Wake County Soil & Water Conservation District

Do you know a college student studying conservation or an environment-related major?

The Izaak Walton League offers two $2,500 scholarships for qualified college juniors or seniors.  These scholarships are made possible through the generous support of the Izaak Walton League of America Endowment.  Specific requirements are available on the League Web site.

Applications are due no later than April 1.  For more information about the application criteria and process, contact Earl Hower, IWLA Director of Chapter Relations at (800) IKE-LINE x216.

The Wake SWCD Annual Conservation report is available.  See what we’ve done over the last year!

Our friends over at the NC Forestry Association have released their newsletter for Jan/Feb 2012.  Check it out!

Hello Wake County High School Teachers and Scout Leaders!

Here’s an announcement about a FREE Youth Job Fair for ages 16-24 on Sat., 03/03/12 at Wake Tech.  This may be helpful to the young people you know who are looking for a summer job, part-time work, and/or on-the-job-training!

Here’s a flyer  with more details and who to contact:

(Raleigh, NC February 10, 2012), USDA NRCS is excited to announce a new smartphone application, or “app,” is available as a free download for both iPhone and Android users to access soil survey information. The app, SoilWeb, combines online soil survey information with the GPS capabilities of smartphones. SoilWeb for the iPhone is a portable version of our online interface to USDA-NRCS digital soil survey data. The application uses the GPS built into the iPhone to acquire your current location, and then submits an HTTP request to our server via the SoilWeb API. A graphical summary of the soils mapped at your current location is presented on-screen, with links to details through our online soil survey, or via the USDA-NRCS official series description (OSD) archive. SoilWeb for the iPhone can be downloaded free of charge from the iPhone App Store.

Find out more information from the USDA here.  There’s also a YouTube video about the App.

For more information, please view the links above or contact Stuart Lee, NRCS State Public Affairs Specialist, at 919.873.2107, or Stuart.Lee@nc.usda.gov.

Wake SWCD Wins Award!

The Wake Soil and Water Conservation District was honored with a Unit of Government Award for outstanding achievement and contributions to natural resources programs.

Associate Board of Supervisor Robin Hammond received the award from the Hugh Hammond Bennett Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society.  The Society recognized award winners from across the state at their January 21, 2012 annual event.

For more information please contact:

Hello Top Ten Conservation Poster Teachers, Parents, and Judges!

HURRAY!

Our two Top Ten poster winners from Farmington Woods Elementary are featured in yesterday’s Sunday, Feb. 5th edition of The Cary News.  Congratulations to Albert, Anusha, and art teacher Brandy Smith!  And thank you for your patience!

Hello Wake County High School Science Teachers and Scout Leaders!

Let your High School Seniors know about this great opportunity to attend the 2012 National Youth Science Camp June 27-July 21 for FREE!  Students must exhibit academic achievement in science and show potential for scientific leadership.  Camp is located in eastern mountains of West Virginia.  Deadline for applications is Friday, Feb. 17th.

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High School Seniors May Want to Consider National Youth Science Camp – Two high school seniors will have the opportunity of a lifetime: to participate in the National Youth Science Camp (NYSC). Selected students will receive a full scholarship to exchange ideas with scientists and other professionals from the academic and corporate worlds. The nearly month-long experience includes lectures and hands-on research projects presented by scientists from across the nation, overnight expeditions into the National Forest, and a visit to Washington D.C. The selected delegates must not only demonstrate academic achievement in science, but also show potential for thoughtful scientific leadership.

The NYSC experience is offered at no cost to its participants so that selected delegates may attend regardless of their financial status.  Educational and recreational programming, as well as meals, lodging, and round-trip air passage on scheduled airlines are provided free of charge.  Delegates arrive in Charleston, West Virginia, on Thursday, June 27, and depart on Sunday, July 21. The NYSC is held near Bartow in the eastern mountains of West Virginia, within the Monongahela National Forest.

Application forms are available on the NYSC website at http://2012.nysc.org/delegates/apply/ and must be submitted directly to North Carolina’s selection coordinator: Lisa Rhoades, lrhoades@bwfund.org .  Applications must be received by Friday, Feb. 17. For more information, please contact Lisa Rhoades, NC Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Center, at lrhoades@bwfund.org or 919/991-5111.

Volunteers are needed for this year’s Envirothon. It is very important that we have your support and help this year at the event! We need A LOT of volunteers to pull off the event, so please ask your Boards, ask your co-workers, ask your colleagues in other departments if they will volunteer. Forward this email on to others you think might be interested.

Please fill out a volunteer registration form and either return it to me if you want to volunteer on the High School side or Pam Hawkins if you want to volunteer with the middle school side. All our contact information is on the forms. We are excepting forms now, so please don’t wait.

You can find out more details at the Envirothon Website.

Thanks!

Jennifer Brooks
Soil Conservationist/Education Coordinator
Durham Soil and Water Conservation District
919-560-0558

Our 2011 Envirothon Mentor of the Year, Dr. John Meyer is featured on two online sites by the NCSU College of Ag and Life Sciences.  This story is now posted to the CALS News Center, where it is currently a featured story and on Spring Perspectives.

Direct link to the article here