The Highland FFA is assisting the Washington County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) on a watershed management and creek sign project.

FFA Advisor and Agriculture Education Teacher Gina Trower says they’ve been awarded a $2,500 SWCD grant for students to learn about soil and water testing and conservation practices. Trower says the grant will be used to install signs identifying the nearby English River and Davis Creek, and they’ll help select the name for an unnamed English River tributary just east of Riverside, “They’re very excited. One of things in FFA, and even in agriculture education, we’re always looking for something new, something different, something that not every agriculture program or FFA does every year. This is definitely going to be a big one for us. I don’t remember the last ag teacher I talked to that said, ‘Yeah, we named a river last year.’ So the kids think it’s really cool because how many people can say that?”

Trower says the students have come up with a variety of possible names, but none have “stuck” yet. She says after they narrow down the list, they’ll seek feedback from Riverside residents before a final decision is made. The project will begin sometime this spring and is expected to conclude in 2022.