Education


Education is a critical element of the conservation effort at the local, state and national levels. Educating our YOUTH ensures that the next generation will be wise stewards of our natural resources. Through our education efforts we strive to encourage a practical perspective of environmental awareness. Conservation is a long term investment that we must make today in order to avoid the escalated costs of repair in the future.

Here are a few examples of activities that we can offer in a classroom setting:

The Incredible Edible Aquifer
EnviroScape

If we can be of assistance to the Students and/or Teachers of Jackson County, please contact Peggy Gilley at (850) 372-4793 or jswcd1987@outlook.com





The PUBLIC SPEECH CONTEST​ is open to grades 7-12 and is designed to develop leadership through participation and stimulate interest in conserving our natural resources, especially as it relates to Agriculture.

The 2021/2022 Speech Topic is "HEALTHY SOILS ARE FULL OF LIFE".

The Speech Contest will be announced at a later date.



The POSTER COMPETITION is open to grades K-12 and provides students with an opportunity to convey their thoughts about soil, water and related natural resource issues through art.

Winners advance from LOCAL to AREA to STATE and finally to NATIONALS with awards and prizes at each level.

The 2022 Poster Contest “Healthy Soil, Healthy Life” is open for submissions until December 1, 2022. Winners will be announced during NACD’s Annual Meeting in February.
Please click on the link below, they have all kinds of pointers and resources to help you along the way.





LAND JUDGING is a 4H and FFA contest in which High School students and Middle School students observe and interpret the soils in order to make wise land use decisions. Students can compete at the county, state and national levels as they advance.

The 2022 Land Judging Event was hosted by: Jackson Soil & Water Conservation District on 3/4/2022 in Graceville, FL. 

Lunch and Awards: Lunch provided by Farm Credit, water for the students donated by Winn Dixie. Graceville Hungry Howies gave us a discount for ordering 30 pizzas from them, and Sweet Beans Coffee House made two large trays of delicious salad.

For 2022 the state contest does not require teams to have participated in a local contest. We went ahead and held ours so the teachers could decide which students to send to state. There were 9 schools from 5 counties, 12 high school teams with 42 students, 8 middle school teams with 28 students totaling 70 students. With 32 adults made up from school personnel, Ag agents, Soil & Water Conservation Districts staff, and Natural Resources Conservation Service staff. 102 peope total. Each county Soil & Water District was in charge of their own awards. Most the of the counties had one team in each category. For a list of winners, please call Peggy Gilley at 850.372.4793.

A HUGE Thank You to all who attended and, to Mr. Scurlock and Cathy Davis for sharing your excellent guidance and knowledge to the new girl that had no idea what Land Judging is. We had a really great morning, lunch and awards!  


You may contact your local JACKSON SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT at (850) 372-4793 to let Peggy Gilley know of your intentions to participate in 2023. She will contact the appropriate entity to make certain that you get qualified.





The ENVIROTHON is a problem solving natural resource education program for High School students. As a team, students use critical thinking skills and communication skills to answer questions or conduct hands on investigations about environmental issues.

This event focuses on five areas of study:

Aquatics Ecology
Forestry
Soils/Land Use
Wildlife
Current Environmental Issues

To learn more about the Envirothon you can visit...



For further information, please contact Peggy @ 850-372-4793