Snyder County Conservation District hosted an informal training to educate landowners, watershed associations, and conservation groups on the proper techniques for harvesting and planting live stakes. On March 8, 2022, this hands-on training was held at Faylor Lake in Beaver Springs. Participants learned how to identify live stake species, proper harvesting and planting methods, and how cost-effective live stakes are at reducing streambank erosion along local waterways.

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 Saturday, March 26, 2022, the Berks County Conservation District held a “Barrels and Beer” rain barrel workshop at Saucony Creek Brewery in Kutztown. Participants learned about the benefits of installing a rain barrel on their property, along with engaging in clean water trivia throughout the afternoon. The rain barrels were painted and designed by each participating group, while the 20 registered individuals enjoyed a local brew provided by Saucony Creek Brewery.

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.

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.

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.

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.

 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.