Education Programs

JOHN MARSHALL SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

July 1, 2008 - June 30, 2009

The John Marshall SWCD staff and volunteers conducted conservation education programs for over 4,000 individuals in Fauquier County for FY 2009. District employees worked with elementary through high school age students, and adult audiences, providing information on a variety of conservation topics such as point and nonpoint source pollution, water quality, stream monitoring, soils, erosion and sediment control, and best management practices. Programs are customized to meet the needs of the groups requesting the programs. Participating students represented public, private, and home schooled youth. Adult participants included teachers, parents, chaperones, farmers and other interested citizens.

During FY 2009, the JMSWCD educational programs included:

Cedar Run Monitoring Project - Students from Erin Wyld’s Fauquier High School Ecology classes conducted water quality tests for nitrogen, phosphorus, and dissolved oxygen, and collected macroinvertebrates on a monthly basis at Cedar Run as part of a long-term educational watershed study.
Conservation Field Days - 150 seventh-grade students, teachers, and chaperones from Taylor Middle School, plus 160 students from Highland School and the Fauquier Home School Program participated in a conservation field days at Messick’s Dairy Farm in October. Guest instructors presented talks on milking, newborn calves, nutrient management, water quality, macroinvertebrates, soils, forestry, insects, and composting
Farm Tours - JMSWCD personnel coordinated and hosted over 800 third grade students, teachers, and chaperones at local farms in April. Students rotated through dairy, beef, horse, nutrient management, farm life cycle, plant, nutrition, farm equipment, insect, soil, and water quality stations. Choice Longhorns in Bealeton and Baerback Farms in Orlean served as hosts for the events.
Educational Displays - JMSWCD personnel set up and staffed educational displays at several events, including the Fauquier County Fair, Fauquier Benefits Fair, the Plant Show and Sale, and the Children’s Festival at Crockett Park.
Point and Non-Point Source Pollution - The Enviroscape model was used to demonstrate the impact of everyday rural and urban events on watershed health to 420 elementary and middle school students.
Soil Studies - Over 500 elementary youth received hands-on instruction in soil studies, learning about structure and texture, the soil profile, and soil testing. All students made soil tubes.
Soil Tunnel – Over 1400 youth crawled through John Maarshall’s new Soil Tunnel at school events and the Fauquier Fair.
Upper Rappahannock Monitoring - JMSWCD staff and volunteers continued monitoring of 8 sites for macroinvertebrates using the Modified Virginia SOS method. Streams are monitored on a quarterly basis and data entered on the SOS website.
E. coli Monitoring - Ten sites on Thumb Run were tested on a monthly basis for E. coli in cooperation with DEQ. Bacterial colonies were grown in the office using the Coliscan Easygel method, and results emailed to DEQ via quarterly spreadsheets. E. coli monitoring on Great Run began in June 2009.
Presentations - District personnel made numerous presentations to garden clubs, Master Gardeners, the Rotary Club, and other business and civic groups.
Rain Barrels – The John Marshall SWCD hosted 2 Rain Barrel Workshops where 66 participants made 90 rain barrels.
Warrenton Natural History Day Camp - Two members of the John Marshall SWCD staff assisted over 30 youth campers with macroinvertebrate monitoring and chemical testing in the Rappahannock River near Orlean.

Date Last Modified: 09/11/2009