Stress and conflict are two things everyone wants less of and learning to manage them better benefits our personal and professional lives.  The 2021 Virtual Staff Conference launches on Monday, February 8 with From Stressed to Zest: RE-Energizing Yourself & Your Team, a workshop on recognizing, managing, and reducing stress at work and at home, presented by Cindy Aronson.  Cindy has been a professional development trainer for over 25 years and is founder and executive board member of the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, NY.  On Wednesday and Thursday, Rita Coleman Graham will present a two-part workshop on Effective Conflict Management for Conservation Workers which will cover self-awareness, active listening, assertive messaging, and techniques for de-escalation.  Rita’s prior 35 years of experience with the PA Department of Environmental Protection combines a unique blend of expertise in environmental and agricultural issues with facilitation, negotiation, and training.

Register now for the 2021 Virtual Staff Conference.

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.

PACD received a PA Department of Environmental Protection Environmental Education grant for Template Watershed Signage. This project aims to provide templates for conservation districts to use for interpretative signage to educate the public on completed stream restoration projects. Draft versions of the signs were shown to the watershed specialists during their annual meeting in October.

The templates are complete and now available at this link. The topics are vegetative buffers, fish structures, and macroinvertebrates. The templates are in Publisher so districts can insert their logo, update the URL and phone number, and swap out photos.

Districts may apply for the Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention Mini-grant program (see above) to create a sign using the templates. Contact Shannon Wehinger at swehinger@pacd.org about what should be included in this type of application.

Thanks to Tammy Piper at Franklin County Conservation District for partnering with PACD on this project.

Financial and other support for this signage has been provided by the Department of Environmental Protection’s 2020 Environmental Education Grants Program.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, the 2021 Agricultural Conservation Technical Training (“Boot Camp” Basic Level and Level II) will be held in the same manner as 2020.

Agricultural Conservation Technical “Boot Camp” Training – Basic Level
April 12-15, 2021 (online portion, mornings only)
August 2-4, 2021 (in-person field days) at the Keystone Conference Center, Ft. Indiantown Gap, Annville, PA (Lebanon County)
Both portions must be attended to complete the course.

Agricultural Conservation Technical “Boot Camp” Training – Level II
August 23-27, 2021
Keystone Conference Center, Ft. Indiantown Gap, Annville, PA (Lebanon County) and Holiday Inn Harrisburg (tentative depending on the COVID situation)

The application period will open on January 22, 2021. Look for the link here.  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.

Registration is open for Building for Tomorrow’s 2021 Board Leadership Webinar Series. The event features two weeks of online programming for district boards that builds and expands on last year’s New Director Orientation workshops.

Week 1 (Monday, February 15 – Wednesday, February 17) focuses on ethics, conflict of interest, and the PA Ethics Act for Conservation District Boards with a two-part webinar series presented by Thomas Tupitza of Knox McLaughlin Gornall & Sennett, P.C. and Brian Jacisin, Deputy Executive Director for the PA Ethics Commission.

Week 2 (Tuesday, February 23 – Wednesday, February 24) takes a closer look at the importance of board committees in district planning with a workshop presented by Debra Thompson of Strategy Solutions.

Both weeks also include Director Forums that allow boards from around the state to connect and share information and success stories from their districts.

Click here for the agenda and registration.

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.

 

The Mercer County Conservation District has an ongoing feature on their Facebook page called “Name that Nature.” The district posts beautiful photos and videos of local nature and asks its followers to guess what it is.

Pictured here, on Day 156 of Name that Nature is “American Witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana); it is one of the only species that bloom in the winter, hence the little greenish/yellow flower bracts that have been left behind from the petals falling off.”

Kudos to Mercer County Conservation District for finding an interactive, online way to showcase nature in their county!

PACD Staff holds a Zoom meeting to talk about a holiday message…what could go wrong?

Click here to watch the message.

Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention Educational Mini-grant Program for Conservation Districts

The 2021-22 round of the Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention Educational Mini-grant Program for Conservation Districts opens on January 4, 2021! The funding provided through this program supports conservation districts to implement water quality and pollution prevention education programs for adult audiences. The program will award up to $2,000.

Click here for guidance and the application in Word. 

PACD will host a Zoom meeting on Wednesday, December 16, from 9:00 a.m. -10:00 a.m. to answer questions and discuss ideas districts may have for projects. PACD will also review an example of a good application and encourage discussion among participants about what has worked and what hasn’t in regard to past projects. Click here to register for the Zoom meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0tdu6srzIqG9GFr9yc5H3N3CBBs2p5aoFc

Contact PACD Director of Communications & Education Shannon Wehinger at swehinger@pacd.org with questions.

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.

CREP Mini-grant Program for Conservation Districts

This mini-grant program funds up to $1,000 for conservation districts to implement educational and outreach activities that support and extend the work of the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). Projects focus on CREP enrollment, re-enrollment, and/or CREP maintenance.

The grant round is scheduled to open on January 1 and end on June 1, 2021. Please contact PACD Program Manager Amy Brown at abrown@pacd.org to talk through your ideas. Projects will likely need to be virtual. Educational videos and webinars are encouraged.

Financial and other support for the CREP Outreach Program Office Mini-grant Program is provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. through a Growing Greener Watershed Protection grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and with additional support from USDA-NRCS.

This past summer, the Susquehanna County Conservation District held an online rain barrel workshop to educate participants on managing stormwater in their community. Ten participants virtually explored the Chesapeake Bay watershed, acquired knowledge on water quality problems associated with the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and learned how individuals could reduce their stormwater footprint. Following the workshop, each participant was able to pick up a rain barrel to install on their property.

The grant also provided funding for two additional rain barrels to be purchased for environmental education purposes. One rain barrel has been donated to the borough of Susquehanna, where it will be installed at the newly opened Ira Reynolds Riverfront Park. The second rain barrel will be on display at the Susquehanna County Conservation District. Once installed, the public is encouraged to visit both locations to learn more about stormwater and see how a rain barrel functions.

Click here to read the entire press release. 

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.

2020 was a very productive year for conservation district video production, and this year’s events demonstrated the growing importance of video communications for district outreach. Producing quality video content involves all three ingredients that form the theme for our upcoming Virtual Staff Conference: Team, Tools, and Talent.

The conference closing session on Friday, February 12, 2021, will highlight this year’s best video content with the first annual Conservation District Video Awards. Districts are encouraged to submit their best work to compete for the coveted CONDIVA trophy.

Click here for rules and submission form – email to mmiller@pacd.org. The deadline to submit your videos is December 31, 2020.

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.

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently recognized conservation district staff for their level of achievement and commitment to professional development in the PA Clean Water Academy.

PA Clean Water Academy (CWA) is a comprehensive digital training library containing over 160 courses comprised of webinars, eLearning, video, supporting documents, assessments, quizzes, and training programs. CWA is administered by the DEP Bureau of Clean Water and the PA Association of Conservation Districts. During the COVID-19 restrictions, DEP and conservation district staff have relied heavily on the Academy for training in delegated and contracted programs.

Conservation District Staff with Most Course Completions:

	Staff	Conservation District		Courses Completed
1	Stephen Beach	Blair		127
2	Matthew Golden	Washington		123
3	Tom Ulrich	Washington		93
4	Tyne Blazier	Blair		83
5	Emily Wise	Washington		71
6	Dave Taylor	Wyoming		63
7	Heather Humbert	Beaver		61
8	Robert Sabo	Indiana		61
9	Wade Jodun	Clinton		60
10	Jennifer Linebaugh	Beaver		59
11	Rachael Moore	Northumberland		58
12	Jessica Schaub	Armstrong		58

Conservation Districts with High Achievement

	Conservation District	Courses Completed
1	Washington	490
2	Blair	370
3	Lancaster	338
4	Allegheny	243
5	Beaver	215
6	Armstrong	195
7	Berks	179
8	Dauphin	178
9	Tioga	178
10	Wyoming	176
11	Indiana	171
12	Montgomery	167

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