Submitted by Elizabeth Grisham on
Not many organizations (that are not schools) can say they touched the lives of more than 36,000 students through conservation education, but Clinch-Powell did just that over 20 years of our Water Wizards, Conservation Camp and Envirothon curriculums. Thirty years later, adults tell us they remember the experiences they had with our hands on learning days. We call that a win!
One of our most in-depth hands on activities was Water Wizards with third grade students. They dug their very own landfill for class, filled it with all their lunch waste, and then, made projections of what would be left when they dug it up at the end of the year. In the meantime, monthly Water Wizards lessons taught students about the impact of waste on the environment and water systems.
Connie became the face of Clinch-Powell’s Water Wizards in 1990 when she was selected to be interviewed by WBIR Channel 10 at the “big dig” at the end of the school year. She was a student at Joppa Elementary in Grainger County and was asked by the television reporter what she expected to find when the little landfill was dug up. Connie said she was pretty sure the “Styrofoam” cups would be there. She was smart!
Clinch-Powell still plays an active role in conserving natural resources through our programs, including our partnership with The Nature Conservancy, and through the efforts of many of our Appalachia CARES AmeriCorps members who provide education to community members, landowners, and state park visitors across the state of Tennessee.
