Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts

We support Pennsylvania’s Conservation Districts who work for clean water and healthy soil every day.

Bucks County Conservation District Creates Brochure in English & Spanish

Bucks County Conservation District (BCCD) recently created a brochure on rain garden maintenance. The district included information in English and Spanish. The brochure is part of their Residential Stormwater Management project that includes stormwater workshops. The project is funded through PACD’s Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention Educational Mini-grant Program.

BCCD Erosion and Sediment Control Technician Chris Cook decided to include both languages in one brochure to make it more convenient to carry around in the field and hand out while he is performing fieldwork. “My thinking was that if one version covered both languages, it would allow the material to be passed around and referenced by landscape crew members with varied English/Spanish reading, writing, and comprehension skills,” said Cook.

The brochure can be viewed here

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.

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Snyder County Conservation District Holds Farmer Winter Meeting

Attendees listen to a presentation during the 2022 Farmer Winter Meeting. Photo provided by SCCD.

In Selinsgrove, the Snyder County Conservation District (SCCD) held its annual Farmers Winter Meeting on February 18, 2022. Seventy-five people attended the event. Topics included nutrient stewardship and management and the importance of farm recordkeeping.

Click here to read more. 

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.

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Luzerne Conservation District Holds Women in Ag Workshop

Master Watershed Steward Christine Boyle presents on Stormwater and Agriculture as part of the rain barrel presentation at the first Women in Ag workshop in Luzerne County. Photo provided by Luzerne Conservation District.

Luzerne Conservation District held a Women in Agriculture workshop on National Ag Day, March 22, 2022. The event had twenty-two in attendance. The workshop was a success, with great speakers providing education on stormwater and stormwater best management practices and rain barrel construction.

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.

 

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Snyder County Conservation District Holds Manure Management Workshop

The Snyder County Conservation District (SCCD) held two manure management plan (MMP) writing workshops for farmers, farm owners, livestock, and poultry operators to write their own MMPs. The sessions were held at the SCCD office on March 24, 2022. Nine farmers attended.

Barry Spangler, SCCD Agricultural Conservation Technician, gave an overview of the Manure Management Manual and other agricultural, environmental regulations. He gave a step-by-step process of how farmers can write their MMPs that meet these new regulations, including a demonstration of PAOneStop. Spangler also provided information about the state agricultural erosion and sedimentation plan requirements for owned and rented lands.

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.

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CREP Mini-Grant Application Deadline Extended!

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

Project examples:

  • 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

Districts are encouraged to work with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA’s Farm Service Agency, Pheasants Forever, PA Game Commission, Stroud Water Research Center, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, PA Department of Environmental Protection, and other CREP partners to set up workshops and other projects!

The extended application deadline is April 8, 2022. Click here for the application and guidelines: https://pacd.org/?page_id=23193

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.

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Wayne Conservation District Holds Soil Workshop for Teachers

Photo provided by Wayne Conservation District.

The Wayne Conservation District held a workshop through PACD’s Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention Mini-grant Program for Conservation Districts. The district educated STEM teachers on soil health and nonpoint source pollution. The event was held at a local farm that utilizes a lot of the practices that were taught. A rainfall simulator was also used to demonstrate how soil reacts to rainfall.

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.

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Thirty-four Pollution Prevention Projects Funded

Elk County Conservation District held a Cherry Run AMD site tour as part of their NPS mini-grant project in 2021. Photo provided by Elk County Conservation District.

Pennsylvania’s County Conservation Districts were awarded over $60,000 through the Non-point Source (NPS) Pollution Prevention Educational Mini-Grant Program. With this funding, thirty-four pollution reduction projects will take place in twenty-five counties. These projects promote water pollution prevention activities and will take place through May 2023.

Conservation District responsible for grant activities:  

Project Title:

Amount Funded:

Allegheny

Municipal Outreach for Prevention of NPS Pollution

$2,000

Armstrong

Backyard Bioswale Demonstration Project

$2,000

Beaver

Agricultural Gathering and Manure Management

$1,356

Beaver

Stormwater Help for Homeowners

$1,170

Berks

Using Cover Crops to Prevent Nonpoint Source Pollution Workshop

$2,000

Bradford

Bradford County Outreach and Education Project

$2,000

Clarion

AMD Treatment System Field Tour

$2,000

Clearfield

Cover Crop and Nutrient Management Field Day

$2,000

Clinton

102/105 E&S Workshops

$1,500

Clinton

Manure Management Plan Workshop

$1,500

Columbia

NPS Pollution Prevention for Homeowners

$2,000

Cumberland

Upper Allen Township Rain Garden, Phase 2

$2,000

Dauphin

Stormwater Management Strategies for Homeowners Workshop

$2,000

Elk

NPS Pollution Prevention Workshop Series

$1,995

Franklin

Ag Education Event- Conservation Farm Tour or Ag BMP Meeting

$2,000

Jefferson

Grazing Field Day

$2,000

Juniata

Dirt to Soil

$1,975

Juniata

What’s At Stake Field Day

$1,215

Lancaster

Erosion & Sediment Control Plan (E&S Plan) for Small Projects Development Guide

$2,000

Lebanon

2023 Rain Barrel Workshop

$2,000

Lebanon

Conservation on the Ground Field Day: Equine Edition

$1,500

Lehigh

Suburban Agriculture

$2,000

Lehigh

Sustainable Backyard Workshop

$2,000

McKean

Promoting Healthy Watersheds

$2,000

McKean

Promoting Best Management Practices Tours

$1,500

Snyder

2023 Farmers Winter Meeting

$1,000

Snyder

Agricultural Plan Writing Workshops

$1,000

Snyder

Soil Health Event & Bucket

$2,000

Tioga

Women in Ag

$2,000

Tioga

Rain Barrel Workshop 2022

$1,327

Venango

How To Manage A Sustainable Equine Farm

$2,000

Warren

Streams, Trees, You, and Me

$2,000

Washington

Washington County Agriculture Outreach Events

$2,000

Westmoreland

Forest Best Management Practices Workshop

$1,200

Click here to read summaries of the 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.

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Now Accepting Applications for a New Round of CREP Mini-grants for Conservation Districts

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

The guidelines and application are posted here. Questions should be directed to Holly Miller at hmiller@pacd.org.

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.

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$60,000 Available for 2022-23 Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention Educational Mini-grant Program for Conservation Districts

Thanks to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection continuing to support conservation district educational projects, PACD is ready to open a new round of Nonpoint Source (NPS) Pollution Prevention Educational Mini-grants!

Grants up to $2,000 are awarded to conservation districts for adult educational projects that offer strategies for reducing and preventing 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 January 28, 2022. Click here for the online application and more information. Questions should be directed to Shannon Wehinger at 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.

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Northampton County Conservation District Holds Stream Workshop for Teachers

Teachers look at macroinvertebrates they collected. Photo provided by Northampton County Conservation District.

Northampton County Conservation District held a workshop for teachers titled “FUNdamentals of Stream Ecology.” The workshop focused on methods to assess the water quality of a stream via visual and biological assessment (kick seines, d-frames, and leaf packs) and identification of nonpoint source pollution issues by comparing two stream types (urban, natural). The attending educators were introduced to the terminology associated with stream ecology and were provided information, literature, and techniques to be applied in their classrooms.

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.

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