Join us for the PACD spring region meetings! All meetings will be in-person with a virtual option. Click on your region meeting below for more information, and be sure to RSVP to the meeting host.

PACD South Central Region Meeting
March 7, 2024 | 10:00 a.m. to Noon
Cumberland County Conservation District, Carlisle, PA

PACD North Central Region Meeting
March 19, 2024 | 10:00 a.m. to Noon
Clinton County Conservation District, Mill Hall, PA

PACD South East Region Meeting
March 28, 2024 | 9:30 a.m. to Noon
Henning’s Market, Harleysville, PA

PACD North East Region Meeting
April 4, 2024| 10:00 a.m. to Noon
Monroe County Conservation District, Stroudsburg, PA

PACD South West Region Meeting
April 18, 2024 | 10:00 a.m. to Noon
Westmoreland Conservation District, Greensburg, PA

PACD North West Region Meeting
April 23, 2024 | 10:00 a.m. to Noon
Armstrong Conservation District, Kittanning, PA

Click here to find your region. 

Close to 4,000 township officials and guests from all over Pennsylvania will attend the annual Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) Conference and Trade Show on April 14-16, 2024. Once again, there will be a conservation district booth at the show from Sunday, April 14, to Tuesday, April 16.

PACD is seeking volunteers for the following shifts:

• Sunday, April 14, 1:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m. (1st shift) (2 volunteers needed)
• Sunday, April 14, 6:30 p.m.–8:00 p.m. (2nd shift) (1 volunteer needed)
• Monday, April 15, 7:30 a.m.–Noon (1st shift) (1 volunteer needed)
• Tuesday, April 16, 7:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. (2 volunteers needed)

Please consider volunteering for a morning or afternoon shift at the conservation district booth. This is a valuable opportunity to promote the districts and explain the type of work they do, as well as reinforce existing relationships with local township officials.

To volunteer, please get in touch with Roxanne Dohner at rdohner@pacd.org.

Thank you to all the volunteers who made the conservation district booth at the PA Farm Show a success! The 2024 show featured the Stormwater Plinko game, which drew visitors to the booth.

Thank you to the following conservation districts who sent volunteers:

Allegheny
Berks
Centre
Clinton
Cumberland
Indiana
Lancaster
Lebanon
Schuylkill
Washington
And the PA Envirothon

 

The 108th Pennsylvania Farm Show runs January 6-13, 2024 in Harrisburg. This year’s event celebrates how we are Connecting Our Communities. Visit the Conservation District booth (co-located with USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service) in the GIANT Exposition Hall.

Also, check out the new Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) banner that will be displayed in the Farm Show facility for all of 2024! This banner is part of the CREP Outreach Program Office hosted by PACD and funded through a Growing Greener Watershed Protection grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and with additional support from USDA-NRCS.

Click here to read more about the event.

 

Register for the 2024 PACD Winter Meeting today! The 2024 PACD Winter Meeting will take place as a series of videoconferences. All six committee meetings and PACD Executive Council will take place via Zoom, with the option to participate online or via phone.

Registration is free and required. You will need to register for each activity separately. To register, please click on the meeting you would like to attend.

Registration for PACD Executive Council:

PACD Executive Council Videoconference
January 25, 2024 | 10:00 a.m. to Noon
Email mburns@pacd.org for a link to register.

Registration for PACD Committees:

PACD Conservation Committee Videoconference
January 5, 2024 | 10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m.
Email mburns@pacd.org for a link to register.

PACD District Employees Committee Videoconference
January 12, 2024 | 10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m.
Email hmiller@pacd.org for a link to register.

PACD Education and Outreach Committee Videoconference
January 11, 2024 | 10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m.
Email swehinger@pacd.org for a link to register.

PACD Legislative Committee Videoconference
January 17, 2024 | 10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m.
Email mburns@pacd.org for a link to register.

PACD Ways and Means Committee Videoconference
January 18, 2024 | 10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m.
Email abrown@pacd.org for a link to register.

PACD Operations Committee Videoconference
January 19, 2024 | 10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m.
Email mburns@pacd.org for a link to register.

Registrants will receive a confirmation email with information to participate via Zoom or phone. Meeting materials will be distributed prior to the meeting.

Please mark your calendar and join us for the PACD spring region meetings! All meetings will be in-person with a virtual option.

PACD South Central Region Meeting
March 7, 2024 | 10:00 a.m. to Noon
Cumberland County Conservation District, Carlisle, PA

PACD North Central Region Meeting
March 19, 2024 | 10:00 a.m. to Noon
Clinton County Conservation District, Mill Hall, PA

PACD South East Region Meeting
March 28, 2024 | 9:30 a.m. to Noon
Henning’s Market, Harleysville, PA

PACD North East Region Meeting
April 4, 2024| 10:00 a.m. to Noon
Monroe County Conservation District, Stroudsburg, PA

PACD South West Region Meeting
April 18, 2024 | 10:00 a.m. to Noon
Westmoreland Conservation District, Greensburg, PA

PACD North West Region Meeting
April 23, 2024 | 10:00 a.m. to Noon
Armstrong Conservation District, Kittanning, PA

Click here to find your region. 

Mark your calendars for Agricultural Conservation Technical Training (“Boot Camp” Basic Level and Level II). Conservation district staff are encouraged to take advantage of these free, week-long training opportunities, including classroom learning and experience in the field.

Basic and Level II training will each be held twice. Applicants may apply for one and only one of the four training sessions. Do not apply for both levels this spring.

Agricultural Conservation Technical “Boot Camp” Training – Basic Level
March 19, March 26, and April 22 (virtual) & April 8-11, 2024 (in-person)
Union County Government Center, Lewisburg, PA

Agricultural Conservation Technical “Boot Camp” Training – Basic Level
March 19, March 26, and April 22 (virtual) & April 15-18, 2024 (in-person)
Union County Government Center, Lewisburg, PA

Agricultural Conservation Technical “Boot Camp” Training – Level II
April 19, April 26 (virtual) & April 29-May 3, 2024 (in-person)
Keystone Conference Center, Ft. Indiantown Gap, Annville, PA (Lebanon County) and the USDA NRCS State Office, Harrisburg, PA

Agricultural Conservation Technical “Boot Camp” Training – Level II
April 19, April 26 (virtual) & May 13-17, 2024 (in-person)
Keystone Conference Center, Ft. Indiantown Gap, Annville, PA (Lebanon County) and the USDA NRCS State Office, Harrisburg, PA

The application period will open in early January 2024. Email Shannon Wehinger at swehinger@pacd.org to receive a notification when the application period opens.

The following sponsors make these training opportunities possible: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission, and the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc.

 

On October 7, 2023, the Indiana County Conservation District (ICCD) had its very first Apple Festival to encourage local farmers to diversify their crops, help them stay in business, and keep produce locally grown for the community. ICCD Executive Director Doug Beri envisioned having a festival focused on live apple cider making, and from that, Apple Fest was born. ICCD has never hosted a festival before, so this was a new challenge, but with teamwork and planning, they brought out around 600 people to join in the fun.

Apple Fest included food trucks like Suttons Sweet Treats and Portia’s Donuts, vendors who brought their wonderful crafts and products out to share, and volunteer organizations to do kids activities, including Plant Patrol, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, and Penns Manor FFA with a wonderful little petting zoo. But the main event was the apple cider making, where guests and the public could sample and help make the fresh hot and cold apple cider. ICCD had hundreds of apples bought and donated by local farmers to make about 100 gallons of delicious apple cider.

ICCD hopes to make this an annual event to continue to educate local farmers and community members about the benefits of locally grown specialty crops.

It’s time to talk about the PACD booth at the 2024 Farm Show! PACD offers complimentary space at our 2024 Farm Show booth to conservation districts who would like to set up a display for a day and educate folks from all over the state. It’s an opportunity to highlight your district, your county, and what’s happening in your neck of Penn’s Woods. Districts can display their exhibit if they are available to run the booth for both AM and PM shifts. If your staff is available for a half day only (AM or PM shift), PACD will provide the exhibit display.

The PA Farm Show runs from Saturday, January 6, to Saturday, January 13. We need volunteers (preferably two volunteers per shift) to staff the conservation district booth.

Available shifts:

Thursday, January 11: 12:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
Friday, January 12: 12:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
Saturday, January 13: 8:00 a.m.- 12:30 p.m. and 12:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m.

Please get in touch with Gloria James at gjames@pacd.org by November 22, 2023, with your contact information and the shift(s) you’d like to fill.

The National Association of Conservation Districts Northeast Region meeting was held in Portland, Maine from September 17-20, 2023. Pennsylvania was represented by staff and directors from conservation districts and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.