Clay County Soil & Water

Clay County Soil & Water Conservation District sponsored its twentieth annual Conservation Field Day on May 7^th.  Students in 7th grade enjoyed a learning opportunity at beautiful Jackrabbit Campground.  Federal, state and local agencies presented hands on activities and informative lessons about the management of our natural resources.  We thank all the presenters and their agencies for making an outdoor learning experience fun and especially for increasing students’ interest in our environment.

Our presenters included:  Brian Wood, Retired Soil Scientist, Mike Oberdorf, US Forest Service, Callie Moore, HRWC Executive Director, Graham Strong, Master Gardener, Mike Carraway, NC Wildlife Resource Commission, A.J. Gordan, NC Highway Patrol, David Owens, NC Wildlife Resource Commission, and Cory Scroogs, NC Forest Service.

Clay County School students were terrific but we could not conduct this program without the extra help from teachers and the school staff.  We appreciate all of you.  We are also fortunate and grateful to the many volunteers that helped us this year.  These folks took a big part of their day to help lead the groups, of one hundred students, around to the eight stations.

We thank:  Paul Cent, Darleen Hatherly, Shelby Hoffman, Linda Westergard, Nancy Melburn and Sheila Strong.  Each of you made this day memorable and so much easier on me.  A huge thank you goes out to Darleen Hatherly for all the photos.

In today’s hectic and changing world, people are grappling with a host of serious and complex environmental issues and their impact on the world’s natural resources.  Station presentations provided thought provoking information and lessons on safe ways to protect and enjoy our environment.

The Clay County Soil and Water Conservation District board members and staff view resource conservation as essential and we hope students were inspired to make a difference as environmental stewards and as role models after participating in this field day.

Thanks again,

Leanna Staton, CEE

Education Coordinator, Clay County SWCD