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Virginia Outreach Update
Reaching Out to Our Future Decision Makers
What
is the largest species of salamander in North America? What is a soil profile?
What is Virginia’s largest watershed? Answers to hundreds of questions about
our natural resources, the environment and more were dished out to dozens of
campers at Youth Conservation Camp at Virginia Tech. For one week in July, the
Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (VASWCD) sponsored
55 high-school students from around the state to take part in this exciting
educational experience.
One goal of conservation camp is to make a
lasting impression about the importance of our natural resources on our youth.
Throughout the week, many partnering agencies and other environmental groups
spent hours of their time with students to explain their role in the
environment.
NRCS Soil Scientist, Jeannine Freyman, set
up five hands-on educational
stations that demonstrated everything from soil texture types to determining the
color of soil’s surface and subsoil layers. Freyman explained the various
reasons why soil surveys are necessary for landowners, developers and others.
Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) Agent, Barry Fox, talked about water
quality and more specifically, the state of the Chesapeake Bay. He said that
the cost to upgrade sewage plants, city sewers and control
non-point source pollution to the Bay watershed would cost more than $19
billion.
Students also heard from Department of Game
and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) on Fisheries Management and
Lake Ecology. They took guided tours to various VA Tech centers including
equine, forest products, dairy science, swine research, aquaculture, and more.
Throughout the week, the campers visited with farmers who had installed Best
Management Practices (BMP) on their operations. BMP’s included forested
riparian buffers, hardened stream crossings, efficient waste systems and more.
The
campers hiked
four miles along the Cascades Trail mid-week. To compensate for the 90 degree
weather was a 66-foot waterfall at the center of the trail, which refreshed many
of the campers as they dove in. They also had the opportunity
to canoe one of the world’s oldest rivers--the New River.
Experienced Canoeists guided all the groups about three miles down the river to
enjoy the scenic view. Every place, speaker and tour had
an even greater message—to get them to appreciate their natural surroundings.
VASWCD, NRCS, DCR, DGIF and other
conservation agencies realize that the future of our natural resources and
environment is in the hands of our youth. They are our future decision-makers.
NRCS takes pride in emphasizing the importance of our land, and air and water
quality to all groups of people.
To learn more about Youth Conservation Camp,
contact your local Soil and Water Conservation District or USDA Service Center.
The
Natural Resources Conservation Service provides leadership in a partnership
effort to help people conserve, maintain, and improve our natural resources and
environment.
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