News & Notes November 2005

Watershed Specialists Report Annual Training Was Valuable

The fifth annual state-wide meeting of the Conservation District Watershed Specialists (CDWS) was held in State College October 4-6. Sessions included basin breakouts, natural stream channel design, and effective outreach.

The Ohio, Susquehanna, and Delaware Basin breakouts allowed for interaction and discussion on issues specific to those regions. CDWS reported that this was one of the most valuable aspects of the training. Erin Dunleavy, Clinton County Conservation District Watershed Specialist, participated in the Susquehanna Basin breakout. "I liked the basin breakouts. It was well organized and informative. It is important to see what everyone else is doing," Erin said.

Erin also attended the natural stream channel design (NSCD) session led by Mike Lovegreen, Bradford County Conservation District Manager. "Natural stream channel design helped me look at places to implement this in my county. I will work with the Sugar Run Watershed Association to identify areas to reduce sediment load to the Chesapeake Bay. Having attended this session, I now have information and knowledge on NSCD to implement it in my county," Erin said.

Gary Peacock, York County Conservation District Watershed Specialist, moderated the NSCD session. "Mike Lovegreen shared his knowledge and experience with a full room of folks talking about the Keystone Stream Team's guidelines - one of the best kept secrets in Pennsylvania," said Gary. He also reported that he got ideas from this session on less expensive options for stream flow monitoring he may implement in his county.

Another session that has been useful in the few weeks since the training is the Effective Outreach session by Kellie DuBay of Tetra Tech, Inc. Several CDWS cited it as the most valuable session in their training evaluations. "We had a staff meeting to brainstorm about environmental education initiatives. I suggested we try changing our outreach to meet more needs beyond workshops and brochures such as large newspaper ads and billboards," said Scott Alexander, Fulton County Conservation District Watershed Specialist. Scott has already started using ideas from this session to benefit his district.

While the basin breakouts, NSCD, and effective outreach session received positive reviews, CDWS also noted the importance of information sharing and networking among watershed specialists and DEP personnel. "I always think it's helpful and a good chance as a group to have open discussions about what's happening across the state. It is good to get the bigger picture," said Scott. According to Gary, "the networking opportunity with peers, DEP folks, and others is invaluable in terms of problem solving and information sharing." He should know. He's been a CDWS since the positions were created five years ago.

The 2006 Watershed Specialist annual meeting and training is scheduled for October 17-19. The planning for the 2006 training/meeting begins with the evaluations/suggestions of participants at the 2005 meeting. Anyone interested in serving on the Steering Committee for the 2006 CDWS Statewide meeting should contact Fran Koch at 717-783-2289 or email fkoch@state.pa.us.

DEP Grants Available for Environmental Education

The PA Department of Environmental Protection is accepting applications for grants of up to $20,000 for conservation districts' environmental education efforts. Although the grant manual seems to emphasize environmental education standards and formal education projects that target students and teachers, conservation districts are eligible for funding to develop educational programs and products for any audience.

Typically there is a lot of competition to fund formal school-related education projects. PACD suggests that districts focus their grant applications on non-formal educational activities involving adults. Your district may increase its chances of securing grant funds by illustrating the unique advantage your district has in delivering programs that meet the needs of local government officials, farmers, and other adult audiences. Here are a few examples of conservation district projects that received funding through the most recent grant round:

Erie Conservation District - $20,000 for Development of Lake Erie Environmental Education Compendium
Pike Conservation District - $1,500 for Open Space/Smart Growth Workshop Series for Municipal Officials
Westmoreland Conservation District - $1,500 for Dairy Farm Tour of Successful Grazing Practices

To request an application manual, write to the DEP Environmental Education Grants Program, P.O. Box 2063, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2063; or call 717-772-1828. The deadline to submit applications is December 17, 2005. For more information or to download an application, visit DEP's Web site at www.dep.state.pa.us, Keyword: "EE Grants."

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