Opportunities through CDI to
conduct education and outreach to
Iowa’s youth
Courtney Slagle
Office and Projects Manager
Conservation Districts of Iowa
Conservation Poster Contest
 Provides K-12 grade students an
opportunity to convey their thoughts
about soil, water and related natural
resource issues through art
 Annual Stewardship theme
 Created on poster paper using mediums
that inspire the students
 District, State & National level
Conservation Poster Contest Schedule
September, 2015: Participating SWCD’s get the word out about the 2016 Conservation
Poster Contest
Friday, March 25, 2016: Applicants submit their poster to the SWCD office in the county
which their school is located
Friday, May 13, 2016: The local SWCD chooses one county winner from each of the five
grade categories to submit to their CDI Regional Director
Friday, June 3, 2016: CDI Regional Directors will have chosen forty-five winners to move
on for State consideration
June, 2016: CDI Regional Directors will choose one State Winner from each of the five
categories from those forty-five Regional Winners at the CDI June Board Meeting
July, 2016: CDI will send awards to local SWCD offices who will in turn notify the student,
school & local media
September, 2016: State posters are on display at Annual Conference
January, 2017: State posters are on display at NACD annual meeting
Conservation Poster Contest Materials
www.cdiowa.org
www.nacdnet.org/education/contests/poster
Entry Form
Conservation Poster Contest in 2015
 38 Districts received 4,530 posters
 35 cash prizes in the amount of
$1300 to students with winning
posters thanks to Grinnell Mutual!
 5 state winning posters on display
at Annual Conference - will be
forwarded on to NACD for
consideration at the national level
2015 Stewardship Theme/Sponsor:
Conservation Poster Contest
participating Iowa Counties
Conservation Poster Contest
Getting Involved
 Reach out to specific teachers in art,
environmental and other related fields
 Find your professional teacher
organizations
 Take materials to teachers, FFA
Advisors, 4H
 Interested? Next year’s Poster Contest
info will be available at
www.cdiowa.org this month!
2016 Stewardship Theme/Sponsor:
Conservation Scholarship Program
 CDI partners with SWCDs to foster
the higher education endeavors of
Iowa students by offering
scholarships
 Students pursuing programs of
study in any field of conservation or
agriculture
 3 State Winners & 6 Regional
Winners
Conservation Scholarship Program
Schedule
 Friday, February 26, 2016: Applicants submit their scholarship
applications to the SWCD Office in the county which they reside in
 Friday, March 25, 2016: The local SWCD chooses a county application
to forward on to their CDI Regional Director
 Friday, April 8, 2016: The CDI Regional Director chooses a regional
application to forward on for consideration at the state level
 Friday, April 15, 2016: A judging team of CDI officers, regional directors
& alternates then make the final selections
 Friday, April 22, 2016: CDI will then alert the local SWCD offices with
winning applicants. Local SWCD offices will in turn notify the student,
school & local media
Conservation Scholarship Program
Materials
www.cdiowa.org
Scholarship
Application
Conservation Scholarship Program in
2015
 75 Districts received 193 scholarships
 $12,950 was awarded to 9 students pursuing careers
in conservation and agriculture
 Contributions from Districts to the auction make
this program possible
Conservation Scholarship Program
participating Iowa Counties
Conservation Scholarship Program
Getting Involved
 Reach out to guidance counselors, ag
and environmental science teachers,
FFA Advisors, 4H
 Find other like organizations offering
scholarships and post through them
 Interested? Next year’s Scholarship
info will be available at
www.cdiowa.org this month!
Envirothon
 North America's largest high school
environmental competition
 Problem-solving, natural resource
education program
 Teams of 5 students
 Cover five categories: soils, forestry,
wildlife, aquatic ecology, and
environmental issues
 Regional, State & National
Envirothon Materials
www.iowaenvirothon.org
www.envirothon.org
Envirothon Registration
Envirothon in 2015
 255 students made up 50 teams
that competed at 6 regional
competitions hosted around the
state
 15 teams –55 students - moved
on to compete in the state
competition
 The St. Ansgar FFA Envirothon
team represented Iowa at the
2015 National Envirothon
competition at Missouri State
University in Springfield, Missouri
This year is the Iowa
Envirothon’s 20th Anniversary!
Envirothon Participating Iowa
Counties
Envirothon Getting Involved
 Reach out to ag and environmental
science teachers, FFA Advisors, 4H
 Recruit a teacher
 Provide training/field study
 Sponsor a team
 Donate to the Iowa Envirothon
Celebrate Soil & Water Conservation
Week
www.nacdstore.org
Soil & Water Conservation Week in
2015
 45 District outreach activities and 7 partner outreach activities
were reported around the week!
Proclamation signing
Warren County store
front display
Washington SWCD
youth with trees
Save the Date for 2016 Soil and Water Conservation Week:
Sunday, April 24 – Sunday, May 1