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Trees are vital parts of our ecosystems. They provide shelter and food for animals, help lower our energy bills by providing shade during the summer months, help control erosion, and prevent flooding.
Thanks to our generous supporters, Licking Soil & Water offers free seedling trees to elementary and middle school students and schools to be planted in our community. The free seedling tree program is an opportunity to show students how essential trees are to their health, the community, and our environment.
There are two options available for this program. Both options include the requested trees along with the items needed to prep the trees for students including planting guides and teacher resource guides.
In option 1, each student in a participating school or class receives a seedling tree to take home to plant. This option is ideal for schools where students have a place at home to plant a tree.
If a large portion of the student body lives in a more urbanized area, such as an apartment or rental property, please consider option 2. For option 2, educators can request a certain number of trees to be planted on your school grounds. This option is perfect for enhancing an outdoor classroom and allows all students to have ownership and responsibility for the trees planted at their school.
To reserve free trees for your students or school, please fill out this Google Form.
The deadline to reserve your free trees is Friday, March 21st. The free trees will be available for pick up at the Soil & Water office on Friday, April 18th, between 8:30 am and 7:00 pm!
If you have any questions about Soil & Water's Free Trees for Students program, please contact Deirdre Wise at DeirdreWise@LickingSWCD.com or 740-670-5330.
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It’s that time of year to start talking about the River Round Up poster contest! Every September, the River Round Up brings out hundreds of volunteers to help clean up the Licking River and its tributaries. To help advertise this event, we ask students throughout Licking County to submit their posters reflecting on water pollution awareness, the importance of clean water, and encouraging volunteer participation in the River Round Up.
Entries are split into three categories: Elementary (K-4), Middle/Intermediate School (5-8), and High School (9-12). One winner in each category is chosen. The students with the winning posters receive a $100 award for themselves and a $500 award for their school's science or art program.
This year, we are again accepting physical poster submissions! Digital submissions or scans of posters can be turned in digitally on our website's River Round Up Poster Contest 2025 page. Physical posters can be dropped off or mailed to River Round Up Poster Contest, 771 East Main Street, Suite #100, Newark, OH, 43055.
For more information on the River Round Up poster contest, please visit our website's River Round Up Poster Contest 2025 page. If you would like a member of the River Round Up Poster Committee to come to your classroom or school to introduce the poster contest, please contact Deirdre Wise at DeirdreWise@LickingSWCD.com or 740-670-5330.
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Have you heard of the Envirothon? The Envirothon is an environmental and natural resource conservation problem-solving competition for high school teams across the United States, Canada, and China. The Envirothon helps to educate students about the environment and conservation of our natural resources through hands-on, outdoor experiences and collaborative competitions.
This competition helps prepare our future generation to tackle complex environmental issues and promote stewardship of natural resources with consideration for both the human quality of life and the quality of the environment. Through their preparation for and competition in the Envirothon, students become more environmentally aware and action-oriented citizens.
During the Envirothon competition, students are tested in the areas of aquatic ecology, forestry, soils and land use, wildlife, and current environmental issues. Students start at the local level and have the opportunity to advance to the state and national levels.
This year, the Tri-County Envirothon will be held at the Perry County Gun Club on April 16th. This is a practice competition for high school students with middle school students welcome to join as well. Registration for the Tri-County Envirothon will happen the day of the event, but if you plan to participate, please let us know beforehand how many students you will be bringing so that we can plan accordingly.
This year’s Area 3 Envirothon will be held at Shadow Lake Campground in Monroe County on April 23rd. We are looking for Licking County teams interested in participating! Up to four teams per school are welcome to join. Registration for the Area 3 Envirothon is due on March 12, 2025.
Study materials for the Envirothon competition are available from Soil & Water upon request.
If you have any questions about the Area 3 or Tri-County Envirothon, registration for either event, or would like to be sent study materials, please contact Deirdre Wise at DeirdreWise@LickingSWCD.com or 740-670-5330.
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This year, Licking Soil & Water will again offer a scholarship for one Licking County high schooler to attend Camp Canopy.
Camp Canopy is a one-of-a-kind summer camp in Carrollton, Ohio, for students interested in forestry, wildlife, conservation, ecology, and other natural resource fields. It is a week-long, co-ed residential camp open to high school students entering their freshman year up through graduating seniors.
Supported by the Ohio Forestry Association, the camp offers educational sessions with traditional camp activities and adventures. All educational sessions are taught by instructors from Ohio's top natural resource organizations and industry experts from the state's top educational institutions. Together, the OFA and Camp Canopy provide a curriculum that gives a comprehensive overview of the forestry and wildlife disciplines through lessons that incorporate both adventure and education.
At the end of camp, campers can take a test to qualify for a scholarship to The Ohio State University's School of Environment and Natural Resources, Hocking College's School of Natural Resources, Zane State College, or a scholarship for the student to use at a natural resource school of their choice.
If you have any students who may be interested in attending Camp Canopy, encourage them to apply for the Licking Soil & Water Camp Canopy Scholarship! The scholarship application can be found on our website's Education Page.
If you have any questions about Camp Canopy or the scholarship process, please contact Deirdre Wise at DeirdreWise@LickingSWCD.com or 740-670-5330.
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It is important to manage the snow and ice on our properites correctly this time of year. Depending on what methods you use, this can sometimes cause issues in our waterways.
The cheapest and most commonly used melting agent is sodium chloride, which is the same salt that we use in our kitchens. When this salt is deposited on the landscape, it eventually washes into our streams and rivers, where it kills plants, damages soil, harms aquatic life, and can even contaminate drinking water.
Thankfully, there are ways to reduce the use of sodium chloride this winter season.
You can reduce your use of sodium chloride by following these tips:
- Physically remove as much snow and ice as possible before using any chemicals. The earlier you shovel, the easier this will be.
- If you do use salt, use the recommended amount - it is recommended that salt grains are spread so that they are about 3 inches apart (this means that 1.5 cups of salt is enough for a 20-foot driveway, 2 parking lot spaces, or 10 sidewalk squares)
- Sweep up extra salt to reuse.
- You can limit access to your home to one entrance. This will allow you to leave the other entrances as they are without needing to remove the snow or treat them with ice melt.
Share these tips with your students! To help teach your students about water pollution runoff in waterways, schedule an EnviroScape presentation! For any questions or to schedule a program, contact Deirdre Wise at DeirdreWise@LickingSWCD.com.
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Jan 20: Licking SWCD Office Closed - MLKJ DayFeb 2: World Wetlands DayFeb 17: Licking SWCD Office Closed - Presidents' Day
Mar 3: World Wildlife Day
Mar 12: Area 3 Envirothon Registration Due to Deirdre at Soil & Water
Mar 18: Global Recycling Day
Mar 22: World Water DayMar 21: Free Trees for Students requests through Google Forms are due
Apr 4: Deadline for River Round Up poster entries
Apr 16: Tri-County Envirothon @ Perry County Gun Club in Perry County*
Apr 18: Free Trees for Students pick-up dayApr 22: Earth Day
Apr 23: Area 3 Envirothon at Shadow Lake Campground in Monroe County*
Apr 25: Arbor Day* RSVP Required
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