Seventy-five participants at a local workshop learned that there are untapped treasures in the forest that can bring forest landowners some additional income. On June 16 the PA Bureau of Forestry, Community Partnerships RC&D, and the Snyder County Conservation District (SCCD) hosted an Agroforestry Workshop at the Shade Mountain Winery near Middleburg.

Attendees heard presentations on marketing non-timber products such as medicinal plants, edible plants and mushrooms, charcoal making, tapping maple syrup, growing ginseng, planting multi-function buffers, among other topics. Speakers included the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Tracey Coulter and Gary Gilmore, Penn State’s Jim Finley and Dr. Eric Burkhart, Rusty Orner of Quiet Creek Herb Farm, Lauren Barlow from Community Partnerships RC&D, and PASA Director Hannah Smith-Brubaker.

Planning Committee:
Craig Bingman, SCCD District Manager
Gerald Hoy, DCNR Service Forester
Lauren Barlow, Community Partnerships, RC&D

 

In the 2016-17 Nonpoint Source Pollution mini-grant round, 30 projects were completed by 25 conservation districts, reaching over 3,305 adults.

The projects included stormwater management, agricultural workshops, a safe disposal of medications campaign, municipal workshops, golf course outreach, and more! Ninety-three workshops and 23 field days were conducted during this mini-grant round.

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.

Click here for project outcomes and a map of completed projects. 

The Berks County Conservation District held its second Paint the Rain School Competition. The Berks Catholic High School‘s Environmental Class took first place. The formal recognition event will be held October 23, 2017, at the Berks County Conservation District/Farm Service Agency Annual Awards and Scholarship Banquet.

The first place team won a $100 gift card and a certificate of recognition from the Berks County Commissioners.

Following the contest, the rain barrels were auctioned off and the proceeds went to the Berks County Conservation District Scholarship Fund, which supports students interested in majoring in environmental education in college.

Click here to read more.

The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) awarded Lycoming County Conservation District with an Urban Agriculture Conservation grant. NACD recently highlighted the project in their e-newsletter.

From the article:
“The Lycoming County Conservation District is partnering with existing gardening initiatives in the area to identify overlooked best management practices, address nutrition and food safety issues, and provide conservation demonstrations as part of their “Urban Agriculture for Healthier Families and Homes Program” – or “FreshFoodLyco” for short.”

Click here to read more (scroll to the bottom). 

Columbia County Conservation District led an outreach campaign to promote local take-back centers for unused medications. The campaign reached, the specific target audience of those over 50, who are more likely to be in possession of unused medications in the home, as well as the general public. The campaign included making two large signs at local parks (pictured), informational fliers, posters for pharmacies, and radio public service announcements.

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.

Click here to read more. 

The fourth annual Franklin County Conservation District’s First Grade Field Trip saw a big change this year—it went from a half-day event for the students to an all-day event! The conservation district worked with the Chambersburg Area School District to make this field trip a full-day event in response to feedback from teachers. Once again, the event was held at Caledonia State Park over the course of four days, with approximately 700 first graders (from 31 classes across 13 different elementary schools) and 100 adults (teachers and parent chaperones) in attendance.

Click here to read more. 

In mid-May, the Lehigh County Conservation District (LCCD) was pleasantly surprised to receive more than 150 poster submissions related to this year’s Conservation District Poster theme: “Healthy Soils are Full of Life”. These many works of art, some depicting curvy worms spelling out “SOIL” and magnified microbes extolling merits of healthy soil, are evidence that conservation and creativity is alive and well-understood among art and science students in the Lehigh Valley!

Click here to read more. 

On May 19, 2017 the Tioga County Conservation District held a Legislative Day. Several legislators and their staff were in attendance. 

 

On April 20, 2017, the Elk County Conservation District (ECCD) held a forestry workshop. The event was one of three workshops, which ECCD held as part of their “Non-Point Source Pollution Prevention Workshop Series” mini-grant project through the Non-point Source Pollution Prevention Educational Mini-grant Program.

Thirty people attended the workshop in Byrnedale, PA, which included a field session in Force, PA. The workshop was a cooperative effort between Elk, Cameron, McKean, Warren, Potter, and Tioga County Conservation Districts.

The event covered forestry principals, best management practice options, and erosion and sediment control plans.

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 34th Pennsylvania Envirothon state competition was held at the University of Pittsburgh Johnstown on May 23 and 24, 2017. High school students from 64 Pennsylvania counties participated in this year’s event.

Congratulations to the 5-member team from Penncrest High School, Delaware County, which took top honors. The 2017 Pennsylvania Envirothon champions will represent the Commonwealth at the 29th North American competition planned for July 23-29 at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. More than 46 states, eight Canadian provinces, and one Canadian territory have initiated Envirothon contests based on the program that was originally developed by Pennsylvania’s conservation districts. Best of luck to the Delaware County team this summer.

Congratulations to the Pennsylvania Envirothon Board of Directors and volunteers for another great year!