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Conservation Education
Stevens SWCD has several educational opportunities available for youth and adults. Click on the links below to learn more about the different programs available. If you would like to find out more about these or other educational opportunities presented through Stevens SWCD, please contact SWCD Education & Promotion Coordinator, Judy Johnston.
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Area II Envirothon
Schools click here for resources & info!
The Envirothon challenges the students' environmental knowledge and problem solving skills. It began nationwide in 1979 and in Minnesota in 1993. The Area II event is put on by staff members from 9 of the Soil and Water Conservation Districts in Minnesota's west-central area. The Envirothon consists of five 25-minute outdoor learning stations, each based on a different topic that's key to the environment. Area natural resource professionals give a presentation at each station and then teams take a test to assess their knowledge of the topic. The five different 2005 stations were Forestry, Wildlife, Aquatics, Soils, and the current event topic "Recreational Impact on Natural Resources." Each team is also required to give an oral presentation on the current event topic.
Area II also hosts a Jr Envirothon, for students in 6-8th grades. The competition is modeled after the senior Envirothon and designed to help younger students prepare for that.
 The Morris senior team placed third overall and third in the oral presentations at the 2012 Area II Envirothon held at the Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center near Spicer. Team members, l to r: Kjersa Anderson, Beth Holland, Bryce Jergenson, Peter Erickson, Yasha Hoffman and Advisor Dylan Viss. |
 Students learn about the environment in an outdoor setting during this day-long competition. Teams give presentations each year on the topic of that year's Current Issue. Winners at the area level can move on to state and national competitions as well. |
The Stevens SWCD realizes the importance of environmental education and is proud to coordinate the Area II Envirothon competition and sponsor area teams' participation at the state level. Students and advisors alike enjoy this opportunity to learn about the natural environment through the hands-on activities in an outdoor setting. It is becoming increasingly harder for schools to find time and get funding to attend events like this. Even so, we are seeing tougher competition from the teams that are able to make it and we appreciate the extra effort involved.
Pope & Stevens Water Fest and Conservation Day
Pope and Stevens SWCD have joined together to provide 2 excellent learning opportunities for their 5th and 6th grade students. Water Fest, for 6th graders, is held annually in Pope County. Conservation Day is also held annually, for 5th graders, at the Scandia Woods Environmental Learning Lab (SWELL) in Stevens County.
 6th graders from Pope & Stevens counties learn about various topics related to water at the Pope & Stevens SWCD Water Fest. |
 Conservation Day at SWELL is always a big hit, treating almost 300 students from Pope and Stevens counties to a day of learning about our environment in an outdoor setting. |
Service Learning
Stevens SWCD cooperates with all ages of students at the Morris Area schools on service learning projects related to our environment. We have worked with Service Learning Coordinator Cheryl Kuhn and various student groups on several environmental projects over the years. Students help with a community collection of electronic waste, helped restore and maintain native shoreline at the Pomme de Terre City Park, and participated in a "Nitrates in the Classroom" project where they learned about nitrates and worked with landowners to test voluntary samples.
 Morris Area Service Learning students work to collect over 40 tons of electronic waste. |
 Stevens SWCD worked with Morris Area Service Learning to complete a shoreline restoration. |
2nd Grade Field Day The US Fish & Wildlife Service hosts a field day where SWCD staff help area students learn about the environment in our county. |
Annual Poster Contest Students hear educational presentations on a different topic each year and then create posters or group murals based on the theme. Artwork is judged and prizes are awarded at the county and area levels. |
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Whenever possible, we like to bring students and teachers out of the classroom for hands-on learning. One of the programs we help with is the US Fish & Wildlife Service's 2nd Grade Field Day, held each May. We also visit area classrooms to talk to students about conservation. Each year, we develop and present sessions based on the current theme of the annual SWCD Poster Contest. Then students are asked to develop individual posters or group murals and submit them to the contest. Awards are given at school and county levels and winners advance to the area competition.
Conservation Tours & Seminars | ||
 SWCD Staff and supervisors toured the farm of Mark and Deb Erickson, 2010 Outstanding Conservationists.. |
 Tree pruning seminars and other educational opportunities are held for community residents. |
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Soil & Water Stewardship Week
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 Stewardship concept involves personal and social responsibility, including a duty to learn about and improve natural resources as we use them wisely, leaving a rich legacy for future generations.
One definition of Stewardship is "the individual's responsibility to manage his life and property with proper regard to the rights of others." E. William Anderson suggests stewardship "is essentially a synonym for conservation."
Stewardship Week helps reminds all citizens of the power of each person to conserve natural resources and improve the world. When people work together with their local conservation district, that power grows and grows. As these good deeds multiply across the nation's network of conservation districts, the results are spectacular!
For more information on this year's theme or to receive free education material contact Stevens SWCD at 320-589-4886 ext 3, or email Judy Johnston. [top of page]