Mike Parker: Soil and Water Conservation Education winners

The Lenoir County Soil and Water Conservation District held its annual Education Celebration beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 6, in the King’s Restaurant Banquet Room. More than 30 students were honored in 13 separate categories for addressing the theme “We All Live in a Watershed.”

Students in grades 3 through 5 competed in grade-level poster contests. Students in grades 6 through 8 competed by creating slide show presentations and by public speaking. Students in grades 6 through 12 could write essays on the theme.

Students from the district submitted 200 posters, 23 essays, 10 speeches and 32 slide shows. Lenoir County students won first place in nine Area 6 Education categories, and two students took first place at the state level.

In presenting the awards, Tara Hughes told the audience of students, parents, teachers and interested citizens:

“Watersheds are important because they help give us clean water to drink, places to swim and fish, and homes for animals like turtles, frogs, herons, and river otters. Watersheds even help protect us from floods by soaking up extra rain like a sponge.”

Third Grade Poster winners are: first, Sunny Rikard; second, Hadley Ginn; and third, Airlie Roberts, all of Bethel Christian Academy.

Fourth Grade Poster winners are: first, Garrison Orr; second, Isabelle Johnson; and third, Ariel Dziuk, all of Pink Hill Elementary.

Fifth Grade Poster winners are: first, Jazmine Angel Miranda; second, Christian Garcia Juarez; and third, Josue Hernandez, all from Pink Hill Elementary.

Sixth Grade Slide Show winners are: first, Joseph Potter; second, Thomas Woodcock; and third, Kivett Vaughan, all of Arendell Parrott Academy.

Seventh Grade Slide Show winners are: first, Summer Boyce; and second, Langley Christensen, both of Arendell Parrott Academy.

Eighth Grade Slide Show winners are: first, Casey Vidal Garcia; second, Kimberly Price; and third, Kendall Barwick, all of Woodington Middle School.

Sixth Grade Essay winners are: first, Charlotte Corey; second, Emma Jewers; and third, Mattie Kate Allen, all of Arendell Parrott Academy.

Seventh Grade Essay winners are: first, Caroline Tetterton; and second, Charlotte Hall, both of Arendell Parrott Academy.

Eighth Grade Essay winners are: first, Laurel Lawson; second, Madilyn Carroll; and third, Arabella Lancaster, all of Woodington Middle School.

Ninth through 12th Grade winners are: first, Abby Whaley; second, James Miller; and third, Joanna Prybylinski, all of South Lenoir High School.

Carsyn Tyndall of Woodington Middle School, who took first place in Sixth Grade Public Speaking, was the only award winner in that category.

Seventh Grade Public Speaking winners are: first, Winnie Cheel; second, Langley Christensen; and third, Emory Aycock, all of Arendell Parrott Academy.

Eighth Grade Public Speaking winners are: first, Tucker Blodgett; second, Emma Clement; and third, Charlie Blodgett, all of Arendell Parrott Academy.

The 2026 NC Coastal Envirothon teams all came from Woodington Middle School.

Members of Team UmiZoomi FFA are: Madilyn Carroll, Danielle Jones, Tucker Harris and James Fuertes. Team UmiZoomi was also a 2026 State Envirothon Team.

Members of Team Bubble Guppies FFA are: Layla Wooten, Sofie Murphy, Edgar Villafranco, Caden Howell and Cayenne Hubbard.

Members of Team Ken and Barbies FFA are: Lauryn Johnson, Hardy Lynch and Everlee Cooke.

Members of Team Jesus Saves FFA are: Trey Morris, Carsyn Tyndall, Jeremiah Boyster and Caitlyn Mayo.

All students who competed deserve special credit for being concerned about protecting natural resources, especially watersheds.

The mission of Lenoir Soil and Water Conservation District is to empower a sustainable future for the community, one acre at a time. The staff and board of supervisors for the district strive to preserve, protect and promote the wise use of Lenoir County’s natural resources through innovative conservation practices, education and collaboration to ensure a healthy and thriving environment for generations to come.

Mike Parker is a columnist for Neuse News. He can be reached at mparker16@gmail.com.

Photo by Amedith Stroud, Lenoir County public information officer.