Environmental Education

Education Programs - We conduct annual education programs which have become very popular across the region. Conservation Camp brings some 1,500 sixth graders to the banks of the Clinch River where they rotate through 23 different learning stations. Water Wizards is a third grade science curriculum of nine lessons in water quality which is voluntarily taught by teachers in more than 3 dozen classrooms. Envirothon is a high school team competition in soils, forestry, aquatic resources, wildlife, solid waste and a current environmental issue which changes each year. We also organize an annual voluntary teacher in-service for 80-100 teachers focusing on environmental education.

Conservation Camp

Healthy Water, Wealthy World Conservation Camp held the first week of May along the Clinch River on U S Hwy 25-E at the Grainger / Claiborne County line. Conservation Camp is made available to all sixth grade students in Claiborne, Grainger, Hancock, Hawkins and Union counties. About 1500 students attend the three day event, involving Environmental/ Water Quality/Conservation Curricula, with approximately 500 students attending each day. Prior to Camp, each student receives a Conservation Camp workbook outlining various topics and subjects they will be exposed to at Camp. The teacher also receives a workbook, along with a Question and Answer study guide. Throughout the course of the day, students rotate every 12 minutes to 23 different stops focusing on different water quality and environmental topics. Refreshments are provided to the students attending.

Download the Student Edition or Teacher Edition of the camp workbook.

Conservation Camp is made possible only through the efforts of the following groups.

Envirothon

This program is designed to cultivate a desire to learn more about our natural environment through competitive events. Thousands of high school students have met the Envirothon challenge nationwide and come away with a greater understanding of their total environment.

Area High School students and Teachers are encouraged to "Accept a Natural Challenge"

This interdisciplinary competition is a great way to fit natural resources and environmental studies into required curriculum objectives. Winning teams at the regional level advance to the state Envirothon to be held in May. The top state team then advances to the National Envirothon, for a chance to win top honors as well as scholarships. The highest scoring Future Farmers of America (FFA) team at the state competition will also represent Tennessee in the national FFA competition consisting of similar environmental topics. This information has been made available to the Biology, Chemistry, Science and Vo-Ag teachers in your community, as well as, your local 4-H offices.

If you are interested in learning more about Envirothon, please visit the National Envirothon and Tennessee Envirothon web sites.

Envirothon is a science team competition in Forestry, Wildlife, Aquatic Resources, Soils and a Current Environmental Issue. Students in grades 9 - 12 can participate in teams of three to five members. There is NO LIMIT on the number of teams per school. The competition will be held Friday, April 22nd in Washburn, TN. There is a $10.00 registration fee per team. Coaches or anyone interested in participating must contact Lindy Turner at (865) 828-5927 or 1(800) 814-6355. Registration forms, study materials and further information will then be mailed or delivered directly to coaches / teams.

Water Wizards Program

The Water Wizards program is a third grade science curriculum focusing on water quality and related ecological issues. It includes nine lesson plans with instructions for hands-on experiments and a fun activity, student workbooks and a take home sheet for the students.

The Teacher's Guide provides step-by-step "how-to" instructions for each activity. Each lesson includes an experiment to illustrate the topic. Teacher manuals also include suggested extended activities to reinforce the topic. Teacher's guide includes an overall evaluation upon completion of the program. Evaluations measure the success of the program and help to guide with revisions.

Water Wizard's Teacher's Guide - PDF Format (617 Kb)

Student workbooks are also provided. The workbook is divided into nine lessons, one for each full month of the school year. Each lesson plan includes background information on the topic, study questions and a fun activity called Water Wizard Workout. Vocabulary words are underlined in the text and defined in the glossary. The workbooks can also be used as coloring books.

Home Brew extended learning sheets are designed to encourage students and parents to discover ways they can change their own lives and help save the earth.

Water Wizard's Student's Guide - PDF Format (481 Kb)

Teacher training provided upon request. Each lesson can be completed in about ½ to 1 hour.

We now have Water Wizard's Guide by section

Teacher In-Service
In conjunction with our Partners for Clean Communities KAB, we sponsor a very popular teacher in-service program annually. K-12 teachers attend a variety of sessions of their choosing. From energy education and recycling to heritage based language arts, this is an in-service day not to be missed. Check out the downloadable version of "Tennessee Wilderness Road CD-ROM - Tips for Classroom Use".

Lending Resources
The RC&D maintains many wonderful classroom and enrichment resources available to educators throughout the region. From animal pelts to puzzles, you are invited to "check out" materials as often as you like. To find out more, call us at 828-5927.

All programs and services of the Clinch - Powell RC&D Council are offered on a nondiscriminatory basis, without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, marital status or handicap.

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“All programs and assistance of the RC&D Council are available without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact the USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).”