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Howard Whitaker, District
Conservationist, in Chattanooga, Tennessee created Sammy Soil in 1968.
Sammy has been so successful in teaching conservation and his
popularity continues to grow, particularly in the southeast. The
Hamilton County SCD, working with Earth Team Volunteers, organized a
Conservation Kid Club. Though less than a year old, more than 1,000
children have taken the conservation pledge and became a Conservation
Kid Club member. Sammy has appeared on numerous television shows and
made hundreds of personal appearances at schools with help from Earth
Team Volunteers. The district also has a waiting list of junior high
and high schools students who want to play the role of Sammy
Soil. The district, thanks to private donations and grants from state
and local government, has distributed more than 50,000 Sammy
Soil coloring books. Many more have been distributed in other
counties. Sammy also resides in Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana.
Four outdoor classrooms have been established in Hamilton County
Schools as a result of visits from Sammy Soil and participation in the
Conservation Kids Club. Sammy Soil is well known by hundreds of
students- in Hamilton County, and he travels outside the county as
well. He has met with the Governor of Tennessee and the Commissioner
of Agriculture. Other districts 'rent' Sammy for events in their
county. Sammy has been so successful in getting the conservation
message out in Hamilton County, five surrounding counties have
purchased Sammy Soil costumes and are carrying out similar
conservation education activities. Chattanooga, Tennessee seemed like
the ideal birthplace for Ruby Raindrop because of its commitment to
the environment, especially clean water. Bruce Plante, cartoonist with
the Chattanooga-Times volunteered to do the drawing. Bruce is
an award-winning, nationally syndicated cartoonist whose work has
appeared in major publications, such as Time Magazine, throughout the
world. With Howard's vision and Bruce's skill, Ruby Raindrop was born
in 1994. Howard has received a copyright for Ruby Raindrop.
Next, Phillip Rodgers, young, aspiring artist agreed to do the
illustrations for the T-shirt and the planned activity guide. Earth
Team volunteers, working with Howard Whitaker, will develop the
activity guide. A team of teachers from the Hamilton County School
system will review the draft of the activity guide. Arnold Stulce, who
serves on the State Education Committee for the House of
Representatives, and his wife, Doris, are two of the Earth Team
Volunteers who are participating in this project. Ruby
Raindrop made her public debut on Chattanooga's Channel 9 Morning Show
on April 28, 1994 as part of the Clean Water Expo 94 activities. She
also made an appearance at the conference and attended the Clean Water
Expo Environmental Fair on Friday, April 29. Ruby is already in
demand. She and Sammy have a busy summer planned. They will meet
thousands of students and have a chance to talk about conservation and
the environment.
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