Educational Programs

Education has been recognized as a priority of the Soil and Water Conservation District. Continuous efforts have been made to provide education through the schools and public workshops to maintain an awareness of the individual roles we all play in conservation

2025 Poster Contest:
“Home is Where the Habitat is”

Eligibility
The Indian River Soil and Water Conservation District Poster Contest is open to all Indian River County students in Kindergarten through Fifth Grade. Students attending public, private, or home Educated, 4-H, or other Organizations may participate. (Individual Posters only accepted). ENTRY DEADLINE: 4:00PM, Friday, March 7, 2025

Contest Rules

• Turn poster in on time for judging. The local entry Submission deadline: On or before Friday, March 7, 2025 – 4:00 P.M.
• Securely attach by tape the “Poster Entry Form” on the back of each poster and be sure it is signed by a parent or guardian and that EVERY part of the Entry Form is completed.
• Any media may be used to create a flat poster: paint, crayon, colored pencil, charcoal, stickers, paper, or other materials.
• All posters must be created by an individual student, rather than a team of students. Entry must be contestant's original creation and may not be traced from photographs or other artists' published works
• Poster size must be between 8.5”x11” OR 11”x17”.
• The 2025 Stewardship theme: "Home is Where the Habitat is" must be included on the front side of each poster submission to be eligible.
• Only official state poster contest sponsors can submit entries for the national contest.
• Each entry must have a signed entry form affixed to back of poster to be eligible for judging.
• Although younger students will most likely receive help in planning from parents or teachers, IRSWCD encourages each student to do as much work as possible by him/herself. Entries completed by students in their handwriting and coloring will score better than those designed, drawn and colored by adult assistance.

Poster Evaluations

• Accuracy of conservation message (50 percent)
• Visual effectiveness (30 percent)
• Originality (10 percent)
• Universal appeal (10 percent)
• Also taken into consideration, artwork on poster is that of participant (unless noted on entry form)

District Level Awards: Gift Cards will be awarded per Category:

• Grade Categories: K-1st; 2nd-3rd; 4th-5th
• Gift card Prizes: First Place - $75.00 Second Place - $50.00 Third Place – $25.00
• 2025 Teacher Award: The Teacher that submits the most eligible posters will receive a $75.00 Gift Card.
• Winners at the local level will advance to the Area IV contest, with a chance of advancing to the State contest. Local winner names will be announced on our Facebook page.

Linked below are the complete list of rules and the entry form for 2025:

• 2025 Poster Contest Entry Form
• 2025 Poster Contest Flyer Rules

Envirothon

The Indian River Lagoon Envirothon is an outdoor competition that requires teamwork designed to encourage student’s interest in natural resource conservation and environmental management. An annual event where students from Counties along the Indian River Lagoon compete in their knowledge and understanding of areas critical to the Environment: The Indian River Lagoon, Aquatics, Forestry, Soil & Land Use, Wildlife and 2025 Current Issue - Roots and Resiliency: Fostering Forest Stewardship in a Canopy of Change. Winning teams (high school) from each county may continue in competitions at state, and if successful, national levels.

The 2025 IRL Envirothon Competition will be held at
The Friendship Park
1440 Friendship Lane, Sebastian FL 32958
on Wednesday, February 19, 2025

The entry deadline is Friday, January 24, 2025, by 5 PM.

For additional information on how you can get involved or start a team, please visit www.irlenvirothon.org.

Best Management Practices

The primary focus of this manual is to address the expansion of “Small Farms, Ranchettes, and Country Estates” in rural areas by providing relevant information that facilitates the implementation of Best Management Practices (BMPs).
Small Farm, Ranchette and Country Estate Best Management Practices Manual

Workshops

Staff have assisted Indian River County Extension Service in presenting workshops on conservation issues such as irrigation water management, pond management, etc. Referrals are made to Extension Service to assist cooperators in finding all the necessary information to help them make educated decisions.

GREEN THUMB GARDEN

Poster Contest 1. Select a clear plastic glove and write your name on it.
2. Wet 5 cotton balls. Wring out, they do not have to be soaking wet.
3. Dip cotton balls into seeds. You will want to keep track of which seed is in each finger.
4. Put cotton ball with seeds attached-into each finger of glove. Cotton ball needs to be at the tip of the finger.
5. Tape to windows, chalkboard or a refrigerator if you're at home.
6. Seeds will germinate in 3 to 5 days. Keep a plant diary.
7. Transplant after 1 1/2 to 2 weeks. Cut bottom of glove's fingers and transplant cotton ball and small plants into soil or moss.
8. After growing to full size, plants can be made into a salad.
For more fun garden activities for kids, visit kidsgardening.org

Butterfly Garden
Indian River SWCD in partnership with Natural Resources Conservation Service (N.R.C.S.) educated 2nd and 3rd grade students on gardening and the students of Citrus Elementary School in Vero Beach planted a Butterfly Garden on 5/6/16 that they will continue to maintain. Click the images to enlarge.