On June 9, 2017, PACD Executive Director Brenda Shambaugh traveled to Lebanon County for a legislative event. The Lebanon County Conservation District (LCCD) held an informative Legislative Roundtable with Representatives Diamond and Ryan, Commissioners Ames and Litz, and staff from the offices of Congressman Dent, Congressman Costello, and Representative Helm in attendance.

Topics discussed included the state budget, agricultural land preservation, and the Chesapeake Bay Reboot. Representatives Diamond and Ryan talked about the status of the State Budget and Brenda Shambaughemphasized the importance of not cutting spending for agricultural and DEP line items that impact conservation districts such as Lebanon.

 

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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.

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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.”

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The early-bird discount for the PACD/SCC Joint Annual Conference expires this Friday, June 16. That’s only five more days to take advantage of the $10 early-bird discount! The conference will take place July 12-13 at the Red Lion Hotel in Harrisburg, PA. Click here to register and find out more.

 

 

The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts (PACD) is sponsoring a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC) Review Course on September 26, 2017 at the Red Lion Hotel Harrisburg Hershey, Harrisburg, PA.

The CPESC certification is a professional designation for erosion and sedimentation technicians, engineers, and other specialists involved in design, construction, inspection or other aspects of erosion and sedimentation control. If you have not yet started the CPESC certification process, we recommend you go to the Envirocert International, Inc. website and review the requirements and process now.

The review course is designed to ensure CPESC applicants understand what concepts will be covered by the exam and acts as a review for most of those concepts. See the flier for more information on the review course and a link to information on the complete certification and exam process. Note that there is special pricing for PA conservation district staff. Before registering, contact Terry Fisher at tfisher@pacd.org for a district staff discount code or with any questions.

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.

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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.

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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!

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On May 12, 1947 the Susquehanna County Commissioners and the State Conservation Commission formed the Susquehanna County Conservation District (SCCD). While many changes have occurred over the years, the district continues to protect and preserve natural resources. SCCD held a legislative breakfast to share what they are doing, how funds are being spent, and to listen to what legislators are working on. PA Senators Gene Yaw and Lisa Baker attended the breakfast, as did PA Representatives Tina Pickett and Jonathon Fritz. SCCD thanks them for their time and support.

 

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