Richard Shaw of Elizabethtown was one of several students to receive scholarships at this year's Resource Conservation Workshop, which was held in Raleigh. A total of 88 students from across the state participated in the workshop that gave the attendees an opportunity to get a first-hand look at a full spectrum of conservation careers.

The Bladen Soil and Water Conservation District sponsored Shaw.

According to workshop sponsors, the workshop is designed to target future environmental professionals and gives them an opportunity to see resource conservation in action and "prepares them to be more environmentally conscious citizens in the process."

This is the 40th year the weeklong workshop has been held.

Workshop sponsors include the N.C. Division of Soil and Water Conservation, the N.C. Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts, the Hugh Hammond Bennett Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society of America, the N.C. Soil and Water Conservation Commission, N.C. State University's Department of Soil Science and Office of Continuing and Professional Education, and the N.C. District Employees Association.

The students are housed on the N.C. University campus during the workshop, giving them a welcome preview of college life. They also toured conservation sites throughout the area as a part of the program.

A variety of topics, presented by a number of resource conservation agencies, were discussed during the workshop. They included such things as wildlife and fisheries management, wetlands best management practices, soil properties, Global Positioning System (GPS), sediment and erosion control, acquaculture, forest fire control, tree identification, forest stewardship and endangered species management.

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