At the Upper Allen Township’s annual stormwater workshop on May 20, 2021, residents had the opportunity to learn how to design, install, and maintain a rain garden.

The workshop included presentations on “Local Watersheds in Cumberland County” by Lori Glace with Cumberland County Conservation District, and “How to Construct Rain Gardens” by Andy Yencha with Penn State Extension. The workshop ended with a live demonstration of planting a rain garden at the Upper Allen Township municipal building.

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.

Franklin County Conservation District received a Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention Mini-grant to hold a Summer Conservation Farm Tour on July 27, 2021.

The tour’s highlight was seeing Best Management Practices (BMPs) on-site and asking the district’s 2021 Conservation Farmer of the Year, Leslie Bowman (Lesher’s Poultry Farm, Inc.), for his first-hand knowledge of implementing and maintaining BMPs. The 70 attendees were able to hear about numerous BMPs, including animal waste storage facilities, composting manure, planting green, utilizing cover crops, variable rate manure/nutrient application, grassed waterways, diversifying crop rotations, and experimenting with growing organic row crops.

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 the 2020-21 Nonpoint Source Pollution mini-grant round, 26 projects were completed by 20 conservation districts, reaching over 1,460 adults. Click here to see the outcomes and here to see a map of projects completed.

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.

The Beaver County Conservation District held two agricultural workshops in May. The Agricultural Gathering and Manure Management Plan Writing Workshop were held outside at the district pavilion. Participants learned about grazing and forage management, agricultural erosion and sedimentation, and manure management.

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.

The Lawrence County Conservation District installed a dry creek and rain garden at the South Side Community Garden. The community garden is situated on the site of a demolished elementary school. There are remains of asphalt and concrete just below the grass on a significant portion of the site perimeter. Rain sheet flows much faster than on a typical grassed site and flows over spots that had creosote-soaked railroad tie beds recently removed. The dry creek and rain garden capture that flow and allow it to infiltrate rather than runoff.

The district adapted to COVID-19 restrictions and educated the volunteers and neighbors who help build the dry creek and rain garden with a nonpoint source presentation. The district also created a booklet for homeowners on stormwater management, and an informational sign will be installed at the site.

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.

Clarion Conservation District held a Backyard Conservation workshop on May 6, 2021. The district had to turn away folks after their maximum number of attendees was exceeded. The workshop topics included edible and pollinator rain gardens, rain barrels, and no-till gardening. The event was held outside at the conservation district office.

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.

Westmoreland Conservation District planned to host a workshop/pasture walk for equine owners. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the project was reimagined as a video series. The conservation district created a three-part video series showing the connection between horse farm practices and water quality and how the use of manure management plans and good pasture management will reduce those impacts.

• The first video is an introduction to nonpoint source pollution and how horse farms may impact water quality. 
• The second video walks the viewer through writing their farm’s manure management plan. 
• The third video discusses the importance of pasture management. 

The videos contain helpful tips and suggested resources that will help horse owners achieve their goals. The videos are available on the Westmoreland Conservation District YouTube channel. 

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 its Farmers Spring Thaw Meeting on April 9, 2021, in the Paxtonville United Methodist Church’s roofed picnic pavilion.

Fifty-six people attended the meeting. Topics included better management of farm soils and manure, updates on Snyder County’s Action Plan, USDA program updates, and protecting water resources while mixing and loading.

Guest presenters from the conservation district, Snyder County Commissioners, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), and Penn State Extension presented either in person or through recordings.

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.

Snyder County Conservation District (SCCD) held four half-day manure management plan writing workshops in October 2020 and March 2021. Thirteen farmers attended.

Barry Spangler, SCCD Agricultural Conservation Technician, gave an overview of the new Manure Management Manual and other agricultural environmental regulations. He gave a step-by-step process of writing manure management plans that meet these new regulations.

Spangler also showed a video demonstrating PAOneStop, a free Penn State-managed website where farmers can create their own maps. 

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.

Potter County Conservation District planned to bring together local producers for an on-farm field day to demonstrate how rotational gazing can benefit their farm financially and environmentally. However, with COVID-19 restrictions, the format was changed from an in-person field day to a series of rotational grazing videos.

The videos include:

• Intro to Rotational Grazing 
• Benefits and Methods of Rotational Grazing 
• Equipment for Rotational Grazing 

The videos are available on the district YouTube channel. 

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.