With the safety of our attendees in mind, the 102/105 Technical Training Planning Workgroup will design a virtual 102/105 Technical Training. Stay tuned for dates in a future edition of Front Page!

PACD created a public service announcement (PSA) to encourage citizens to plant native plants.

Materials include:

• Script and audio for 60-second version
  
  
• Script and audio for 30-second version
  
  
• Script for 15-second version
  
  
• 60-second animated version

Click here to view the webpage of materials https://pacd.org/?page_id=20773. Please share the PSA scripts with your local radio stations. Conservation districts and partners are encouraged to share the animated version on their social media channels.

Mark your calendars for the 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.

• Agricultural Conservation Technical “Boot Camp” Training – Basic Level
  April 12-16, 2021
  Keystone Conference Center, Ft. Indiantown Gap, Annville, PA (Lebanon County)
• Agricultural Conservation Technical “Boot Camp” Training – Level II
  April 26-30, 2021
  Keystone Conference Center, Ft. Indiantown Gap, Annville, PA (Lebanon County)

Please note these dates are tentative pending funding.

The application period will open on January 22, 2021. Questions? Contact Shannon Wehinger at swehinger@pacd.org.

These training opportunities are made possible by the following sponsors: Natural Resources Conservation Service, State Conservation Commission, and the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc.

To help residents keep local lakes clean, the Pike County Conservation District is hosting a free, three-part webinar series titled “How Your Backyard Activities Affect Your Lake.” The webinars include:

• June 23: Ways To Help Your Lake Stay Healthy; 
• July 21: Homeowner Tips To Protect Clean Water; and 
• August 25: Getting To Know Your Drinking Water. 

The webinars are free, but registration is required. Click here for more information and to register. 

Crawford County Conservation District Resource Conservation Technician Sydney Holler recently created a short video, “Are You Ready for Construction Season?” The video provides an overview of an often-missed component of new construction – erosion and sedimentation control.

Click here to view and share the three-minute video. 

Throughout June, Allegheny County Conservation District (ACCD) will host a lunch-and-learn webinar series about streams and stormwater. Each week, ACCD staff will walk attendees through an essential aspect of stream health and stormwater systems. Sessions will build on each other to explain the relationship between human activity and water quality. These webinars will also review strategies to improve regional water quality and manage stormwater. Registration is free but required: https://bit.ly/2M7VoGx.

View previous webinars on soil, erosion control, tree planting, and manure management here: https://bit.ly/2TQxBz0.

PACD members and partner agency staff are invited to register for the PACD Executive Council Meeting, which will be held as a Zoom web conference on July 23, 2020, from 10:00 a.m. to Noon. Registration is free and is required to participate. Click here for more information and to register.

Bucks County Conservation District’s summer intern, Baileigh Rosado, launched a web series on backyard vegetable gardening on the district’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/bucksccd/.

Every Sunday, she posts a video documenting her journey building a raised garden bed. She shows viewers how to start their own garden, as well as some educational videos along the way. Check out her first video here on the benefits and potential drawbacks of gardening and how to know if it’s right for you!

As part of their 2019-20 Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention Mini-grant Project, the Clarion Conservation District held two workshops. The first workshop was focused on invasive plant species in riparian areas. The second workshop addressed aquatic invasive species. A third workshop, which would have focused on invasive arthropods, had to be canceled due to the coronavirus crisis.

The purpose of this project was to educate the local community on how to identify aquatic and terrestrial invasive species, their impacts, and how to control or treat them.

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.

Managers and Directors – there’s still time to register for the Summer Employment Law for Conservation Districts session. Adam Long of McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC will present a webinar series on Employment Law for Conservation Districts, scheduled for Wednesdays June 3, July 8, and August 5 from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., with a follow-up session on September 23.

The first session on June 3 will feature topics that are crucial to effectively and lawfully managing the conservation district workforce during times of disruption: furloughs, layoffs, and work-from-home policies. This presentation will also cover key hiring considerations for employers as well as leave and other important workplace and employment policies. Topics for the July and August webinars will include harassment training and policy, managing employee absences, wage and employee classification, and best management practices for employee communication, confidentiality, conduct, and performance concerns.

All conservation district managers and directors are encouraged to participate in these sessions. Click here for more information and to register. 

Adam Long practices in the Labor and Employment Law Practice Group at McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC. He represents employers in single-plaintiff and class-based employment litigation matters and provides advice and counseling to employers on a wide range of labor and employment law issues. Adam has worked with Building for Tomorrow to present on employment law and management topics for conservation districts for over ten years.

Financial and other support for the Building for Tomorrow Leadership Development Program is provided through a grant from the Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission. Guidance for the Program is provided through the Pennsylvania Conservation Partnership’s Leadership Development Committee.