William Edwards, The Grass-Roots Leader
Oden, Ark. High school principal

Former student and president of Oden High School's Woods and Waters conservation club, William Edwards is the guiding hand of that group, which includes 25 percent of the student body. Their projects include maintaining a nature trail, monitoring water quality on the Ouachita River, and removing trash along a highway.

You won't find Oden on every road map of Arkansas. With a population of fewer than 500 people, it's a speck along State Route 88, west of Little Rock. It's the type of place where the land is part of the residents' DNA—the type of place where the conservation movement in this country got started.

"This is a community of loggers, farmers, and ranchers," says Edwards. "We depend upon this land, and our livelihood depends on us taking care of it. Everyone here is conscious of the environment."

Edwards, 31, was a member of the Woods and Waters club throughout high school; when he became principal of Oden High, he took over its sponsorship.

"We focus on outdoor recreation and community service," he says. "One of our projects has been restoring the Serendipity Trail in the Ouachita National Forest. We've put up informational signs, cleaned up the trail, cleared out areas and planted natural grasses, and rebuilt a footbridge." Funding for this project came from a state grant. "But most of the time, people donate money. Bill Lewis, Yamamoto, Gremlin—a lot of outdoor companies have heard about us and have helped us out too. We also work with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. They do an excellent job of getting into the schools and being involved in education."

The Woods and Waters club maintains a rifle range (club members all take hunter-education courses) and also raises catfish in ponds on the school's campus, then stocks them in area waters. The students organize fishing derbies at nearby North Fork Lake.

"It's a great, secluded place for us to have our tournaments. One thing I'd like to do in the future is partner with Game and Fish and have our kids study the lake's fish population.

"I always tell the kids it's about giving back."