Have you visited the Pennsylvania Clean Water Academy lately? New courses are continuously added. Check out these courses today!

Training Program: Landowner Engagement – Level 1 – Training Program (must be logged in to view)

This training program provides practical strategies and techniques for promoting and selling conservation practices to landowners. Participants will explore the ecological, economic, and social benefits of conservation, focusing on effectively communicating these benefits to diverse landowners. The program emphasizes relationship-building, demographic shifts in farming, understanding landowners’ needs, and tailoring conservation solutions that align with their goals. The use of social media as a tool to promote and sell conservation is also discussed. This training program will take six to eight hours to complete.

Course: Introductory Water Quality Standards

This is an introductory water quality standards course for new staff. After this course, learners will be able to describe the three main components of DEP’s Water Quality Standards (WQS), name some categories and examples of protected water uses, find WQS in Chapter 93, and look up protected use using several references and DEP GIS tools.

Course: Guiding Principles of Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration

This introductory training will cover several important aspects of the guiding principles important to the execution of highly successful restoration projects. The training is presented in four parts: Introduction, Basic Watershed and Ecosystem Functions, Watershed Alterations and Effects, and Project Considerations. Completing this training will provide a good foundation for future trainings that will dive deeper into these topics, research, and Division of Wetlands Encroachment and Training (DWET) program development efforts.

Please contact PACD Water Resource Trainer Kelly Davidson at kdavidson@pacd.org with any questions.

Kelly Davidson is the Water Resource Trainer at PACD, where she plays a key role in advancing water resource training efforts and expanding DEP’s comprehensive training library, Clean Water Academy. She holds a Master of Environmental Management and a Certificate in Geospatial Analysis from Duke University, as well as a bachelor’s degree in biology from North Carolina State University.

Prior to her current role, Kelly served with AmeriCorps at the Borough of State College, where she contributed to community-based environmental initiatives and gained hands-on experience with urban conservation projects. She is looking forward to continuing to support water quality improvement efforts across Pennsylvania in this role.

In her spare time, Kelly enjoys gardening, hiking, baking, and spending time with her two fur-babies, Oliver and Rusty.

Have you visited the Pennsylvania Clean Water Academy lately? New courses are continuously added. Check out these courses today!

Qualified Visual Site Inspector (QVSI) Training Program 

Summary: This training program is comprised of five courses and is for anyone responsible for conducting visual site inspections of earth disturbance activities under Chapter 102. Completing the QVSI Training Program is one of three options in the 2024 PAG-02 General Permit for demonstrating that someone is qualified to conduct inspections on construction sites with PAG-02 coverage. Once all courses are complete, a Record of Completion can be printed and used to verify program completion.

Foundational GIS Pro Training (you must be logged in to view this course)

Summary: This course aims to give you well-rounded training on ArcGIS Pro and familiarize you with many useful tools and concepts you can utilize. The course will get you started with installation and touch on basics like map design, projections, data gathering, and database creation. The further your progress, the more training you will have that will cover more in-depth processes within the ArcGIS Pro software. Topics and exercises covered are Geo-Referencing, Digitizing, Querying, Exporting, Spatial Joins, Editing, Merging, Appending, and Clipping. Once you have become more comfortable with some of these procedures, you will go through more general to advanced GIS skills exercises involving raster analysis. Afterward, you will run through an actual real-world example utilizing the skills you have learned. Lastly, some additional examples of online GIS tools were made to help you think of how you could use your data online.

Watershed Foundations Training Program 

Summary: This training program is comprised of four courses and is helpful for volunteers interested in conservation, local water quality improvement, and restoration. A Completion Certificate (5 credit hours) is available only to users with a login, so please create an account first if you desire a Completion Certificate.

Questions about Clean Water Academy? Contact PACD Water Resource Trainer Kelly Davidson at kdavidson@pacd.org.

By Chris Grimsley, PACD Instructional Designer

I am a former teacher transitioning from a career in secondary and higher education into instructional design. I have served in many roles as an educator, including working as a classroom teacher, student support specialist, course designer, and researcher. I hold a B.S. in sociology, an M.A. in teaching, and a Ph.D. in philosophy. I completed my doctoral dissertation on the history and philosophy of science, focusing primarily on the social implications of new technologies like artificial intelligence.

In my capacity as an academic, I focused on communicating issues of philosophical significance within the sciences to both technical and non-technical audiences. I want to leverage my experience in education and science communication as I pivot to instructional design with a focus on conservation at PACD. My main responsibility is the Clean Water Academy. 

I enjoy camping and hiking, photography, motorcycling, computer programming, and playing guitar in my spare time.

I can be reached at cgrimsley@pacd.org.

During the 2022 Building for Tomorrow Staff Conference, PA Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Patrick McDonnell recognized conservation district staff with exceptionally high achievement in the Clean Water Academy. 

The following individuals were recognized for the most courses completed:

1. Jake Kennedy – PACD (previously interned at Armstrong Conservation District)
2. Brianna Osborne – Warren
3. Taylor Lawrence – Berks
4. Brady Byers – Franklin
5. Adam Seitz – Lancaster
6. Steve Beach – Blair
7. Hank Bradish – Westmoreland
8. Christina Anders – Adams
9. Keith Stetsko – Allegheny
10. Dave Taylor – Wyoming

The Secretary also recognized the following districts for having the highest number of completed courses:

1. Lancaster
2. Washington
3. Wyoming
4. Allegheny
5. Berks
6. Beaver
7. Armstrong
8. Blair
9. York
10. Chester

Conservation district staff with the most courses completed will receive a signed certificate from Secretary McDonnell.

The “DCNR 2021 Riparian Forest Buffers Series” is available to the public on the Clean Water Academy website. These fifteen webinars are provided by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Note: Internet Explorer is not recommended for using the Clean Water Academy.

PACD Software Specialist Nick Yeagy obtained his pilot’s license and is now flying a drone. The drone will take footage for training in the Clean Water Academy. Nick was at a construction site in Lebanon County on March 31, 2021, to capture video for training modules under development.