Wilkes Soil & Water Conservation District

Help Grow Wilkes County Soil & Water Conservation District

We will build a Mobile Soils Classroom to provide students an interactive, walk-thru learning experience about soil & its role in the ecosystem & their lives. The classroom will be a 28’ enclosed gooseneck trailer which will allow students to experience the world beneath their feet, simulation. Within one year, upon construction completion, the Soils Mobile Classroom will be used at 6 regional/statewide education events, reach over 10,300, K-12 students in Wilkes and surrounding counties, and be available to the additional 95 conservation districts in NC to use.

The Mobile Soils Classroom will be wheelchair friendly and able to be enjoyed be students or all abilities, the artwork on the inside will be sturdy enough for students to touch and interact with for a realistic and unforgettable underground experience. 

We strive to provide students with immersive, interactive learning experiences. This can be a challenge in a traditional classroom setting and schools are limited to a few field trips a year, due to the cost of buses and substitute teachers for students that are unable to go. The Mobile Soils Classroom will allow us to take the "field trip" to the school, reaching more students than ever before!

West Virginia Conservation agency has a similar “Soils Tunnel Trailer” that has been our inspiration. The trailer has had great success and stays booked up for months at a time. Our staff went to West Virginia and attended an educational event where it was used and the student reactions were quite amazing. As 5th graders, they were so enthusiastic to learn about the earthworms and bacteria in the soil. They were amazed to see peanuts hanging from the ceiling because they were “underground” in the trailer. The Mobile Soils Classroom will be constructed as an improved version of the West Virginia Soils Tunnel Trailer, featuring air conditioning and safer entrances/exits for students. Pictures of the West Virginia Soils Tunnel Trailer are located below.

Below is a mock-up from Spevco that demonstrates what we are asking for in a Mobile Soils Classroom. We hope to incorporate  the artistic quality and interactive nature like the West Virginia Trailer, with the durability, technology, automation, and size of the mock-ups from Spevco. 

Learn more about our work at wilkesswcd.org.

The total cost to build a Mobile Soils Classroom is $303,463, Wilkes SWCD has secured $184,410 through various donors. We still need $119,053 to complete the classroom, the $3,000 raised during this campaign will cover the cost of the outside artwork and wrap! 

Our Work Matters

According to the National Educator Association, a study found that regardless of gender, ethnicity or socioeconomic status, children who take school trips have better grades (59%), higher graduation rates from high school (95%) and college (63%) and greater income (12% higher annually).

Environmental education works. The benefits of outdoor learning and environmental education are remarkable and well-documented. Research shows that regular time in nature can make us healthier, happier, smarter, and better stewards of the environment. That makes environmental education just as important for our participants as it is for the planet. 

Learners of all ages, from infancy through adulthood, can benefit from the connection to and understanding of our environments that comes from environmental education. The Mobile Soils Classroom experience students have can build the foundation for lifelong engagement.

Will you help us grow? 

If you have a past experience that helped shape your love for and commitment to protecting our planet, please pay it forward by supporting Wilkes County Soil & Water Conservation District’s mission and work. Any amount you can give brings us closer to our goal.

Prefer to support our work via check?  You can mail payment to Wilkes Soil & Water Conservation District, Attn: Kayla McCoy, 416 Executive Drive, Suite A, Wilkesboro, NC 28697.