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Arbor Day Tree Seedling Giveaway
In celebration of KY Arbor Day the Oldham County Conservation District gave away 3500 trees on Friday, April 22nd. Smokey the Bear was on hand to greet the large turn out. Attendees enjoyed a wide variety of trees and received a reusable shopping bag or rain gauge!
The district would like to thank Nancy Theiss, Executive Director of the Oldham County History Center, for allowing us use of her facilities. A huge thank you also goes to Mr. Ben Ray, Horticulture Instructor at Roederer Correctional Complex, and his class for bagging the trees for us.
Our next tree seedling giveaway will take place from the front porch of the Oldham County History Center on March 30, 2012. We will begin at 11:00 a.m. (no early birds please) and go until 12:30 p.m. (or until all trees are gone!). We will be giving away the following species of tree seedlings:
Cypress; Flowering Dogwood; Wild Plum; Sycamore; Yellow-Poplar; Eastern Redbud; Sawtooth Oak; White Oak; Pecan; White Pine and Washington Hawthorn!
There is a limited supply of each species. Trees are given away on a first come, first serve basis. Plan on stopping by - - we'd love to meet you!
2011 Annual Awards Banquet Banquet Slide Show
Oldham County Students Recognized at Awards Banquet
The Oldham County Conservation District’s 31st Annual Awards Banquet was held on February 2nd at John Black Community Center.
 The winner of the Jim Claypool Art Contest, chosen out of 972 entries, was Luke Watkins from Harmony Elementary School. As the county winner, Luke’s entry went on to be judged at the state level where he took top prize as the STATE WINNER! This represents the first time an Oldham County entry has won this top state award. Congratulations Luke! In addition to receiving a check for $25 from the Conservation District, on February 16th Luke and his family were honored at a reception held at the Capital Annex in Frankfort. For having the winning state entry Mr. Watkins also received a check for $250 from the Division of Conservation and KY Farm Bureau, the sponsors of the contests.
Katelynn Jasinski from Camden Station Elementary was the county runner up.
 Chosen from 325 entries, the winner of the Conservation Writing Contest was Maggie Stephens, from St. Aloysius School. For her entry, Barney and the Bats, Maggie received a check for $25 from the Conservation District and received an additional $25 from the Division of Conservation and KY Farm Bureau. Alex Taylor from E. Oldham Middle School was the county runner up.
 Recognized for going above and beyond in their conservation efforts and care of the land was Hubert Pearson as Outstanding Cooperator. The award recipient has to practice good long-term conservation ethics on land they own or manage. As an Outstanding District Cooperator, this individual’s efforts in protecting the fragile resources of soil, water, woodland or wildlife resources are often modeled by others in the community.
 Edward and Cornelia Bonnie, of Stonelea, were selected as Master Conservationists, the highest honor awarded in the state to deserving landowners.
The Master Conservationist Award is the highest recognition presented to private landowners by a local Soil and Water Conservation District for individual land stewardship efforts. Less than two percent of private landowners or farmers are recognized as Master Conservationists. To qualify for this award, the landowner must have completed over ninety percent of their soil and water conservation plan for the land under their control. In doing so, almost all, if not all of their of their land-based natural resources are protected from serious degradation and are managed for sustainability. Their conservation practices and management techniques are those to be modeled and are often emulated by others seeking to achieve similar levels of success.
Highlighting the evening was the presentation “Mammals and Their Habitat” by Josh Young from East KY Power Cooperative in Winchester, KY.
The Oldham County Conservation District would like to thank all the students, teachers and principals who took part in this year’s art and writing contests and congratulate all of the evening’s winners.
The Conservation District sponsors the following events:
- Conservation Writing & Jim Claypool Art Contest
- Arbor Day Tree Seedling Giveaway
- Earth Day Celebration
- High School Envirothon Teams
- Monarch Lifecycle Program
- Annual Awards and Recognition Banquet
- Education Field Days and Workshop
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