PACD is awarding six scholarships for the PA Association of Environmental Educators annual two-day conference on March 13 and 14, 2017 at the McKeever Environmental Learning Center, Sandy Lake, PA.

Pennsylvania conservation district employees involved in environmental education and outreach are eligible to apply. Click here for the online application starting February 1, 2017. Contact: Terry Fisher at tfisher@pacd.org. The scholarships are made possible through an Environmental Education Grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

PACD is partnering with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the State Conservation Commission (SCC) to deliver a three day Introduction to Conservation Planning course. This free training will take place March 14-16, 2017 at the Holiday Inn Harrisburg (Hershey area) in Grantville, PA.

The event is for entry-level employees of all organizations in Pennsylvania delivering conservation planning technical assistance, including but not limited to, NRCS, conservation districts, SCC, farmland preservation entities, non-profits, and private consultants. Lunch will be provided.

The application link will be emailed to those who are interested in taking the course after they have submitted their pre-requisite certificate of completion to swehinger@pacd.org. Click here for information on the pre-requisite. The deadline to apply is February 3, 2017.

Grants up to $2,000 are awarded to conservation districts for adult educational projects that offer strategies for reducing and preventing Nonpoint Source (NPS) Pollution. Projects should stimulate a local awareness of water quality issues, promote the theme “We All Live Downstream,” and encourage citizen participation in activities to improve water quality in local watersheds.

The deadline for NPS mini-grant applications is March 10, 2017. Click here for the online application and more information.  Questions should be directed to Shannon Wehinger. swehinger@pacd.org

Financial and other support for the NPS Mini-grant Program is provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. through a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act, administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

 

More than 350 PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and conservation district staff participated in the Annual Fall 102-105 Meeting on October 25-27, 2016 in State College, PA. The training this year focused on agriculture on day 1, Chapter 102 on day 2 and Chapter 105 on day 3.

In addition to the topic-focused sessions, each day began with a New Technician Orientation Session designed to give technicians with less than two years’ experience an overview of the program that would be covered that day.

DEP and PACD work together to coordinate and plan this event.

Middle school students in Columbia County learned all about water at the Columbia County Conservation District’s 2nd annual Water Education Day: how it is cleaned, how it is distributed, how it gets polluted, how streams and development impact each other, how to better understand its movement in landscape, how to value public water systems, how to identify macroinvertebrates and fish and their relationship to water quality, and how objects in nature can make beautiful art. There were 540 students this year at Briar Creek Lake and over 50 presenters and volunteers, in addition to area high school students who gave a dramatic music and dance performance highlighting the importance of good water quality. Other participants included representatives from county watershed groups, the PA Department of Environmental Protection, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Larson Design, SUEZ, PA American Water, PA Rural Water, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Children’s Museum, and Bloomsburg University. The event was sponsored by the Columbia County Conservation District, PA American Water, and Roaring Creek Valley Conservation Association. Check out more pictures from the day here!

PACD and Water Words That Work, LLC are partnering on four upcoming environmental communication trainings starting in November 2016 and ending in January 2017. How do we get more participation at our programs? How can we effectively reach our target audiences and the general public? What are the most cost-effective means to get the word out about our programs? Find out answers to these questions and more during these webinars. The dates are (all webinars will be held 1-2:30 pm):

• Water Words that Work Webinar Series – November 29, 2016 – December 1, 2016
• More Than a Message – December 6-8, 2016
• Perfect Outreach Projects – December 13-15, 2016
• Perfect Outreach Projects – January 10-12, 2017

Click here for a detailed description of the training. Financial support for this project is provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection through the Chesapeake Bay Implementation Grant, the Clean Water Fund and the Chesapeake Bay Regulatory and Accountability Program (CBRAP).  

The annual Conservation District Watershed Specialist Meeting was held October 4-6, 2016 in State College. Sixty-four watershed specialists from conservation districts across the state attended the meeting, which was sponsored by the PA Department of Environmental Protection and facilitated by PACD. Presentation topics included: attracting and engaging adult learners; Pennsylvania’s Wildlife Action Plan; how to deal with Hydrilla (an invasive species); Pennsylvania’s State Water Plan; how to address harmful algal blooms, and much more.

$99,000 in Mini-grant Funds Available for Conservation Districts Through a grant from the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), each conservation district is eligible for a mini-grant (up to $1,500 initially per conservation district) to hold local Manure Management Manual and/or Agricultural Erosion & Sedimentation Plan workshops. These sessions would assist farmers in understanding requirements and lead to development of a complete manure management plan and/or agricultural erosion & sedimentation plan. Applications will be approved on an ongoing basis. You should hear within a week if your project is okay or if it needs fine tuning. These are non-competitive grants — we have $1,500 earmarked for your district. Grants pay for eligible expenses on a reimbursement basis. The Mini-grant application and guidelines are available here.  The deadline to apply is December 30, 2016. Mini-grant activities must be completed and final reports must be submitted by May 5, 2017. Contact Shannon Wehinger with questions about the mini-grants. Two free trainings on the Manure Management Manual will be held this winter. These “train the trainer” events are for new conservation district staff or those who want a refresher from when the same training was held in previous years.  More information to follow. Financial support for this project is provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection through the Chesapeake Bay Implementation Grant, the Clean Water Fund and the Chesapeake Bay Regulatory and Accountability Program (CBRAP).

Registration is now open for the Annual Fall 102-105 Training meeting to be held October 25-27, 2016 at the Ramada Conference Center in State College, PA. Click here for more information, to register, and to see the draft training agenda for this meeting. Project Spotlight:  Table space is available in the conference center lobby for districts and others to highlight projects and to share ideas and techniques.  Display pictures, drawings or other information on projects relating to Chapters 102 and 105.  Contact Terry Fisher to reserve a table. Questions about the meeting can be directed to Jill Whitcomb at the PA Department of Environmental Protection, jiwhitcomb@pa.gov or 717-772-5668 or Terry Fisher at PACD, tfisher@pacd.org or 717-238-7223.

This summer the Indiana County Conservation District (District) was awarded a CREP mini-grant to work with and educate landowners about stream buffer planting and weed maintenance on local CREP (Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program) land. The ultimate goal is to prevent pollution and improve water quality in our local streams, lakes, and rivers. The District used these grant funds to participate in multiple events as public educational opportunities, in addition to holding two workshops and one field day. These events focused on explaining the financial and environmental benefits of the CREP program. Through this grant, the District reached over 500 landowners with educational materials and hosted nearly 40 attendees at workshop and field day events. Attendees were educated on the identification and maintenance of noxious and invasive weed species, as well as the benefits of stream buffers and how to successfully plant them.

Financial and other support for the CREP Outreach Program Office Mini-grant Program is provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. through a Growing Greener Watershed Protection grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and with additional support from USDA-NRCS.