On July 28, 2025, the Berks County Conservation District (BCCD) held its Annual Awards and Scholarship Dinner.

In addition to several scholarship recipients, BCCD also recognized the following individuals and organizations for their efforts:

• Engineer of the Year: Samuel Reeser
• Organization of the Year: Hay Creek Watershed Association
• Individual of the Year: Nicholas Johnson
• Urban Agricultural Project: Front Street Garden to Café Esperanza
• Educator of the Year: Sherry Fuhrmann
• Student Environmental Ambassador: Garrett Hynemann
• Student Environmental Organization: Schuylkill Valley FFA
• Reading-Berks Science and Engineering Fair Winner: Samson Evans
• Low Volume Road Project of the Year: Mill Road Project in Oley Township

There were over 140 people at the dinner. Thank you to Senator Judy Schwank, Representative Johanny Cedpeda-Freytiz, Representative Jacklyn Ruscnock, Representative Eric Weaknecht, Representative David Zimmerman and Craig Lutz and Dan Bost from Senator Chris Gebhards office, Kim Fies, Executive Director of the Berks County Department of Agriculture, Nicholas Ramsey, District Conservationist, NRCS; Chas. Heberling Conservation District Field Representative, PA Department of Environmental Protection and all the other partners, friends and family who took time to come out and celebrate with the district.

Several conservationists were recognized during the awards luncheon on July 17, 2025, at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Champion, PA.

The 2025 PACD honorees are as follows: 

President’s Award

• The Center for Agricultural Conservation Assistance Training at Penn State Extension

Ann Rudd Saxman Conservation District Director Excellence Award

• Earl Brown, Chairman/Public Director, Potter County Conservation District

Conservation District Employee Excellence Award

• David Stoner, Manager, Franklin County Conservation District

Conservation District Employee Service Recognition Awards

30 Years of Service

• James Saltsman, Agriculture Engineering Technical Specialist Level II, Lancaster

35 Years of Service

• Susan Gallagher, Chief Naturalist, Carbon
• Martie Hetherington, Agricultural Project Coordinator, Schuylkill
• Patrick McKinney, Environmental Educator, Schuylkill
• Sylvia Thompson, Assistant District Manager, Wayne

40 Years of Service

• Donna Fisher, District Manager, Blair

Click here to read the entire press release. 

 

 

The Conservation District Trash Challenge pits districts against each other to compete to see who can collect the most trash in the months of April and May.

Westmoreland Conservation District collected 132 bags of trash, 521 tires, with a total of 15,665 pounds of trash collected!

New for this year, the winning district received $500 from Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.

Pounds of trash and tires collected from other districts included:

Westmoreland 15,665
Washington 11,130
Tioga              10,380
Allegheny      645
Clarion           555
Butler            340
Schuylkill       335
Jefferson       320
Pike                320
Mifflin            200
Lebanon        180

The total pounds of trash and tires reported was 40,070!

PACD is pleased to announce the winners of the 2025 “Home is Where the Habitat Is” statewide poster contest.

The winners and the county conservation district that submitted the posters are:

Category: Kindergarten through First Grade

• Olive Volpe, Blair County Conservation District

Category: Second through Third Grades

• Aiden German, Columbia County Conservation District

Category: Fourth through Sixth Grades

• Cora Petrunak, Lehigh County Conservation District

Category: Seventh through Ninth Grades

• Farrah Leonard, Lehigh County Conservation District

Category: Tenth through Twelfth Grades

• Ella Shultz, Columbia County Conservation District

Each state-level winner will receive $50 and will be submitted for judging in the upcoming national competition this winter. The National Association of Conservation Districts sponsors the national contest. Click here for more information.

Click here to view the individual posters. 

Agricultural professionals and conservation leaders from across Pennsylvania gathered in Harrisburg from April 1-3, 2025, for the second annual Agriculture Conservation Assistance Program (ACAP) Ag Conservation Con, a statewide conference designed to strengthen knowledge, skills, and partnerships supporting on-farm conservation.

The banquet and awards ceremony celebrated exceptional conservation efforts across the commonwealth.

The following are the 2025 ACAP award recipients:

— Karl Brown Award for Conservation Leadership: Sens. Yaw and Martin.

— ACAP Team Collaboration Award: Rob Cronauer, Chelsea Gross, and Allie Shreffler from the Westmoreland Conservation District.

— ACAP Partnership Award: Hammer Creek Wetland, Floodplain, and Stream Restoration Partnership from the Lebanon County Conservation District.

— Innovative ACAP Project: Jay Zullinger Project from the Cumberland County Conservation District.

— ACAP Rookie of the Year: Emily Stambaugh of the Cumberland County Conservation District.

— ACAP MVP: Devyn McPheeters of the Centre County Conservation District.

— Best ACAP Project Photo: Colter Johnson of the Warren County Conservation District.

Click here to view all the photos of the award winners. 

The Center for Agricultural Conservation Assistance Training at Penn State Extension was formed in 2023 along with partners at the Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission (SCC) and the Pennsylvania State Office of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Funding for the center is provided through the state Agriculture Conservation Assistance Program (ACAP).

 

Nominations are being accepted for the PACD Conservation Awards. The nomination process has been simplified and streamlined with an online nomination form. Nominations must be received by April 30, 2025.

To date, two nominations have been received for the Ann Rudd Saxman Conservation District Director or Associate Director Excellence Award. No nominations have been received for the other awards.

The awards are:

• Ann Rudd Saxman Conservation District Director or Associate Director Excellence Award
• Conservation District Employee Excellence Award
• Legislator Recognition Award
• Maurice K. Goddard Award for Excellence in Environmental Recreation

Click here for more information.  Contact Shannon Wehinger at swehinger@pacd.org with any questions.

New for this year, PACD is partnering with Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful for the annual Conservation District Trash Champion Contest. To participate in the contest, PA’s conservation districts are invited to pick up trash between April 1 and May 31, 2025.

Register for your event now and report your results upon completing your trash pick-up efforts at Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. Receive free bags, gloves, and safety vests as supplies last. Free or reduced disposal is available at participating landfills during the month of April.

The winning district will receive $500 from Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.

Questions? Contact Michelle Dunn at mdunn@keeppabeautiful.org.

District staff nominated two people from the Pike County Conservation District for the 2024 Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD). Program Manager Ellen Enslin and Board of Directors Vice Chairperson Kelly Stagen were both awarded Honorable Mention certificates from NACD to recognize their positive impacts.

NACD states on its website that this Distinguished Service Award “recognizes an individual within the association, a conservation district, or a state association that has made significant contributions to conserving and properly managing our nation’s natural resources.”

Among the reasons for her nomination were Enslin’s long-term role as a leader in the district and in the community, first as a Senior Resource Conservationist and now as the Program Manager.

Stagen is also a leader who has represented the district and the region as President of the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts (PACD) and as an Alternate Board Member for NACD. Enslin has been on the district staff for 22 years, and Stagen has been on the Board of Directors for 11 years.

The district is incredibly grateful to have both Enslin and Stagen working with them and is proud to see their contributions highlighted with this well-deserved national recognition.

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2025 Pennsylvania Leopold Conservation Award®.

The award honors farmers and forestland owners who go above and beyond in their management of soil health, water quality, and wildlife habitat on working land.

Sand County Foundation and national sponsor American Farmland Trust present Leopold Conservation Awards to private landowners in 28 states. In Pennsylvania, the $10,000 award is presented with The Heinz Endowments, Horizon Farm Credit, and Pennsylvania Farm Bureau.

Award nominations may be submitted on behalf of a landowner, or landowners may nominate themselves. The nomination form can be found at www.sandcountyfoundation.org/ApplyLCA.

The nomination deadline date is August 1, 2025. Nominations must be emailed to PennsylvaniaLCA@sandcountyfoundation.org.

The Pennsylvania Leopold Conservation Award is made possible through the generous support from American Farmland Trust, The Heinz Endowments, Horizon Farm Credit, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, Sand County Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission, and The Nature Conservancy.

For more information on the award, visit www.leopoldconservationaward.org.

The 5th Annual Conservation District Video Awards presentation was held on Thursday, February 13, 2025. Clips from nine 2024 district video entries were screened, and awards were presented to the top-scoring videos, including:

• Special Recognition Award: Watermarks, submitted by Indiana County Conservation District
• 1st Place: Streambank Stabilization Resources for Homeowners – Part 1, submitted by Westmoreland Conservation District
• 1st Runner-up: No-Till Drill Instructional Video, submitted by Montgomery County Conservation District
• 2nd Runner-up: Flushing Friday, submitted by Schuylkill Conservation District

Links to all 2024 Video Awards entries and the awards presentation are posted at Building for Tomorrow: https://www.paleadership.org/cdva2024.

Financial and other support for the Building for Tomorrow Leadership Development Program is provided through a grant from the Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission. Guidance for the Program is provided through the Pennsylvania Conservation Partnership’s Leadership Development Committee.