PARIS — The public is invited to attend the Annual Meeting of the Oxford County Soil & Water Conservation District on Saturday, April 20, at the First Congregational Church of Paris. A time for visiting will begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 6 with program and awards to follow.

Glen N. Rea, chairman of the Maine Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation, will present a program on the importance of finding and saving the historic chestnut trees.

The winner of the 2013 photo contest, Jade Gianforte, will be honored for her photo of “The Meandering Androscoggin at Rumford Point,” as well as honorable mention winners Brenda Melhus with her photo of “Winter at Robert’s Farm” and Kathy Hussey with two winning photos, “Hazy Morning” and “Eagles Keeping Watch Over Pond.”

Conservation awards for work year 2012 will be awarded to the following people.

Conservation Farmer of the Year: Patricia Verrill, Harvest Moon Produce, West Paris. Verrill uses intensive agricultural management practices to produce seedlings, vegetables, perennials and flowers on less than two acres of fields. She sells her produce at farmer’s markets, businesses and has a community supported agriculture program.

Forestry Conservation: Chadbourne Tree Farm of Bethel. Bob Chadbourne, his wife Nancy, and daughter Nancy Lea Stearns, owners of Chadbourne Tree Farms, manage commercial forestland in Oxford, Androscoggin and Cumberland Counties. Bob, Nancy and son-in-law David continue the family tradition of conservation for future generations. As an active member of the American Tree Farm Program, CTF is certified as a sustainable forestry operation. CTF has an active management plan that includes pre-commercial thinning, pruning and harvesting as well as reforestation. Along with tremendous natural regeneration, Chadbourne has planted nearly 700,000 white pine seedlings since the late 1980s, ensuring quality timber for generations to come.

Educator/Teacher of the Year: Melanie Johnson, science teacher at Dirigo High School. Johnson led the Dirigo High School Envirothon Team in the 2012 Southwestern Envirothon as their teacher/adviser. Envirothon is a state and nation-wide competitive event in which high school aged students are tested in an outdoor environment on their knowledge of forestry, wildlife, aquatics and soil.

Lake Association of the Year: Worthley Pond Association. Since 2008 Worthley Pond Association and its LakeSmart Coordinator, Dave Clement, have been committed to participation in the LakeSmart Program, which focuses on helping educate property owners in wise stewardship of their land in efforts to protect the water quality of Worthley Pond. As a result they have more than a dozen Lake Smart Award winning properties and many others that have been recognized for having raised their Lake Smart awareness.

Partnership Award: Oxford Hills Christian Academy. Hope Doyle, Amanda Komulainen, Laina Pulkkinen and Colleen Kostovick from the 10th grade and Teagan Thorpe from the ninth grade were volunteers at Agriculture & Conservation Day at both the Waterford and Oxford Fairs. They assisted with set-up, leading Learning Stations and photographing the events of the day.

Honorees of the Year: Anne Siekman and Roger Crockett. Anne and Roger entered their American Chestnut tree in the 2012 OCSWCD Big Tree Contest and opened everyone’s eyes to the work being done by The American Chestnut Foundation to save these beautiful, historic trees. Their generosity in sharing their tree with the public will allow educational programming for children and adults that go far beyond the boundaries of the state. Class field trips have already been made to learn more about this tree and the plight of chestnut trees in general.

Dinner pre-registrations for this event are required. Call the District office at 743-5789, ext. 111, or email [email protected] for more information or to reserve a seat.