New River Soil and Water Conservation District

04/08/2026

Attention Teachers: Register for the NC Envirothon School and you can receive teaching credits for the days you attend. Very NICE workshop!

04/02/2026

Grassheads at Westwood Elementary School!
Jessica Hodgson, Environmental Educator, spent the evening with second grade students who learned that plants are more than the food we eat! We use plants every day in many aspects of our life. They then made their own plant friends, Grassheads!

03/30/2026

Westwood Elementary School’s Ms. Ashley’s 2nd grade class has been patiently waiting for their new chick-mates—and today was a special Monday! Five new chicks 🐣 hatched, bringing such a sweet surprise.

Over the past month, the students enjoyed visits from Jessica Hodgson, who taught them all about chickens along the way. Ashley’s also had the class create a daily creative journal, documenting how the chicks were growing inside their eggs.

What a wonderful classroom experience!

03/25/2026

Congratulations to New River SWCD’s The Homeschooled Hellbenders NW Envirothon team on placing 2nd!! They’re now moving on to State Competition!

03/23/2026

Our Farmland Preservation 3rd Annual Meeting was a big success! We would like to pay special thanks to the following for helping the meeting run so smoothly and for donations:
Keith Raynor and Jane Lanier with TRP SUMNER.
Dan’ll Boone Inn
Parsons Farms & Supply LLC.
Skyline SkyBest
Blue Ridge Energies
Barn Quilt Headquarters
Zaloo's Canoes, Kayaks & Tubes
Bojangles
W.J. Hardware: Firearms;Gifts & Bridal Registry; A TrueValue Hardware Store

03/23/2026

If you would like a copy of the speech given at Farmland Preservation, please send us your email

03/21/2026

Area 2 Contest Night was held in Ashe County at Midway Baptist Church on Thursday, March 19th. Contestants from 13 different NW counties showed up to give speeches, be awarded for their poster, essay or slideshow contest they entered. Speech contestants you ALL did a remarkable job! You are stronger than you stronger than you know to take on public speaking from 6th to 12th grade! Congratulations to our Area 2 winners! The first place winners listed below will now be advancing to the state competition!

3rd Grade Poster: Ellie Burch -Ashe County
4th Grade Poster: Raegan Boone- Avery County
5th Grade Poster: Charlotte Rose Lambert-Ashe County

6th Grade Essay: Jolie Moore - Stokes County
7th Grade Essay: Stella Bryant- Wilkes County
8th Grade Essay: Riley Reynolds- Wilkes County
9-12th Grade Essay: Wyatt Bartholomew- Catawba

6th Grade Slideshow: Oliver Leftwich - Stokes
7th Grade Slideshow: Idalia Gonzalez- Alleghany County
8th Grade Slideshow: Clair Burnett- Stokes County
9-12th Grade Slideshow: Jordan Holleman- Wilkes County

6th Grade Speech: Avery Kirby- Caldwell County
7th Grade Speech: Rachael Combs- Wilkes County
8th Grade Speech: Nayeli Elswick- Catawba county
9-12th Grade Speech: Collin. Stedham

Congratulations to all of our contestants! Thank you to all of the parents, teachers, principles, SWCD staff, NCASWCD staff that made this event possible for students!

03/16/2026

03/12/2026

Great news! Area 2 contest winners are in!! Congratulations to you all! These students did such a great job making it this far! Ellie Burch and Charlotte Rose Lambert will be moving on to the State Competition! Let’s wish these girls the best of luck!! 🎉

03/10/2026

Congratulations to our 2026 Essay and Poster Contest winners! We are so proud of each one of you!! 🎉🎉🎉

3rd Grade Poster Contest

1st Place: Ellie Burch
2nd Place: Maelyn Roten
3rd Place: Averiana Gibson

4th Grade Poster Contest

1st Place: Sophia Hurley
2nd Place: Koda B.
3rd Place: Evie Lyall

5th Grade Poster Contest

1st Place: Charlotte Lambert
2nd place: Kaelyn Ellis Fink

6th Grade Essay Contest

1st Place: Luke Bryan
2nd Place: Lily Mortenson

Ashe County Public Schools
Blue Ridge Elementary School
Westwood Elementary School

02/03/2026

🌱 Soil Sample Price Update! 🌱
Planning to test your soil? Here’s what you need to know:

✅ FREE soil samples — April 1 to November 30
💲 $5 per sample — December 1 to March 31

📬 Reminder: Postage is still required when mailing in samples.

Healthy soil = healthy crops 🌾