The Clean Water Farm Award Program recognizes Pennsylvania farmers whose exemplary farm management practices result in improved local and downstream water quality. Pennsylvania’s conservation districts may submit a nomination for a farm in their county. One award will be given in each of PACD’s six regions.

Each district that submits a complete nomination will be entered into a drawing to win a $100 pizza party for their office! Deadline: April 30, 2017.

Award recipients receive a large Clean Water Farm Award sign to hang at their farm, a signed certificate, and an invitation to the PACD/SCC Awards Luncheon in July.

Financial support for this award is provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection through the Chesapeake Bay Regulatory and Accountability Program and the Pennsylvania Chesapeake Bay Education Office (administered by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc.).

Click here to read more. 

During the week of April 10, thirty conservation professionals gathered at the Keystone Conference Center in Lebanon County, PA for the Agricultural Conservation Technical Training – Level 2. This week-long training was attended by staff from USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and affiliates, conservation districts, PACD, and farmland preservation agencies.

This annual training balances field experience and classroom instruction. It is sponsored by NRCS, the PA State Conservation Commission, and PACD.

This year’s Spring 102/105 Topic-based Training welcomed 75 participants from 43 conservation districts and the PA Department of Environmental Protection. The event took place April 5-6, 2017, at the Ramada Conference Center in State College, PA. Participants received in-depth training on Post Construction Stormwater Management (PCSM) and Chapter 105, both of which support clean, accessible, water for Pennsylvania’s citizens.

Pennsylvania’s County Conservation Districts were recently awarded more than $69,840 for 37 projects in 31 counties. The projects promote water pollution prevention activities through the Nonpoint Source (NPS) Pollution Prevention Educational Mini-Grant Program. The projects will take place over the next 13 months.

Click here to see a list of projects funded as part of the 2017-18 NPS Pollution Prevention Educational Mini-grant round. 

Funding for the grants, up to $2,000 each, is provided through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act, administered by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

 

 

 

PACD awarded seven scholarships for conservation district environmental educators to attend the PA Association of Environmental Educators (PAEE) Conference March 13-14, 2017, at the McKeever Environmental Learning Center in Sandy Lake, PA.

“It was terrific to participate in a program that included so much diversity in terms of ages of participants/ideas/activities. The conference was well rounded, creative and comprehensive” said Jolie Chylack, the Lehigh County Conservation District’s Environmental Education and Outreach Coordinator.

The annual two-day conference featured respected speakers, seminars, workshops, and learning experiences covering a wide range of environmental topics. The scholarships gave district educators the opportunity to learn new techniques, discover the latest tools and materials available to them, and to network with other environmental educators from across the state.

The scholarships were made possible through an Environmental Education Grant from the PA Department of Environmental Protection.

There were 28 attendees of the Agricultural Conservation Technical Boot Camp Training – Basic Level held March 20-24, 2017 at Fort Indiantown Gap, Lebanon County. Attendees included staff from conservation districts, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and affiliates, Farmland Preservation, Department of Environmental Protection, and PACD’s engineering assistance program.

The Spring 102/105 Technical Training – Basic/Refresher session provided concentrated classroom instruction to 42 employees from 23 conservation districts and the PA Department of Environmental Protection. The training session took place March 20-23, 2017, in State College, Centre County.

The April 30th deadline to recognize a fellow conservationist by nominating him or her for a PACD Award is fast approaching. Contact Sandy Austin at saustin@pacd.org or 717-238-7223 with any questions.

• Ann Rudd Saxman Conservation District Director or Associate Director Excellence Award
• Conservation District Employee Excellence Award
• Legislator Recognition Award
• Maurice K. Goddard Award for Excellence in Environmental Recreation

Click here for more information and a nomination form. 

Approximately 40 municipal officials attended the Dirt, Gravel & Low Volume Road Municipality Workshop on February 28, 2017 held by the Susquehanna County Conservation District. The workshop focused on the proper way to fill out Dirt and Gravel project applications. Attendees also learned about stream crossing permitsand the district was able to provide large wallmaps to each municipality. The maps showed potential and completed worksites. At the end of the agenda, participants had time to review specific project application questions from their municipality.

The 2017 Chesapeake Bay Program Conservation District and PA Agency Staff Meeting was held on Monday, March 13, 2017 at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA. Over one-hundred, seventy-five people attended the meeting to hear about current topics related to the Bay and to network with colleagues.

Presenters from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and various conservation districts, discussed topics such as best management practice (BMP) verification, the Phase III Watershed Implementation Plan, and PracticeKeeper software. A lot of discussion focused on the current farm inspections with an open forum session that encouraged questions on the topic. Three conservation districts also shared their experiences and lessons learned about the farm inspection. Maybe the most popular session, however, was one that provided a completely different perspective on some of the topics. During this session, three farmers from Bradford County talked about how they view the inspections and what district and DEP support would be helpful to them.