Pickens Soil and Water Conservation in Education

About our education programs:

Teachers and Educators in Pickens County! The Pickens Soil and Water Conservation District is now offering K - 12 environmental education programs for the county! Our Education and Outreach Coordinator, Anaston Porter, will come out to your classroom and teach a 30 - 45 minute lesson on one of the following topics: soil, water, natural resources, agriculture, careers in ag, and so much more! Our Education and Outreach Coordinator is certified in Project WET, WILD and Learning Tree Curriculum and all of the lessons are based off of this curriculum.

Lessons are tailored to each grade level and meet SC Science Standards, Common Core Standards, and Next Generation Science Standards! Contact us for more info if you are interested in having us come to your classroom or homeschool group!!

Information on 2023 Education Contests

Education is a critical element of the conservation effort at the local, state and national levels. Educating young people about the benefits of conservation helps to ensure the next generation will be wise stewards of America’s natural resources. In 1955, the National Association of Conservation Districts began a national program to encourage Americans to focus on stewardship. Stewardship Week is officially celebrated from the last Sunday in April to the first Sunday in May. It is one of the world’s largest conservation-related observances.

The program relies on conservation districts sharing and promoting stewardship and conservation through field days, educational programming, and workshops to educate citizens about the need to care for our natural resources. Many district activities extend beyond the one-week observance to include an entire year of outreach. Stewardship Week helps to remind us all of the power each person has to conserve natural resources and improve the world. When everyone works together with their local conservation district, that power continuously grows. The Stewardship and Education Committee has developed a five-year rotation for stewardship topics – water, soil, habitat, forestry, and a topic of interest – and determines the theme each year.

SC Envirothon places 6th at NCF Envirothon!

2019 SC Envirothon from Spartanburg High School posing with their NCF Envirothon Award. From left to right is Justin Barron, Emma Sandago, Nathan Jones, Isabella Goodchild-Michelman, and Nolan Sykes.

Out of 45 of States, 6 Canadian Provinces, and 2 Chinese Delegations, our SC Envirothon team from Spartanburg High School finished 6th overall at the National Conservation Foundation (NCF) Envirothon! The team competed throughout the week in tests involving soils, aquatics, wildlife, forestry, and a current issue of “agriculture and the environment: knowledge and technology to feed the world”. Each of the students won a $200 scholarship. We could not be more proud of our team. Go Vikes!

BELOW IS A LIST OF PICKENS COUNTY 4-H CLUBS...JOIN TODAY!

Club Name Ages Meeting Place Leader Name Contact Info

Wildlife Club 5 - 15 Pickens 4-H Office Anaston Porter anaston.porter@gmail.com

Junior Gardener Elem Grades Botanical Gardens, Clemson Sue Watts carowatts@gmail.com

Blue Ribbon Riders Horse Club 5-18 Eden Farms, Dacusville Kay Mason kayivah@yahoo.com

Silver Spurs Horse Club 5-18 King’s Grove Stables, Six Mile Lindsey Davis Ldacus6178@yahoo.com

Shotgun Club 9-18 Clemson University Shotgun Range, Clemson Lynn Moore glennrmoore@bellsouth.net

Rabbit Club 5-18 Littlejohn Community Center, Clemson Tina Reif treif@clemson.edu

Livestock Club COMING SOON!! Eden Wallace edencreatives@charter.net

Explorers Club 5-18 Pickens 4-H Office Diana Byrd Bluebyrd04@gmail.com

Cooking Club 5-18 Pickens 4-H Office Erin Stewart Estewart2361@hotmail.com

Scuba Club 10-up Various local lakes Julie Wolfe mamawolfe@mac.com

Poultry Pals 5-10 Pickens 4-H Office Melissa Curtis barnyardhippie@gmail.com

Curiosity Club 9-16 Pickens 4-H Office Donna Leamey d leamey@msn.com

Homesteading Club 8-15 Dacusville Lisa Aman dancingmidwife@gmail.com

Pickens Soil & Water Conservation District

District K - 12 Grade Education Programs for Pickens County

2023-2024

About our education programs:

Yearly Education Contests

Our 2023 Education Contests are closed for this year. Stay tuned for next year's contests.

2023 Education Contest

2023 Poster Contest Winners

2023 Photography Contest Winners

2023 Essay Contest Winners

2022 Poster Contest Winners

2022 PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST

2022 Essay Contest Winners

SC Envirothon places 6th at NCF Envirothon!

Congratulations to the 2019 SC Envirothon from

Spartanburg High School

Get involved in your local Pickens County 4-H!