On Monday, September 23, 2019, the Berks County Conservation District (BCCD) hosted the annual “A Bite of Berks Scholarship Fundraiser.”

Here are a few of the highlights from the evening:

• Deputy Greg Hostetter joined the event and said a few words.
• The district awarded $20,500 in scholarships; partners gave an additional $2,500 in scholarships; there was a special award for the Berks Science Fair winner.
• Several award recipients were recognized, including Farmer of the Year, Conservation Individual of the Year, and others.
• After the scholarship and awards portion of the evening was complete, guests enjoyed food samples made by local restaurants, caterers, bakeries, food trucks, and others who used an ingredient that was grown or produced in Berks County. Guests tasted and then voted for their favorite. Awards were given to the top 3 in each of 4 categories.
• There was a Silent Auction with proceeds benefiting the BCCD Scholarship fund.
• Dave Kline’s Mountain folk Trio provided music.

Click here view the winners. Click here to read about the scholarship winners. 

The Building for Tomorrow Program, which provides leadership development training and resources to Pennsylvania’s Conservation Districts, is happy to announce the launch of its newly redesigned website at https://www.paleadership.org. 

The new site features: 

• a bright, modern design optimized for handheld and tablet devices
• an event portal and calendar that includes event registration, agendas, and other information, as well as session materials and handouts for Building for Tomorrow events
• a streamlined interface for self-directed learning modules with quiz functionality allowing users to save their progress – perfect for new Director orientation and on-boarding of new staff
• a blog to promote Building for Tomorrow programs, events, and other news and announcements 

All Conservation District personnel are encouraged to visit the new site and provide feedback and suggestions on content that can be added to support leadership development initiatives.

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.

Submitted by Kristie Smith, Watershed Specialist, Perry County Conservation District

Thank you to the Loysville Community Club and Tyrone Township for hosting this year’s Keep Perry County Beautiful Tire War. We are pleased to announce that Perry County residents successfully dropped off 702 tires that were removed from the landscape that are destined for proper recycling through Mahantango Enterprises of Liverpool, Perry County. (The breakdown: 670 car tires, 20 large truck tires, and 12 tractor tires).

Many thanks to our group of dedicated volunteers who used a lot of muscle to throw all of those tires up into the truck! Thank you to everyone who participated, together we are keeping Perry County a beautiful place to live & work! Since 2009, the Tire War program in Perry County has recycled over 11,000 tires!

The Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership is a collaborative effort of national, regional, state and local agencies, conservation organizations, outdoors enthusiasts, businesses, and citizens committed to improving Pennsylvania’s communities, economy, and ecology by planting 10 million trees throughout the Commonwealth.

PACD Program Manager Amy Brown and Software Specialist Nick Yeagy joined the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and other Keystone 10 Million Tree Partners on Thursday, September 19, 2019. The group met at the Raub Farm in Duncannon to plant 50 trees and shrubs next to a pasture.

On September 20, PACD’s 5-person team traveled to York County for the 12^th annual Sporting Clays Fundraiser benefitting the York County Envirothon. The event included teams with staff from the Cumberland and Lancaster County Conservation Districts, PACD, and the PA Department of Environmental Protection.

The event had a record of 103 shooters participate. Congratulations to York County Conservation District for a successful, well-organized event!

PACD Program Manager Amy Brown recently joined Pennsylvania farmers, members of the PA No-Till Alliance, staff from Clinton County Conservation District, and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) on a trip to Port Isobel Island. The group of 27 spent the weekend on the Bay. CBF hosted the weekend so farmers can appreciate the Bay and share thoughts with local watermen about the similarities of their heritages and livelihoods.

Twenty-one workshop participants learned about the link between water quality and nonpoint source pollution at the Beaver County Conservation District “Managing Stormwater at Your Home” workshop. Participants mapped their property and decided where to place the best management practices. After a program on watersheds, nonpoint source pollution, and stormwater best management practices, the district demonstrated how to build a rain barrel. Those attending received a rain barrel kit and Southwestern Pennsylvania’s Homeowners Guide to Stormwater.

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.

On September 14, 2019, Keep Huntingdon County Beautiful (KHCB) volunteers collected 1,962 tires as part of the 14th Annual Tire War Challenge! The collection includes 1,852 car/truck tires, 74 tractor-trailer tires, and 36 tractor tires. To put this in perspective, they filled two 53′ long tractor-trailers from top to bottom! We await the results from the other participating counties to determine if KHCB retains the Gold Rim Award for most tires collected.

Instead of polluting our land and streams, these tires go to Mahantango Enterprises in Liverpool, PA. The tires are then reclaimed and recycled into usable products such as rubber mulch for playgrounds or athletic tracks. This event was made possible by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Household/Small Business Hazardous Waste Collection Program.

Dennis Eby, Outreach Coordinator at the Lancaster County Conservation District (LCCD), participated in the “Working with Plain Sect” training that USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service recently held at Elizabethtown College. In his presentation, he mentioned that Lancaster County has success doing Manure Management Plans one-on-one with farmers. He used a PowerPoint that he adapted from the Penn State trainer presentations. The conservation district agricultural technicians that attended the training asked if that PowerPoint could be available for them to use. LCCD uploaded the resource to its website where it is accessible for anyone.

The PowerPoint can be download at https://lancasterconservation.org/wp-content/uploads/MMP-Manual-Web-Compressed-Final.pptx.

PACD is partnering with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the State Conservation Commission (SCC) to deliver a three-day Introduction to Conservation Planning course. This free training will take place November 12-14, 2019 at the Holiday Inn Harrisburg (Hershey area) in Grantville, PA.

The event is for entry-level employees of all organizations in Pennsylvania delivering conservation planning technical assistance, including but not limited to, NRCS, conservation districts, SCC, farmland preservation entities, non-profits, and private consultants. The training is free, and lunch will be provided.

The online pre-requisite will be waived this year. Click here to apply by October 4. Questions? Contact Shannon Wehinger at swehinger@pacd.org.