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Conservation Districts in the News
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| Upcoming Events |
Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC) Course and Exam
June 25-26, 2014
Civil and Environmental Consultants, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA
PACD/SCC Joint Annual Conference
July 9-10, 2014
Blair County Convention Center, Altoona, PA
Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC) Course and Exam
August 27-28, 2014
Holiday Inn, Williamsport, PA
PACD South East Region Meeting
October 2, 2014
Franconia Heritage, Telford, PA
Conservation District Watershed Specialist Meeting
October 9-10, 2014
Ramada Conference Center, State College, PA
PACD North East Region Meeting
October 17, 2014
DEP Northeast Regional Office, Wilkes-Barre, PA
PACD North Central Region Meeting
October 21, 2014
Clinton County Conservation District, Mill Hall, PA
PACD North West Region Meeting
October 22, 2014
Location: TBA (Erie County)
PACD South West Region Meeting
October 23, 2014
Beaver County Conservation District, Aliquippa, PA
PACD South Central Region Meeting
October 27, 2014
Cumberland County Conservation District, Carlisle, PA
Annual 102-105 Meeting
October 28-30, 2014
Ramada Conference Center, State College, PA
PACD/SCC Winter Meeting
February 9-10, 2015
Ramada Conference Center, State College, PAw
Chesapeake Bay Program Conservation District and PA Agency Staff Meeting
March 10, 2015 (snow date March 12)
Elaine Langone Center, 2nd Floor, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA
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Communications 101 Sessions Promise to Deliver at 2014 JAC
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The afternoon of July 10 you definitely want to be in Altoona at this year's Joint Annual Conference (JAC) to participate in two back-to-back sessions that will help you with your overall communications strategies and public relations outreach in your local communities.
Crisis Communications: What is it and How Should You Approach It?
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Amy Kelchner
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This hour-long interactive session will examine the best way to approach and manage various crisis situations in today's fast-paced media environment, while balancing the public's perception of the event. Attendees will be able to share their own experiences as a part of the discussion.
Social Media: Manage or Be Managed By It!
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Kathy Snavely
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With the on-set of social media, items that typically weren't news worthy or would take days to funnel out to the public, are now being posted, tweeted and re-tweeted within seconds. This platform is also being used to engage a group's target audience in their daily activities and programs. Social media will only continue growing so understanding and implementing some of its techniques can benefit organizations moving forward. This hour-long session is designed to provide participants with an overview of the different types of social media available to them as well as how to determine which may work best for their outreach and communications. Professor Snavely will also speak to how social media is a compliment to more traditional public relations strategies.
Click here to read more about the speakers and the vast experience they have in the field.
These two sessions are sure to provide you with tips and tricks you can use the next time you find yourself needing to exert some media management. If you haven't registered for the 2014 JAC yet, visit http://tinyurl.com/2014JAC for full details. Online registrations end this Friday, June 27. After that date, walk-in registrations during the conference will be taken.
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Meet JAC Silver Sponsor: WorldView Solutions!
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 WorldView Solutions specializes in environmental and geospatial technology, providing professional consulting, data management and application development services. WorldView has developed PracticeKeeper, a secure cloud solution for conservation planning that includes modules for developing, tracking and monitoring data related to conservation plans, nutrient management plans, best management practices, watershed management, erosion and sediment control plans, and document management.
Currently, five Pennsylvania conservation districts are using PracticeKeeper's spatially enabled, flexible framework. District staff can seamlessly create, edit and manage GIS data via an add-in to ArcGIS Desktop Basic. The integrated, extensible database supports concurrent editing by multiple users and is designed to evolve with a district's needs.
Other key features include on-demand export for data analysis and reuse, the automation of data gathering tasks, reduction of redundant workflows, flexible reporting tools that include automated template based standard reports and the creation of new reports that can be saved for modification and reuse, and wizard-based mapping tools. PracticeKeeper securely hosts and stores all of your non-spatial data in the cloud while automatically synchronizing it with Esri's ArcGIS software on your desktop. PracticeKeeper leverages role based security for all user types.
For more information, visit www.worldviewsolutions.com and
www.practicekeeper.com.
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Meet JAC Silver Sponsor: PA Association of Environmental Educators!
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 "Environmental education is a learning process that increases people's awareness about the environment and associated challenges, develops the necessary skills and expertise to address the challenges and fosters attitudes, motivations and commitments to make informed decisions and take responsible action." ~ The Tbilisi Declaration (Retrieved 6/4/14 from www.paee.net)
Founded in 1977, the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Educators (PAEE) is a non-profit organization charged with uniting, supporting and empowering a community of environmental educators. Now one of the oldest state EE groups, PAEE continues to promote awareness of environmental education and its ties to the overall curriculum, in both formal and non-formal settings.
Their mission is to be recognized as the statewide organization for environmental education professionals with a growing, diverse and involved membership. Members of the collective include representatives from groups ranging from conservation districts, schools (both formative years' settings and institutions of higher education), and graphic/web design specialists, to nonprofits organizations and industry professionals. Together, these individuals continue to advocate for a connection between the surrounding communities and all members of society. For more information about PAEE, including how to become a member, visit www.paee.net.
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McKean County Holds Soil Health Workshop
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Nicole Santangelo, Penn State Extension and Ben Renner, USDA NRCS demonstrate rain and runoff during a workshop in McKean County. Photo provided by McKean County Conservation District.
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Twenty-one participants attended a soil health workshop held by McKean County Conservation District in Smethport on May 17. Participants learned about cover crops and residue, crop rotation, composting and soil health and testing.
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.
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Schuylkill River Sojourn - 2014 River of the Year
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Conservation Expert Panel from left to right - Kelly Anderson, Philadelphia Water Department; Katherine Sykora, Manayunk Development Corp.; Gus Meyer, Montgomery County Conservation District; Tami Shimp, Berks County Conservancy. Photo taken by Terry Fisher, PACD.
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The Schuylkill River Greenway Association hosted the 16th Annual Schuylkill River Sojourn from June 7 to 13, 2014. The sojourn is a multi-day event featuring activities on and along a 112-mile stretch of the river from Schuylkill Haven to Philadelphia. More than 100 paddlers in canoes and kayaks participated in the sojourn, many of them completing the entire length.
Gus Meyer the Manager of the Montgomery Conservation District participated in a panel discussion which brought together conservation experts involved in the preservation and restoration of the river. Click here to read more.
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| NACD News | |
NACD to Hold Soil Health Forum and Conservation
Tours
As part of it's summer board meeting, NACD will host a soil health forum and conservation tours (open to everyone) from July 21-22, 2014 in Indianapolis, IN. Click here for more information. The pre-registration deadline is July 11.
NACD Northeast Region Meeting
Registration is now open for the NACD Northeast Region Meeting. The meeting will be August 24-27 in Newport, RI. Click here for information.
NACD 2015 Annual Meeting - Call for Breakout Session Proposals
NACD is pleased to invite districts, state associations, conservation partners, and professionals to submit presentation proposals for the Annual Meeting. The deadline is August 1. Click here for more information.
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Grazing and Pasture Education Grants Available
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Photo from Pennsylvania Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative.
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The Pennsylvania Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (PA GLCI) is presently accepting applications for the organization's ongoing educational mini-grants program. The grants are offered to organizations and producer associations that provide grazing-focused education and trainings throughout the commonwealth.
Grants through PA GLCI are available for field days and pasture walks, trainings, conferences and other activities that include grazing or forage management as a main topic to reach producers interested in improving their pastures and livestock grazing operations. Grant applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and there is no deadline for applications at this time.
There are several levels for the mini-grant program, ranging from $200 to $1,000 in financial assistance.
For more details about the mini-grant program criteria with downloadable application instructions, please visit www.paglci.org. Questions can also be directed to Susan Parry at (717) 237-2253 or susan.parry@pa.usda.gov.
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Pennsylvania Game Commission 2013 Illustrated Annual Report Available
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 The PA Game Commission annual report chronicles the 2013 accomplishments of Wildlife Diversity Division wildlife biologists, regional wildlife diversity biologists and the hundreds of priceless, dedicated volunteers to prevent and reverse the declines of bird and mammal species of greatest conservation need.
Click here to be directed to the Game Commission Illustrated Annual Report webpage, then click on '2013 Illustrated Annual'.
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