dirt

Watershed Moments

This year the NACD poster contest topic is “Watersheds: Our Water, Our Home”. Such an inclusive topic – when the water hits the ground it has to go somewhere so we all live in a watershed (drainage area). We can‘t wait to see what types of art work the students in grades K-12 create to represent this topic! The poster submission deadline for the Cuyahoga County portion of the contest will be May 25th, 2018.

More important than the competitions, service projects and scholarships themselves, we like to think of our education programs for Cuyahoga County students as opportunities for “watershed moments”. We hope that the experiences we offer are turning points in young lives- a chance to develop a conservation ethic that will last a lifetime.

This year, two Cuyahoga County schools participated in our regional high school Envirothon competition –Breckville/Broadview Heights and Brush. The Brecksville Bees won first place overall – a great accomplishment for any team, let alone a new one. We hope the skills and knowledge they gained as they prepared for the contest will encourage some of them to pursue careers in conservation and all of them to walk away with a lifelong appreciation of our forest, aquatic, wildlife and soil resources.

Seven students have been awarded district scholarships to attend Camp Canopy this summer. We believe this weeklong high school camp experience will not only prepare them for next year’s Envirothon but it will also be an experience that they will remember fondly forever. New friendships will be forged as a variety of skills are learned or practiced.

We really enjoyed working with the Case Elementary after school program as students in grades 6-8 installed a pollinator garden across from our office. Gardening was new to them but they worked hard and created a great wildlife habitat that we will cherish. We hope that gardening has “wormed’ its way into their hearts and created a better understanding of the importance of the dirt underneath our feet.

To learn about more “watershed moment" opportunities for your students, please contact us.

Blog author: Jacki Zevenbergen, Stormwater Education Program Manager

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