The Cumberland County Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) recently sponsored a Soil and Water Stewardship Poster Contest. The theme for this year’s contest was “One Water”. The theme encourages citizens, schools, and communities to think about what a watershed is, how water runs off, how it flows, and how it is used.

The Cumberland County SWCD awarded winners in each category with Certificates of Achievement and cash prizes and the awards were presented recently at the District’s Annual Awards Dinner.

The first-place winner in the kindergarten-first grade category was Pleasant Hill Elementary School student Cade Coffey. Benjamin Hallberg from Crab Orchard Cumberland Elementary placed second. In the second-third grade category, Lily Dowlen from Pleasant Hill Elementary placed first with Crab Orchard Elementary student Marley Brannon placing second.

Winners in the fourth-sixth grade category were North Cumberland Elementary student Elisha Neal who placed first and Alissa Quatman from Homestead Elementary who placed second.

In the seventh-ninth grade category, Abbey Hazelton placed first and Elliana Peterson placed second. Both attend Stone Memorial High School.

Stone Memorial High School students Heidi Melton and Nick Osmun placed first and second, respectively, in the tenth-twelfth grade category.

The first-place posters in each category were entered in the Tennessee Association of Conservation Districts (TACD) State Poster Contest.

Special appreciation is extended to Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Area Forester Colby Sharp, NRCS Program Support Specialist Janette Wilburn, and Quail Forever Forester Kris Oja for serving as contest judges. The SWCD would also like to express appreciation to all the teachers for promoting soil and water stewardship in their classrooms and encouraging their students to participate in the contest.

All programs and services of the Cumberland County Soil & Water Conservation District are offered on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, marital status, or handicap.