Our Educational Programs

Our offerings correlate with Virginia Standards of Learning! For example, our projects cover Science SOL K.6, K.10, 1.4, 1.5, 1.8, 2.5, 2.8, 3.6, 3.7, 3.9, 3.10, 3.11, 4.5, 4.8, 5.6, 5.7, 6.7, 6.9, LS.7, LS.11, LS.12, ES.7, ES.9, ES.12, BIO.1, and. BIO.9.

Custom Made Powerpoint Presentations: If there are any issues you would like specifically addressed, pertaining to soil and water conservation in Lee County, we can make powerpoint presentations custom built to fill your needs. We also have some custome built power points we have used in the past which include: karst, Lone Mountain Slurry Spill and endangered species in Lee County.

Enviroscape model: Used to demonstrate: what a watershed is; runoff pollution from homes, construction, farms, etc.; how runoff affects streams/lakes; how implementation of buffers can reduce pollution.

Karst Groundwater model: Used to demonstrate: groundwater concepts; how water pollution spreads from rivers/streams/sinkholes to underground water sources.

Activity Booklets: Booklets for students and teachers.

Sediment Tube: Used to simulate sediment deposition by water in a river/lake/pond/ocean, etc.; demonstrate sedimentary rocks and ages (Law of Superposition).

Save Our Streams materials:

Posters: Cycle, Solid Waste, Water Pollution, Endangered Species, Benthic Macroinvertebrates, Fish, Watersheds, Water Uses.

Tree Identification Kit: 39 real leaf samples, informational booklet with activities, key for students to use.

Animal Track Replicas: life-size feet replicas of many animals native to Lee County.

Other focus topics include:
Freshwater Mussels
Soil
Best Management Practices
Endangered species
Recycling
Wildlife
Water Quality Issues (point and nonpoint source pollution including mining, farming, illegal dumping, sewage problems, and sedimentation)
Protecting natural resources

Helpful Links
Kids Recycle!
EPA”s Environmental Kids Club
Make-Stuff”s Recycling Page
North American Association of Environmental Education”s Resource Directories
Project Learning Tree
Sharing Environmental Learning Knowledge

Group Looking for more pictures of our Ag Field Day? Click here.

Daniel Boone Soil and Water Conservation District held its annual Kids in the Creek Day on Tuesday, May 15, at Lambs Chapel outside of Jonesville and Thursday, May 17, at Leeman Field in Pennington. Approximately 240 Lee County sixth graders wiggled into waders and searched Hardy Creek and the North Fork Powell River for fish, bugs, and other aquatic creatures. Students from Jonesville Middle, Ewing Elementary, Rose Hill Elementary, and Elydale Elementary attended on May 15, while Pennington Middle, Stickleyville Elementary, and St. Charles Elementary attended on May 17.

The purpose of the program is to reinforce the Standards of Learning for sixth grade science while instilling a sense of environmental awareness and responsibility in Lee County’s young people. The Powell River and its tributaries are part of the Clinch-Powell river system, which is one of the most ecologically diverse and environmentally threatened river systems in the entire world.

Daniel Boone SWCD held its first Kids in the Creek event in 1996 on the North Fork of the Powell River. Approximately 90 students from Thomas Walker, Lee High, St. Charles Elementary, Pennington Middle, and Jonesville Middle attended and explored issues mainly related to water quality.

Now, Daniel Boone’s Kids in the Creek program, with the help of Lee County Public Schools, has expanded to provide Lee County students the opportunity to participate in a Meaningful Watershed Education Experience (MWEE). A MWEE allows students to participate in a hands-on learning experience in their watershed and integrates field work with multidisciplinary classroom activities and instruction.

In April 2005, the Virginia Department of Education began collecting data on Virginia’s progress toward providing each student with a MWEE before graduation. School divisions were asked to provide data on their current watershed curriculums to the Department of Education. The DOE must submit this information to the Governor annually. According to the 2005 survey, nearly 76% of all Virginia schools provide some level of watershed education. But only 25% of all students participate in outdoor watershed activities.

Daniel Boone SWCD has been providing Lee County students with an outdoor watershed activity for over 10 years, but it has not been recognized as a MWEE program. With a few changes, such as pre- and post-activities, Kids in the Creek now meets MWEE requirements.

Kids in the Creek stations were also altered this year to better meet the Science Standards of Learning objectives for sixth graders. Students learned about forestry, aquatics, water chemistry, fish shocking, wildlife, alternative energy, litter, mussels, and karst from some of the area’s foremost experts in environmental education. Employees from the Daniel Boone SWCD; Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy; Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation; Upper Tennessee River Roundtable; Scott County SWCD; United States Office of Surface Mining OSM-VISTA program; Virginia Department of Forestry; Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries; Lee County Office of Litter Control; Town of Jonesville Water Department; Biological Monitoring, Inc.; Tennessee Valley Authority; and Lee High’s 2007 Envirothon team members all volunteered to lead stations for the event.

Daniel Boone Soil and Water Conservation District would like to thank the many local businesses and organizations that provided donations for this year’s Kids in the Creek. Lone Mountain Processing, Inc., Walmart, Grabeels IGA, Farmers and Miners Bank, Powell Valley National Bank, Lee Bank and Trust Company, Old Virginia Hand Hewn Log Homes, H. Ronnie Montgomery, Stanco Equipment, and the Lee County Board of Supervisors all generously contributed to our event.

We would also like to extend our appreciation to the following people volunteered their time at Kids in the Creek: Martha Chapman, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation; Martha Podren and Donna Reppard, Tennessee Valley Authority; Lawrence Tankersley and Matt Kimbler, Virginia Department of Forestry; Brian Bush, Jonesville Water Department; Beau Boggs, Johnny Wills, Amanda Wood, and Nathan Eckert, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries; Claude Ray, Lee County Litter Control Office; Jade Napier, Upper Tennessee River Roundtable; Jon Lawson, Scott County Soil & Water Conservation District; Clayton Wiles, Jerry Legg, and Mike Smith, Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy; Jason Custer, Lonesome Pine Office on Youth; Beth Fannon, Lee County Career and Technical Center; Joe Rasnake and Dave Gruber, Biological Monitoring, Inc.; Amy Fannon; Justin Dotson; Justin Lawson; Joshua Johnson; Jessica and Jacob Ingle; and Michaela, Becca, and Jamie Britton.

We would also like to thank the Lee County School Board Office, especially Mr. Fred Marion, Mrs. Kathy Turner, Mrs. Wandaleen Adams, and Mr. Mark Carter for their assistance and cooperation. And finally, Kids in the Creek would not have been possible without Rev. Ellis allowing us the use of Lambs Chapel Missionary Baptist Church and Tina Rowe giving us “free reign” at Leeman Field.

Thank you all!

Dryden ElementaryThe Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts and its 47 local conservation districts have set aside October 15-21, 2006, as Natural Resources Conservation Week. This years theme, Water Wise, highlights the importance of conserving water resources.

Water is vital to life, but we often take it for granted. Water makes up more than 60% of our bodies and about 75% of our brains. Water helps make possible our every movement, thought, and feeling. All our food and most other products we use require water. It takes about 4,000 gallons of water to grow a bushel of corn, and about 11,000 gallons for a bushel of wheat.

This precious resource may become increasingly scarce as we place more and more demands on fresh water supplies. We want people in Lee County to learn how important it is to help conserve water and how easy it can be, says Lisa Harris, Education Coordinator for Daniel Boone Soil and Water Conservation District.

This year, the staff at Daniel Boone is very excited to have the cooperation of Lee County Public Schools in observing Natural Resources Conservation Week. The Lee County School Board agreed to participate in a bulletin board program coordinated by Daniel Boone during the designated week. Daniel Boone put together bulletin boards materials for all the schools in the county that incorporate the Water Wise theme with specific information about Lee County. Since todays students will make tomorrows conservation decisions, Daniel Boone created the displays to help students to be educated, concerned, and pro-active in their choices.

The bulletin boards explore water quality issues specific to Lee County. Lee County is a karst region, which means the landscape contains an abundance of limestone. Water dissolves limestone, creating sinkholes, caves, and underground river systems. Basically, karst terrain could be described as hollow areas underneath a thin layer of topsoil. Some types of terrain can remove pollution from water as it passes through soil layers. But karst landscapes do not allow for effective filtration of groundwater pollutants. In an area where many people get there water from wells, knowledge of karst is extremely important.
To ensure future availability of clean water, Lee County residents need to learn about water resources and plan to use them carefully. Here are some important ideas that can help to save one of our most precious natural resources:
If you change your own oil, take the used oil to a recycling station like Flatwoods and St. Charles Convenience Centers. Never dump oil into a creek or storm drain.
Run a full dishwasher, or if hand-washing, turn off the faucet when rinsing.
Take shorter showers or shallow baths.
Repair leaky faucets.
Let lawn grow to 3 inches and water sparingly—once every 5-7 days at the maximum.
Run only full loads of laundry or user the correct load setting.
Apply pesticides and fertilizers according to instructions on the label.
Collect litter and animal waste before they wash into storm drains. Home septic tanks should be located, constructed and installed according to regulations. Maintenance and prompt correction of problems are important.
Conserving water saves energy and conserving energy saves water.
There are many other ways to conserve and protect water. Spread the word to friends, neighbors, colleagues, and children about the very important reasons we all need to be Water Wise.

If you are interested in special projects or materials for Natural Resources Conservation Week, or for other conservation-related information, please contact Daniel Boone Soil and Water Conservation District at 276-346-1658 ext. 3.

• Learn About Water

• Conserve Water

• Be Water Wise

The 1st annual Daniel Boone Soil & Water Conservation District Poster Contest provides K-12 students an opportunity to share their thoughts about soil, water, and natural resource issues.

Theme: The poster contest takes its theme from the National Association of Conservation District’s annual Soil and Water Stewardship Week theme, “Water Wise.” This topic was chosen because:
• Water is vital to our life. Water makes up more than 60% of our body, and about 75% of our brain. Water helps make possible our every movement, thought, and feeling.
• We sometimes take water for granted. But this precious resource may become increasingly scarce as we place more demands on fresh water supplies.
• More information is available at www.stewardshipweek.com.

Rules: Any media may be used to create a flat or two-dimensional effect (paint, crayon, colored pencil, charcoal, paper, or other materials.) Poster size must be between 8.5”x11” and 22”x28”. All posters must be created by an individual student rather than a team of students. Although younger students will most likely receive help in planning from parents or teachers, we encourage each student to do as much of the work as possible by him/herself.

Prizes: Posters will be judged by the following grade categories: K-1, 2-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12. The winner from each grade category will receive a cash prize, while the overall winning poster will be featured on a placemat that will be distributed among area restaurants. Each winning poster will also be sent on to compete at the state level.

Deadline for entries is September 7, 2006.

Please contact Kalena Porter at 346-1658 ext. 3 for more information.