This year, Arbor Day falls on Friday, Dec. 1, and Richland County students in grades preK-12 are invited to celebrate our local trees by participating in the Richland County Arbor Day Youth Contest. Winners will receive $25 cash prizes! The submission deadline is Friday, November 3, 2017.

Robert D. Stockman of Cedar Valley Farms (Richland County) and Roger L. Ross of R&G Enterprises (Kershaw County) have been named 2017 Conservation Cooperators of the Year by the Richland Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD).

A $1,000 scholarship is available to one conservation-minded Richland County student who plans to pursue undergraduate studies related to natural resource conservation, sustainable agriculture, or the environment at a college, university, or technical school in South Carolina. Applications are due by February 2, 2018.

Faculty and staff members of public, private, and alternative schools in Richland County are eligible to apply for grants in the amounts of $500 or $1,000 to support campus conservation projects and youth environmental education initiatives through Conservation Education Mini-Grants and Clean Stream Columbia Awards.

David Kenga, the science lab teacher at St. John Neumann Catholic School (SJN), has been named Richland County’s 2017 Conservation Teacher of the Year by the Richland Soil and Water Conservation District.