April 27 through May 4, 2008 

Soil and Water Stewardship Week is sponsored each year by the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD), whose members are 3,000 local conservation districts that manage soil and water conservation programs on private lands in every community. Since 1955, NACD has selected an annual theme and developed educational materials for for public school teachers and for churches of all denominations. An advisory committee composed of ministers and leaders from a number of religious denominations and environmental organizations reviewed the materials.

The Scott County SWCD distributes packets of information on Soil & Water Stewardship Week to all elementary schools in Scott County. Each teacher will receive a packet for their classroom.

If you are interested in ordering Stewardship supplies for your classroom click here. To learn more about Stewardship Week click on the image to the left.

Scott County SWCD has a Field Day every year to teach local landowners new and innovative ways to conserve our soil and water.  Watch this site for more information.

Lynda Phillips is available for presentations to all Scott County Elementary Teachers. Programs will be added yearly, so please check back each year for updates. For the 2008-2009 School Year, programs being offered are:

Earth Day and Hardy Lake Sweep (All Ages):  This is a short presentation on the responsibility that we all have to protect our earth.  We have a Power Point presentation that is available as well.  Children and adults can learn what they can do right in their own neighborhood and back yard.

Kindergarten – A Fish Story                                                 (K.1.1, K.1.2, K.3.1)This is the story and interactive demonstration about a river and a fish.  Children will learn about the effect that people can have on water quality and the things that live in the water. 

First Grade – Trees are Terrific       (1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3, 1.1.4, 1.2.1, 1.4.2, 1.4.3, 1.4.4)Learn all about the benefits of trees!  Why are trees important to the environment and how do they tie in with soil and water?  What things in our lives come from trees?

Second Grade – Soil Pizza                                                   (2.4.3, 2.6.1, 2.6.2)Children (holding cards) are the ingredients for this interactive pizza demonstration. Children learn where our food comes from and how it is grown. They will learn that soil and water are essential for all living things.

Third Grade – The Lorax                                       (3.1.6, 3.1.8, 3.3.7, 3.4.6, 3.4.8)This Dr. Seuss classic includes the usual rhymes and nonsense words of his stories, but it is a powerful tool for the encouragement of natural resource conservation.  This is also a great way to tie the scientific concepts of natural resources to other curricular areas like reading (and celebrate Dr Suess’ birthday)

Fourth Grade – Arbor Day Presentation          (4.1.9, 4.4.2, 4.4.3, 4.4.4, 4.4.5, 4.4.6)Fourth Grade Foresters of Indiana was kicked off in April of 2007 to revitalize observation of Indiana’s Arbor Day.  Scott County SWCD joined the effort in 2008 by purchasing 365 trees for the children of our county.  This year we offer an in-class presentation of the trees where we’ll talk about trees and their benefits to us.  Schedule early to reserve your class for this program.

Fifth Grade – We All Live Downstream                   (5.1.3, 5.1.6, 5.4.4, 5.4.5, 5.5.7)Learn how a watershed functions by observing a model watershed.  Explore how ‘we all live downstream’ and should take care in keeping our waters clean.  Students will have the opportunity to plan the development of a watershed and demonstrate the effects of living downstream. 

There is no cost for this service.  All programs are approximately 30 to 45 minutes in length but can be adjusted to fit your lesson plan.  Please call       812-752-2269, ext. 3 or email lynda.phillips@in.nacdnet.net at least one week in advance to schedule your classroom.