Eighty-four students attended the annual Lebanon County Envirothon Soils Training on March 18, 2026. Middle and high school students from five public school districts, as well as homeschool and private school institutions, participated.

The half-day training was hosted by the Lebanon County Conservation District at the Lebanon Expo Center and was led by Soil Scientists Mike Callahan (Soil Hub) and John Chibirka (Natural Resource Conservation Service). Charlie Hanner, Assistant State Conservationist (NRCS), and Jared Boger, Civil Engineering Technician (NRCS), also assisted.

Mike began the morning by presenting on soil forming factors, soil properties, and more. He also demonstrated how to use the Web Soil Survey and discussed the importance of proper soil management.

After the presentation, students rotated through two hands-on stations. At one station, students used the soil textural triangle to classify four different soil samples. Mike and John assisted the students as they practiced making ribbons with soil and estimating the amounts of sand, silt, and clay in each sample. Students also learned how to use Munsell Soil Color Books to determine the color of each soil sample. At the second station, Jared introduced topographic mapping and Charlie led students in a soil survey activity.

PACD will randomly spotlight one social media post from a conservation district each week. Don’t forget to share or tag other districts to share good news or something others could learn about.

 

Northampton County Conservation District’s Facebook post. Follow at https://www.facebook.com/NorthamptonCD/.

PACD partnered with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay to offer a virtual riparian buffer training on October 9, 2025. Ryan Davis, Associate Forests Program Director for the Alliance, was the instructor for the event. Thirty-two conservation district staff and partners attended the training to learn more about buffer planning, site preparation, planting, and maintenance, as well as buffer funding programs. The training was recorded and will be available soon for those who were unable to join us. Email hmiller@pacd.org for a link.

Susquehanna County Conservation District (SCCD) recently welcomed new “Eels in the Classroom” to their district tank! This is SCCD’s second year raising eels, and these juveniles are already much bigger than last year’s.

Eels in the Classroom (EIC), offered by the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, gives educators juvenile American eels to raise and release back into the Susquehanna River. The program partners with natural resource agencies, schools, and Conowingo Dam operators to help restore eels to their native waters.

Public educators interested in joining the EIC program can fill out the form here. 

On Saturday, September 6, 2025, the Lehigh County Conservation District partnered with the Lehigh Valley Zoo to raise awareness about the damage invasive plants can do to our landscape and ecosystem.

Participants in this unique new event met on The Trexler Game Preserve with a two-fold mission. First, learn all about invasive Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata), then collect berries and foliage. After discussing identification, look-alikes, and native berry producers, the group paraded back to the Zoo grounds with harvest in tow to make a tasty jam and provide enrichment to resident megafauna!

Although E. umbellata is not preferred browse for PA native whitetail and elk, its thorny branches are similar enough to the Masai giraffe’s beloved Acacia foliage to be thoroughly enjoyed! With each jar of jam, participants brought home the knowledge to prevent thousands of new autumn olive seedlings from taking root in our public lands each year.

 

On Wednesday, September 10, 2025, the Columbia County Conservation District held its 8th annual Water Education Day at Briar Creek Lake Park in Berwick. About 190 eighth-grade students from two different school districts in Columbia County attended the event. The students rotated through six stations where they learned about various aspects of our water sources, water quality, and aquatic ecosystems. The six stations—Water Quality, Streams, Groundwater, Music and Discovery, Art and Poetry, and Fish Ecology—are all led by volunteers.

Click here to read the entire article and to see more photos. 

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has awarded $1,173,789 in Environmental Education Grants to 68 environmental education projects that will promote environmental stewardship across Pennsylvania.

Twelve conservation districts received funding:

• Adams – $4,889 for “Tour of Best Management Practices at the Adams County Ag Center”
• Blair – $30,000 for “Regional Education on Healthy Soils, Riparian Buffers and Urban Green Spaces”
• Clarion – $19,009 for “Enhancing Water and Climate Education in Clarion County”
• Columbia – $5,000 to host “Composting Towards a Climate Solution”
• Dauphin – $5,000 for the “2025 Stormwater Management for Homeowners Workshop”
• Delaware – $5,000 to host the “Delaware County Annual Sustainability Conference”
• Indiana – $10,180 for “Indiana County Environmental Futures: Education for Water, Climate, and Environmental Justice”
• Lawrence – $4,905 for “Nature Camps for Lawrence County”
• Lehigh – $4,969 for the “Orefield Middle School Outdoor Experience”
• Monroe – $10,400 for the “From Current to Classroom: Educating Through Electrofishing”
• Venango – $4,457 for its “Venango County Youth Agriculture Education Initiative”
• Westmoreland – $3,037 for its “Storm Drain Marker Outreach Project”

Click here to read more. 

 

Submitted by Katie Hollen, Watershed Specialist, Lebanon County Conservation District

On March 19, 2025, sixty students attended the Lebanon County Envirothon Soils Training. Middle and high school students from Annville-Cleona, Lebanon, Northern Lebanon, and Palmyra school districts, as well as homeschool and private school institutions, participated.

The Lebanon County Conservation District hosted the hands-on training at the Lebanon Expo Center. It was led by Soil Scientist John Chibirka from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). NRCS Natural Resource Specialist Alec Smith and Lebanon County Conservation District Ag Preservation Specialist Craig Zemitis assisted.

John began the morning with a presentation on soil forming factors, soil texture, soil horizons, and more. Students learned about the different soils throughout the state and why it is important to understand soil properties when making land use decisions.

After the presentation, students used the soil textural triangle to classify different soil samples. John assisted the students as they practiced making ribbons with soil and estimating the amounts of sand, silt, and clay in each sample. He also showed them how to use Munsell Soil Color Books to determine the color of each soil sample. Alec and Craig introduced students to topographic maps and soil surveys.

Thank you to all the volunteers who made the conservation district booth at the PA Farm Show a success!

Thank you to the following conservation districts who sent volunteers:

• Berks
• Carbon
• Centre
• Chester
• Franklin
• Fulton
• Lebanon
• Mifflin
• Schuylkill
• Snyder
• Westmoreland
• And the PA Envirothon

Join PACD’s Executive Director Brenda Shambaugh for a free webinar on “Conservation Districts and Pennsylvania’s Legislative Process.” Brenda will share her more than three decades of experience building relationships with legislators during the webinar. Attendees will learn how conservation districts can engage legislators, the best time for engagement, and ideas and resources for making your efforts as effective as possible.

The event will occur via Zoom on February 5, 2025, from Noon to 1:00 p.m.

Click here to register.