Article by Isabela Weiss, WVIA News, Report for America (reprinted with permission)

Farmers shared experiences at Tioga County’s Women in Agriculture event.

Hosted by the Tioga County Conservation District, women traveled to network with other farmers across the state. Dairy farmer Julie Hess was a speaker at Tuesday’s event. She has attended every Women in Agriculture event since it started ten years ago.

“I’ve been coming to the Women in Ag meetings since they started holding it. And I’ve been bringing my daughter with me, even when she was in like fifth or sixth grade, because I think it’s important for female agricultural producers to meet other female agricultural producers,” said Hess. “But they say that women in agriculture is like the largest growing sector of farmers.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 2017 Census found that women comprise 36 percent of the country’s 3.4 million agricultural producers and that newer farmers are skewing younger. The 2022 Census will come out in Feb. 2024.

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Allegheny County Conservation District (ACCD) hosted The Flow of Development in Allegheny County, a workshop for stakeholders and professionals on Allegheny County development patterns and mapping of existing stormwater infrastructure. This marks the first time ACCD has compiled datasets and mapped National Pollutant Discharge and Elimination System (NPDES) permit applications in Allegheny County. These valuable datasets, designed to enhance transparency and collaboration, will be publicly accessible on the ACCD and Western Pennsylvania Data Center websites starting January 30, 2024.

Conservation Districts can now watch a recording of the event here or click here to read the press release.  

On January 23, 2024, Cumberland County Conservation District hosted a cooperating agency meeting in Newville, PA. Forty-three people attended the meeting. The goal of the meeting was to network and hear about the agency’s accomplishments in 2023 and provide important information about 2024 activities. PACD Executive Director Brenda Shambaugh participated in the event.

Cooperating agencies that participated include Farmland Preservation, Cumberland County Planning Department, Capital RC&D, USDA Farm Service Agency, Vector Control, Penn State Extension, PA Department of Environmental Protection, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, HRG, Kings Gap Environmental Center, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, PA Game Commission, and PACD.

In October 2023, the Bucks County Conservation District (BCCD) hosted two adult workshops on non-point source (NPS) pollution principles, reaching 40+ participants. Both workshops were held in the more populus and urbanized southern third of Bucks County, where municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) programs are in varying stages of development. Each workshop targeted audiences of either municipal representatives or residential property owners. One workshop presented the utility and efficiency of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) to local municipal engineers and public works teams. While the other workshop introduced residents to the community benefits and DIY options associated with SLOW –SOAK –STORE stormwater best management practices. 

These workshops represented a joint effort by Bucks County Conservation District, Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Penn State Extension Master Watershed Stewards, Friends of Poquessing Watershed, Bensalem Township, and Lower Southampton Township.

To see other upcoming events with BCCD, please visit https://bucksccd.org.

Financial and other support for this project is provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. through a grant from the Department of Environmental Protection under section 319 of the Clean Water Act, administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Lawrence County Conservation District held two rain barrel workshops. Forty-eight participants received education regarding watersheds, nonpoint source pollution, water quality, stormwater management, and best management practices to help reduce stormwater runoff.

The presentations were followed by a tour of a rain garden and cistern used in the local community garden. Thirty rain barrels with adapter kits were distributed during the workshops.

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 Columbia County Conservation District (CCCD) has partnered with the Berwick Borough to install downspout planters throughout high-trafficked areas. The CCCD received a DEP Environmental Education Mini-Grant to complete this project. Berwick Borough is subject to an MS4 permit, so the CCCD and the Borough partnered to receive MS4 credits for the Borough and work towards meeting the County’s Countywide Action Plan goals.

Click here to read the entire article. 

 

This holiday season, the Carbon County Environmental Education Center (operated by full-time staff from the Carbon County Conservation District) invited children of all ages to help decorate a science-themed Christmas tree with ornaments depicting famous scientists, both past and present.

“It was just an idea, and our staff sort of ran with it,” said Susan Gallagher, the center’s Chief Naturalist. “We were talking about how kids should know the stories of all the people who’ve changed the world, and the next thing I knew, our part-time staff were making ornaments out of Petri dishes.”

Each ornament featured a picture of a famous–or not so famous–scientist on one side, with their contribution to scientific discovery written on the other.

The display included a reading area with age-appropriate books about scientists from all over the world and a sign-in sheet where children added their suggestions for more ornaments.

 

BCTV.org recently released a video on urban agriculture programs. The video features Briana Johanson, Agriculture Resource Conservationist, and host Ryan Bradley, Clean City Coordinator for the City of Reading, discussing urban agriculture programs offered by the Berks County Conservation District.

Click here to watch the video. 

On October 20, 2023, ninety-eight farmers and agency employees attended an educational grazing field day titled “Harvesting Abundance: Sustainability in our Grazing Havens,” held at the Wilson Land & Cattle Co. in Tionesta, PA.

Most attendees plan to implement the conservation practices they learned, including soil health improvement, rotational grazing, biodiversity, and non-point source pollution reduction via cover crop planting with a no-till planter.

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 Beaver County Conservation District has been certified as a Stewardship Forest. Jessica Pierce, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Service forester, recently presented the district with a sign noting this achievement. The Forest Stewardship Program is designed to promote the wise use and sustained benefits of forest resources.

To obtain this certification, the district developed a Forest Management Plan to guide the management of the forest resources on the Environmental Center grounds.

The plan has four key goals, which include:

1. Restoration of Native Ecosystems-Forest Health
2. Increase Opportunities for Outdoor Environmental Education
3. Improve Wildlife Habitat
4. Encourage Passive Recreation

This plan details the major forest habitat types and how they will be managed over the next ten years. This plan complements the existing land management and integrated pest management plans previously developed for the environmental center grounds.

The forests and wetlands at the district environmental center grounds are open to the public for hiking, bird watching, and a host of other outdoor pursuits. Come visit the grounds and enjoy the forest!