Ninth-grader Hannah Johnson won the Indiana Soil and Water Conservation District state poster contest. Her poster now goes to the national competition, whose winners will be announced in February. Hannah will be recognized at the annual meeting of the Elkhart County SWCD on February 28, 2008. Additionally, Hannah's Soil and Water Conservation project (a model of a wetland) and Wildlife project (a poster on coyotes in Indiana) also received blue or merit blue awards at the Indiana State Fair this year.

Hannah's poster, pictured below, focuses on a compact fluorescent light bulb, surrounded by suggestions of things people can do protect natural resources:protect wetlands, keep pollution away from storm drains and waterways, build retention ponds for storm water run-off, use erosion control techniques like terraces and buffer strips, use permeable concrete to reduce run-off, compost to improve soil, plant trees and wildlife habitat, use energy-efficient light bulbs, etc.

Hannah Johnson's State-winning poster