Submitted by Ryan Harr, Watershed Resource Specialist, Butler County Conservation District

The Butler County Conservation District has partnered with local parks and schools to enhance biodiversity by increasing native plant species and phasing out traditional turf grass lawns. One of the latest projects took place at a park in Forward Township, where the district installed a 1000-square-foot meadow.

To prepare the site for planting, the district installed a 10-by-100-foot sheet of clear plastic over the area to be converted to meadow. This method, solarization, uses the sun’s heat and smothering to kill existing vegetation, and can also help reduce the seed bank in the soil. Once the solarization process was complete, the ground was lightly tilled to remove thatch and increase seed-to-soil contact. Danielle Rihel, Watershed Forestry Specialist through DCNR’s DIY Meadow Kit program, provided seed that was then broadcast on to the area. With spring rains and warm temperatures, the meadow should germinate in no time. 

In April, Lebanon County Conservation District held a rain barrel workshop with funding from the PACD Nonpoint Source Pollution Educational Mini-Grant Program. Twenty-five people were educated on the topic of nonpoint source pollution and the water quality of local waterways. The district also held a brief demonstration of rain barrel installation and maintenance. The district distributed twenty-five rain barrels to workshop participants through this grant.

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 Westmoreland Conservation District hosted a bike ride along the Great Allegheny Passage as a way to educate participants about water quality issues in the county. During the 7 mile (roundtrip) ride, the 26 participants made multiple stops that showcased water quality improvement initiatives, such as abandoned mine site reclamation, mine drainage treatment, streambank stabilization, stream water quality testing, and illegal tire dumping in the river. Speakers on the trip included staff from the district, Tetra Tech, and the Mountain Watershed Association.

The events were funded by a nonpoint source mini-grant from PACD, Flat Tire Co., and Bove Engineering. 

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.

Submitted by Jennifer Brooks, Environmental Education and Outreach Coordinator, Berks County Conservation District

On May 7 and 8, 2025, the Berks County Conservation District brought its Soil Water AGriculture (SWAG) Bus to the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg for Farm City Days. The PA Department of Agriculture invited the district to bring the SWAG bus to the event.

Farm City Day is an event that promotes agriculture and understanding between rural and urban communities in Pennsylvania. It offers a hands-on experience for students to learn about farming and the food supply chain.

Over the course of two days, more than 1,300 students attended the event. The SWAG Bus was a hit!

Submitted by Ryan Harr, Butler County Conservation District Watershed Resource Specialist

On April 16, the Butler County Conservation District (BCCD), in partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA), held a workshop to address the growing threat of the invasive Spotted Lanternfly.

Held at Alameda Park, the workshop featured presentations by BCCD’s Jennifer Barckhoff and PDA Forester Noah Hayslip.  The presentations covered Spotted Lanternfly identification, its lifecycle, and the significance of Tree-of-Heaven. They also discussed current quarantine regulations and property management to help slow the insect’s spread.

The installation of a circle trap was also demonstrated. The program concluded with an interactive Egg(mass) Hunt, where participants learned firsthand how to detect and remove egg masses, a crucial step in controlling the Spotted Lanternfly population. By engaging the community in these hands-on efforts, BCCD and PDA reinforced the role the public has in combating this destructive pest.

The Spotted Lanternfly, originally from Asia, poses a serious threat to Pennsylvania’s agriculture and ecosystems, particularly affecting grapevines, hardwood trees, and other crops. BCCD plans to hold future workshops on other invasive species.

On April 19, 2025, Cumberland County Conservation District held a rain barrel workshop during the Mechanicsburg Earth Day Festival. Thirty participants built and took rain barrels home to install.

Because the workshop took place during an earth day event, the district was able to not only educate those who signed up for the workshop, but also answer questions and educate the general public attending the festival. The district reports that seeing the rain barrels created a lot of curiosity, questions, and interest from passersby.

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 Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry announced a more than $6.6 million investment in 19 Pennsylvania organizations to develop and expand registered apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs in the agriculture, health care, and information technology (IT) sectors.

Through the Supporting Pennsylvania’s Agriculture Sector through Apprenticeships and Pre-Apprenticeship grant initiative, Indiana County Conservation District will receive $399,317.

The Indiana County Conservation District will create and establish an agriculture conservation technician apprenticeship program that will provide apprentices with the necessary training and work experience for careers as agriculture conservation employees at Pennsylvania conservation districts, the State Conservation Commission, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, and the Penn State Center for Agriculture Conservation and Training.

Click here to read the entire article. 

Lancaster County Conservation District (LCCD) celebrated its 75th anniversary with WGAL News 8 on April 21, 2025.

The video was filmed at the LCCD Annual Awards Banquet on March 25 and LCCD requested that it be featured during Conservation District Week.

Click here to watch the video. 

Submitted by Matthew J. Long, District Manager, Lycoming County Conservation District

Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, and Union County Conservation Districts teamed up to host a workshop for consultants on March 20, 2025. The Susquehanna Valley Consultants Workshop was attended by 69 consultants and contractors to learn about changes to the PAG-02 General NPDES permit. The event was hosted at the Pine Barn Inn in Danville, PA, and featured 12 presenters from the districts and two from the PA Department of Environmental Protection’s Northcentral Regional Office. Various topics on the changes to the PAG-02 were covered, and the presenters fielded many questions.

The event was a great success, and the consultants and contractors in the region were brought up to speed on many of the larger changes in the General NPDES permit. It’s always great to get a room full of people district staff work with consistently and answer questions in real-time. Many common issues can be explained, and the hope is to increase permit review efficiency. The districts presenting the program look forward to hosting more events like this.

In the summer of 2023, the Lawrence County Conservation District (LCCD) was granted $105,000 by the Lawrence County Commissioners with funds received from Norfolk Southern Railway. The funds were part of a grant to Beaver and Lawrence Counties to be used to benefit the residents of both counties in the wake of the East Palestine train derailment. From those funds, the district established a mini-grant program to benefit the residents and businesses in Lawrence County. Applicants could apply for up to $5,000 to fund projects aligned with the conservation district’s mission of clean water, healthy soil, and environmental education.

LCCD awarded 25 grants totaling $105,000. The program was open to all residents and businesses in the county, but applicants in the southwestern part of the county closest to the derailment site were given an opportunity to apply early. Grant applications were reviewed and approved by the LCCD board of directors, and projects were inspected upon completion before payment was made.

All of the grant projects have now been completed. LCCD is happy to report the results of the funding: two grants paid for soil and animal health testing, three grants went to apiary (honey bee) improvements, nine animal drinking water and pasture improvement projects were completed, three farm operations improved their manure storage and handling facilities, two streambank stabilization and improvement projects were completed, an animal stream crossing was completed, three farm markets improved their infrastructure, and four educational programs were held.

LCCD wants to thank the Lawrence County Commissioners for their support of our work and their confidence that we would make good use of the funding. LCCD also thanks all of the grant recipients for their enthusiastic participation and timely completion of their projects. It has been very gratifying to see all of the good work that was done with a little funding and a lot of local cooperation.