Scholarships
For Students Graduating from High School
Conservation Districts of Iowa partners with local Soil and Water Conservation Districts to offer scholarships to graduating high school students for pursuing higher education in fields of study related to conservation and agriculture.
In addition to the state and regional scholarships awarded by CDI, Madison County SWCD also offers its own local scholarship in the amount of $250 to the top applicant.
Information about scholarships is usually available by December, and applications are due to the local SWCD office (in the county where the student resides) in February.
More information including dates, rules, and application forms, is available on the Conservation Districts of Iowa website: https://cdiowa.org/get-involved/scholarships/
Internships
For Students Enrolled in High School or College
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) is offering a 480 hour Conservation Technician Intern position based at the Madison County Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) in 2025. Visit the IDALS website to see other locations.
Envirothon
For Students Enrolled in Grades 9-12 / Ages 14-19
The National Conservation Foundation Envirothon Annual Competition “is an environmental and natural resource conservation problem-solving, teambuilding and leadership experience and competition for high school students across the United States, Canada, and China.”
Regional and state competitions in Iowa take place in the spring. Teams of five students enrolled in grades 9-12 must be registered in advance (usually in February) in order to compete at the regional level (Virtual Regional testing in March). The top two teams from each school or club will be eligible to compete at Iowa’s State Envirothon (usually in April). The winner of the Iowa Envirothon will have the opportunity to compete in the NCF Envirothon in the summer. Madison SWCD may be willing to sponsor local Envirothon Teams to offset the registration fee; interested students/teams are encouraged to contact the SWCD in January to request support.
Visit the Conservation Districts of Iowa website to learn more about State and Regional competitions in Iowa:
https://cdiowa.org/get-involved/envirothon/
Poster Contest
For K-12 Students
The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD), Conservation Districts of Iowa (CDI), and local SWCDs partner to make the annual Conservation Poster Contest possible. The contest is open to any child residing in Iowa who is a student in Kindergarten through 12th grade whose school is in a participating SWCD.
Information about the Poster Contest becomes available over the winter; poster entries are due to the local SWCD office (in the county where the school is located) later in the spring around late April / early May. The SWCD will choose a winner from each of the five grade categories to compete at the CDI regional level. Regional winners ($35 award) and state winners ($50 award) will be selected over the summer, and the state winners will be sent to the national poster contest for consideration for a national award and displayed at the NACD Annual Meeting the next winter.
Visit the Conservation Districts of Iowa website to learn more: https://cdiowa.org/get-involved/poster-contest/
