PACD accepts mini-grant applications from conservation districts for up to $3,000 to implement educational and outreach activities that support and extend the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). Projects should focus on CREP enrollment, re-enrollment, and/or CREP maintenance.

Applications will be accepted and approved on a rolling basis until funds are expended. The project completion and final report deadline is May 2, 2025.

Project examples include:

– Walkabouts/field days

– Farmer and landowner workshops

– Riparian buffer workshops

– Workshop series with several topics

– Developing educational materials like brochures, flyers, fact sheets, or even billboards

– Hiring interns to provide CREP outreach

Click here for the guidelines, application, and reporting documents for the CREP mini-grant program.

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.

On Saturday, July 27, 2024, more than 20 community members joined the Pike County Conservation District for an educational program titled “Barrels & Breakfast” to learn about stormwater management and pollution reduction. Eighteen households each took home a 55-gallon rain barrel to install on their property. After installation, the rain barrels will capture and divert a total of nearly 1,000 gallons of stormwater for each large rainstorm.

Financial and other support for this project 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.

PACD is accepting mini-grant applications from conservation districts for up to $3,000 to implement educational and outreach activities that support and extend the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). Projects should focus on CREP enrollment, re-enrollment, and/or CREP maintenance.

Applications will be accepted and approved on a rolling basis until funds are expended. The project completion and final report deadline is extended to October 31, 2024.

Project examples include:

– Walkabouts/field days

– Farmer and landowner workshops

– Riparian buffer workshops

– Workshop series with several topics

– Developing educational materials like brochures, flyers, fact sheets, or even billboards

– Hire interns to provide CREP outreach

Click here for the guidelines, application, and reporting documents for the CREP mini-grant program. 

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.

 

The Columbia County Conservation District held two separate rain barrel workshops. The 49 attendees learned about non-point source pollution, how it affects our waterways, and best management practices that can be used at home to reduce stormwater.

Thanks to partners at Rohrbach’s Farm Market and the Coca-Cola syrup factory near Allentown, who donated all the barrels for free, the district was able to host two workshops instead of the original plan to hold one. A total of 45 50-gallon rain barrels were distributed to be installed around Columbia County to reduce stormwater.

Financial and other support for this project 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.

Last fall, the McKean County Conservation District held an Erosion Control in Our Forests Workshop. Thirty foresters, loggers, logging contractors, and private forest landowners attended the event. Attendees learned more about the fundamentals of erosion control, permitting, planning before a timber harvest, best management practices to implement during the harvest, and stream crossing practices.

The workshop was made possible through a multi-county effort by the conservation districts of Tioga, Potter, Cameron, Elk, and McKean Counties in cooperation with the PA Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Implementation Committee and PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry.

Financial and other support for this project 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.

 

Pennsylvania’s county conservation districts were awarded nearly $37,000 for twenty-one pollution reduction projects in twenty counties. These projects will educate adults on water pollution prevention. The projects are funded through the Nonpoint Source (NPS) Pollution Prevention Educational Mini-Grant Program and will take place over the next year.

Click here to read the entire press release and here for a summary of funded projects. 

Financial and other support for this project 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.

On April 26, Venango Conservation District hosted a Farm Bus Tour at three beef farms in Utica, PA. About 30 people attended to learn about grazing systems, nonpoint source pollution, manure/nutrient management, safety tips, and funding sources for constructing agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs).

The district would like to thank all of the amazing presenters who shared their expertise and time with them, and the Metz, Dunkerly, and Mahler families for allowing the group to tour their farms! The district also extends their appreciation to Project Grass NW Chapter for sponsoring breakfast and the Utica Volunteer Fire Department for allowing the use of their space.

Financial and other support for this project 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.

On April 20, 2024, Montgomery County Conservation District’s Watershed Specialist Brian Vadino worked in partnership with Martha’s Choice Marketplace and Community Farm and Penn State Master Watershed Stewards Program in Montgomery County to host a tour of a riparian buffer food forest planting project that was completed at the Farm along Perkiomen Creek in Fall 2022.

The riparian buffer tour was designed to showcase the completed project and was delivered in conjunction with a public tour of other planting areas (gardens and greenhouses) located at Martha’s Choice Marketplace and Community Farm. The Farm is the largest food pantry in Montgomery County, serving almost 20,000 individuals and delivering 1.5 million pounds of food every year. 

Click here to view a short video about the event. 

Financial and other support for this project 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 US Environmental Protection Agency.

On April 13, 2024, the Monroe County Conservation District held a riparian buffer workshop and tree planting at Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Stroudsburg, PA. Fifty-four people attended the event.

The event included hands-on conservation, such as tree planting, and a presentation on how attendees can protect water quality. The participants also toured the site to learn about previous restoration efforts and how they are working to protect the county’s water resources.

The project was funded by the PACD Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention Educational Mini-grant Program.

Financial and other support for this project 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.

Jefferson County Conservation District held a Farmer Workshop on April 18, 2024, in Brookville, PA. Topics included soil and manure management, the importance of setbacks, and weed identification and control.

The PACD Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention Educational Mini-grant Program funded the project.

Financial and other support for this project 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.