OXFORD COUNTY SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT

Oxford County SWCD Annual Meeting Awards and American Chestnut Presentation Scheduled

The public is invited to attend the Annual Meeting of the Oxford County Soil & Water Conservation District on April 20^th, 2013 at the First Congregational Church of Paris. A time for visiting will begin at 5:30 pm, followed by dinner at 6 pm with program and awards to follow. Glen N. Rea, Chairman of the Maine Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation will present a program on the importance of finding and saving these historic trees.

Conservation awards for work year 2012 will be awarded to the following people:

Conservation Farmer of the Year- Patricia Verrill, Harvest Moon Produce

Pat Verrill of Harvest Moon Farm first started working with Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) in 2011. Her farm is located in West Paris. Pat uses   intensive agricultural management practices to produce seedlings, vegetables, perennials, and flowers on less than 2 acres of fields. She sells her produce at farmer’s markets, businesses, and has a Community Supported Agriculture program. 

Forestry Conservation- Chadbourne Tree Farm of Bethel

Bob Chadbourne, his wife Nancy, and daughter Nancy Lea Stearns, owners of Chadbourne Tree Farms, LLC (CTF), manage commercial forestland in Oxford, Androscoggin, and Cumberland Counties. The largest portion of this land is in the Bethel area.  Bob, Nancy Stearns and son-in-law David continue the family tradition of conservation for future generations. Decades of capable and dedicated employees have contributed to the success and quality of its land management.  As an active member of the American Tree Farm Program, CTF is certified as a sustainable forestry operation. CTF has an active management plan that includes pre-commercial thinning, pruning, harvesting as well as reforestation. Along with tremendous natural regeneration, Chadbourne has planted nearly 700,000 white pine seedlings since the late 1980’s, insuring quality timber for generations to come. 

Educator/Teacher of the Year- Melanie Johnson, Science Teacher at Dirigo High School

Melanie led the Dirigo High School Envirothon Team in the 2012 Southwestern Envirothon as their teacher/advisor.  Envirothon is a state and nation-wide competitive event in which high school aged students are tested in an outdoor environment on their knowledge of four natural resource areas: Forestry, Wildlife Aquatics and Soil. It takes great dedication, skill, and natural science knowledge to coach an Envirothon team and Melanie is one of those special teachers who have taken on that challenge.  Dirigo High School should be proud that they have the only Envirothon team in Oxford County.

Lake Association of the Year- Worthley Pond Association

Since 2008 Worthley Pond Association and its LakeSmart Coordinator, Dave Clement, have been committed to participation in the LakeSmart Program, which focuses on helping educate property owners in wise stewardship of their land in efforts to protect the water quality of Worthley Pond.  As a result they have over a dozen Lake Smart Award winning properties and many others that have been recognized for having raised their Lake Smart awareness.

Partnership Award- Oxford Hills Christian Academy

Hope Doyle, Amanda Komulainen, Laina Pulkkinen and Colleen Kostovick from the 10^th grade and Teagan Thorpe from the 9^th grade were our volunteers at Agriculture & Conservation Day at both the Waterford and Oxford Fairs.

Honorees of the Year- Anne Siekman & Roger Crockett

Anne and Roger entered their American Chestnut tree in the 2012 Oxford County Soil & Water Conservation District Big Tree Contest and opened everyone’s eyes to the amazing work being done by The American Chestnut Foundation to save these beautiful, historic trees. Their generosity in sharing their tree with the public will allow educational programming for children and adults that go far beyond the boundaries of the State of Maine. Class field trips have already been made to learn more about this tree and the plight of Chestnut trees in general.