Conservation lasts when communities understand it. The district invests in education and outreach—working with schools, landowners, and partners to share why healthy soil and clean water matter, and how everyone can help.
Featured Project
School gardens & the Shadow Butte pollinator project
The district has sponsored four school garden projects—at Shadow Butte Elementary, Carberry Elementary, Early Words Speech Therapy Clinic, and Gem Prep—giving students a hands-on place to learn about plants, pollinators, soil, and water right outside their school.
At Shadow Butte, students helped install a pollinator garden, then planted, tended, and harvested their own vegetables. Projects like these connect classroom learning to the living landscape and help young people see conservation as something they can be part of.
In the Community
Conservation education programs
Outdoor School
Each year the district co-sponsors outdoor school for local fifth graders—a hands-on field day covering soil, fisheries, rangeland, fire, and pollinators.
Pollinator Education
From kindergartners at Butte View Elementary to preschoolers at Smart Start Academy and displays at the Gem/Boise County Fair, we teach why planting for pollinators matters.
Contests & Arbor Day
We sponsor about 250 fifth graders in the annual conservation poster contest, run a high-school speech contest, and hand out evergreen seedlings to third graders every Arbor Day.
Farm Tours & Field Days
Free public tours of district-sponsored projects—cover crop plantings, irrigation pivots, water-quality testing, and new technology like agricultural drones.
Biocontrol
Working with the Nez Perce Biocontrol Center, the district releases and manages biocontrol agents that fight noxious weeds like poison hemlock and rush skeletonweed.
District Newsletter
Twice a year we mail a district newsletter to about 500 subscribers, keeping farmers and ranchers informed on programs, deadlines, and conservation news.
Photo Gallery
Conservation in action
A look at projects, events, and the land we work to protect.
Want the district at your school or event?
We love sharing the conservation story. Reach out to talk about classroom visits, projects, or partnerships.