Georgia-Pacific Monticello supports environmental competition

Lawrence County students and Luke Horton, Georgia-Pacific public affairs manager, are pictured at the Lawrence County Soil and Water Conservation District’s annual field day.

Georgia-Pacific Monticello is continuing its commitment to environmental education by supporting Mississippi Envirothon, an annual environmental competition for high school students.
Mississippi Envirothon tests students in several areas, including land use, aquatic ecology, wildlife, and forestry. Through local Soil and Water Conservation districts, volunteers and personnel from state and federal natural resource agencies and organizations share environmental expertise to prepare teams for the competition.
The competition is funded through grants from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and others. Scholarships are funded by Georgia-Pacific Monticello. This year’s winner was a team from Oxford High School. The event took place in Raymond.
Georgia-Pacific’s Monticello facility also sponsored the Soil and Water Conservation District’s annual field day in Lawrence County. The event brings together several conservation partners to teach students about soil use, wildlife, environmental stewardship and forestry, among other topics.
Students spent a half-day rotating between stations hosted by area Soil and Water Conservation Districts as well as the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Mississippi Extension Service.
Monticello Mayor Martha Watts, a commissioner for the Lawrence County Soil and Water Conservation District, said the field day exposes students to environmental stewardship principles, some for the first time.