Thursday, October 20, 2011

Yoakum SWCD 2011 Conservation Jamboree

Yoakum SWCD 2011 Conservation Jamboree

The Sandy Land UWCD participated in the Yoakum SWCD 2011 Conservation Jamboree this past Friday. We always enjoy going to this event and talking with the 4th & 5th graders from Denver City & Plains. There were several business and individuals who presented in their area of expertise. Presentors & topics included


Bugs & Things – Manda Cattaneo -AgrilLife Extension Service
Farm Equipment – Curt Summer – South Plains Implement
Rain Simulator – Matt Pruner – NRCS
Branding Cattle – Chip Bennett – Yoakum County Rancher
Water - Crystal Hogue- Sandy Land Underground Water District
Spices - Jarrod Chestnut - Southwest Spice
Honey & Bees - Dennis Ross
Peanuts – Golden Peanuts – Steve and Riley
Wildlife – Vicki Sybert - Texas Park & Wildlife
Cotton Gin – Martin Lefevere – Farm Bureau


This year I wanted to do something more interactive with the kids, especially since I was scheduled to talk after the “Bee Man”. I decided to concentrate on the topic of rainwater harvesting while still stressing the importance of water conservation. The students seemed to enjoy learning about the rainwater harvesting process and asked a lot of questions.





I ended the presentation with an activity that the students seemed to enjoy. They had to "harvest" rain, or my crafty version of rain, in cups. The students then passed the cups filled with rain to their classmates assembled in a line. At the end of the line their teammates were holding a gutter, or once again my crafty version of a gutter. The students had to pour the rain into the gutters and then into their teams rain barrel or bucket. The team that harvested the most rain water after four minutes won.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Meadow Outdoor Classroom

The Outdoor Classroom at Burleson Elementary in Meadow, was held last week . Students from Wellman-Union, Dawson, Plains and Burleson ,along with their teachers, took part in our two-day learning experience.

Our 5th graders enjoyed listing to the different presenters and learning about our habitat. Presenters included;

Amphibians and Micro-Invertebrates; Russel Martin
Toads and Tadpoles in Sand Dunes; Burr Williams

Weather on the Southern High Plains; Carry Allen

Lessor Prairie Chicken; Duane Luis
The Birds of the High Plains; Gail Barnes
The "dirt" on Soil; Greg Lindsey

 Rangeland Management;Kegan Crouch


Draws and Groundwater; Jason Coleman

Salt Cedar/Beetle; Manuel DeLeon

Our field trip was to a buffalo ranch. The kids really enjoyed getting to see these beautiful animals up close.


A special thanks goes out to all of our presenters this week and our schools and their awesome teachers and staff. Also to the Terry County NRCS, Jackie Pate, Terry County AgriLife Extension and the  SPUWCD . It is amazing how much we can accomplish and how many students we can reach, when we work together.