News & Notes November 2005

Columbia County Conservation District Manager Honored by Governor

Columbia County Conservation District Manager Maryruth Wagner was honored by Governor Edward G. Rendell on October 6 during a dinner at the Governor's residence in Harrisburg. Maryruth Wagner was one of six recipients recognized for their contributions to the environmental field.

(Left to right) Governor Rendell, Maryruth Wagner, and
Secretary Wolff

"These honorees have recognized the importance of preserving our greatest natural treasure," said Governor Rendell. "Promoting the highest standards of environmental protection is vital to sustaining our quality of life in communities across Pennsylvania. These six individuals have each made contributions through education and outreach, research and, most of all, by not being afraid to stand up for what they believe in. They are to be commended for a job well done."

In addition to Maryruth Wagner, the other recipients were Ernesta Drinker Ballard (Posthumously) 1920-2005, Philadelphia; The Honorable Camille George, Clearfield County; Caren Glotfelty, Allegheny County; Pat Lupo, Erie County; and Dr. Mel Zimmerman, Lycoming County.

Each honoree received the official state gift, "Lighting the Way." The gift is a handcrafted reproduction of a wall sconce that hangs in Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

Also in attendance were PACD Executive Director Susan Marquart and her husband Steve, Secretary of Environmental Protection Kathleen McGinty, and Secretary of Agriculture Dennis Wolff. PACD congratulates Maryruth on receiving this prestigious award.

Pennsylvania Hosts Chesapeake Bay Education Summit

On October 18-19 educational leaders from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC gathered in Lancaster to attend the bi-annual Chesapeake Bay Educational Summit. Teams of school administrators, teachers, and resource agencies, including conservation districts, shared their experiences in providing meaningful watershed educational experiences (MWEE) to students. PACD staff, who serve on the Chesapeake Bay Education workgroup, provided administrative and planning support for the Summit.

The Summit program included numerous sessions and a field experience dedicated to the MWEE. Bradford County Conservation District's Education Coordinator, Rich Gulyas, and Dr. Christine Crane, Lynch-Bustin Elementary School teacher, led "Engaging Active Teachers: Advanced Training Opportunities." The session focused on programs that are successfully engaging teachers on a broad level, beyond the classroom and school grounds. Rich and Christine shared how they encourage teachers to participate in different programs and workshops to give them experience with field studies. One example Rich and Christine shared during the panel was stream studies. Teachers may be uncomfortable taking their kids out and doing a stream study, but attending a program or workshop shows them that other teachers do them and they can too.

A Conestoga Valley High School student demonstrates water analysis using a spectrophotometer during the Summit's Field Experience.

Together, Tony Liguori, Bradford County Conservation District's Agriculture Team Leader, and Tom Hojnowski, a teacher at Canton Junior-Senior High School, participated on the "Farming with a Focus: Using Agriculture for MWEEs" panel. Along with other concepts, Tom and Tony provided examples on how to use nutrient management to teach watershed concepts. They have taken PA's Nutrient Management Act and introduced it to high school students studying math and biology as well as students in the FFA program. The students learn how nutrient management can help protect local water quality and ultimately the Bay. The District has developed a strong relationship with the school doing water quality sampling and analysis. "Students see the local impact and can relay that to what's happening downstream," said Tony. This team from Bradford County provided information and inspiration for other teachers to form similar partnerships in their counties to teach watershed concepts through agriculture.

The value of the Summit was apparent to Sallie Gregory, Lancaster County Conservation District Environmental Education Coordinator. Sallie was invited to the Summit because she is working with the Lebanon/Lancaster Intermediate Unit on a grant project for elementary school teachers. "In Lancaster County we don't see the Chesapeake Bay. It was inspiring seeing how the other states take students to the Chesapeake and how important our local watershed level activities are," Sallie said.

National Geographic is taking MWEE seriously. During the Summit Robert Dulli, Deputy to the Chairman of the National Geographic Society, unveiled a number of valuable educational resources that may help support Environment & Ecology and Geography activities for grades K-12 including: Maps showing the Chesapeake Bay 400 years ago and today and two documentaries, Nightmare in Jamestown and John Smith's Voyage of Discovery. National Geographic will be launching a Chesapeake Bay website for educators, called Exploring the Chesapeake: Then & Now. Lesson plans have been developed to be used in conjunction with the website.

Conservation District environmental educators are encouraged to follow-up on the National Geographic resources. Sallie Gregory has already been on a few of the National Geographic websites looking at new teaching ideas. "It's nice to know there are more avenues to explore. Sometimes we get on a single track. It's helpful to know there are others out there," she said.

Potential Funding Sources for Conservation Districts

Meaningful watershed educational experiences (MWEE) are gaining attention within Pennsylvania. Research studies conclude that using the environment as a context for learning helps boost students' achievement scores in many academic areas. Legislation has been passed to provide funding to schools for standards-based activities that incorporate MWEE into their curriculum.

Conservation districts have a critical role in helping to support the MWEE. Two potential MWEE funding sources were publicized during the Chesapeake Bay Education Summit:

1. Pennsylvania Representative Peter J. Zug (Lebanon County) has championed the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Education Program Act (HB 2775) which Governor Rendell has signed into law. The program enables the Department of Education to provide grants to schools to promote the teaching of watershed education and permit students to experience meaningful Bay or stream outdoor experiences. The Department may grant up to $5,000 to any eligible school that meets the requisite criteria for this purpose. This funding presents an opportunity for Conservation Districts across the state to provide environmental education services to youth and their teachers.

2. PACD has received money from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for a mini-grant program. Mini-grants will be available to districts to partner with schools to provide MWEE in the Chesapeake Bay region. More information will be distributed when the grant round opens.

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