assume future leadership roles. Subject areas studied are Aquatic Ecology, Forestry, Soils and Land Use, Wildlife, and Current Environmental Issues.
Lenoir County dominated the Envirothon Competition for middle schoolers, with three Lenoir County teams winning both the district and area competitions. The winning teams were all from Woodington Middle School.
Team BJ3KFFA consists of Brooke Barwick, Joshua Stroud, Kinley Hoover, Kailey Jones, and Kadence Thigpen. I asked how this team came to have such an intriguing name. I learned that BJ3K represents the first letter of the first name of each team member.
Team ENVIROGEEKSFFA members are Caleb Fowler, Brookelynne Goodrich, Jose Avalos-Gonzalez, Ann-Leigh Nagy, and Rosealynne Terrio. The Real FFA Housewives team comprises Jazmyn Bolin, Danielle Gooding, Elaina Lassiter, Savannah Lingerfelt, and Delilah Shifflet.
The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services partners with the districts and other interested parties to coordinate outreach efforts. These events strive to increase awareness of natural resources and ecosystems while encouraging life-long stewardship.
The N.C. Department of Agriculture seeks to provide services that promote and improve agriculture, agribusiness, and forests; protect consumers and businesses; and conserve farmland and natural resources for the prosperity of all North Carolinians.
Congratulations to all those students who won at the district and area levels. Let’s hope Lenoir County continues to make its presence known through the students representing the Lenoir County District at the state competition.
Congratulations also to District Director Janine Lloyd and Lenoir Soil and Water Conservation District board members Charles Hughes, chairman; Macon Wooten Jr., vice-chairman; Tara Hughes, treasurer; Taylor Best; and Blaire Deaver. The board and staff have worked hard to create a competition that draws a great deal of student participation.
Mike Parker is a columnist for the Neuse News. You can reach him at mparker16@gmail.com.
PHOTO INFO: Winners of the Soil and Water Conservation competition with Tara Hughes.
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