Partnership Welcome & Update |
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The South Mountain Partnership works best as a network of people and organizations working toward common goals.
Our common goal? Making the future of our region better.
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What's in this Newsletter
SMP News
-11th Annual POP Wrap Up
-Take Action for ARPA in Our Region
-2021 Mini-Grants Announced
-SMP Year in Review
-SMP Adventure Guide
-Volunteer with SMP
Partner News & Social Media Roundup
- Top Social Media Posts
-Tending Change on the Michaux
-SMTG Joins CVRTC
-WAAC Volunteers
-Employment and Funding Opportunities
Trainings, Workshops & Learning Opportunities
-Carlisle Climate and Justice Teach in
Pennsylvania Land Conservation Conference
-Calendar of Events
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Greetings!
SMP is starting off the year with a flurry of activity! Early in 2022, we were excited to celebrate the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Community Conservation Partnerships Program announcing a $70 million investment in outdoor recreation, infrastructure, and conservation. This announcement has special implications for the South Mountain Region, including funding the South Mountain Partnership. As a Conservation Landscape Initiative, we rely on this funding for our Mini-Grant Program, staff salaries, communications, and annual programs like convening partners, organizing events, and the Speakers Series and Science Summit and Research Corps. We are so grateful for the continued support of PA DCNR for these efforts! We are also glad to report this funding included a total allocation of over $1.7 million in our region alone and will fund land acquisition, community parks, and trails across the South Mountain landscape. This funding comes from the Keystone Fund, generated from a portion of the realty transfer tax, the Environmental Stewardship Fund, fees for ATV/Snowmobile licenses, and federal monies.
We then held our 11th Annual “Power of the Partnership” event on January 21st. Read more...
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SOUTH MOUNTAIN PARTNERSHIP NEWS |
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11th Annual Power of the Partnership |
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The South Mountain Partnership hosted the Annual “Power of the Partnership” Celebration this past Friday January 21st, with more than 100 people in attendance. It is a time of celebrating the protection and promotion of this wonderful place that we all call home – the farms and farmland, historic places, water and air quality, wildlife and habitat, and parks, trails, and open spaces. South Mountain Mini-Grants and the Spirit of South Mountain are awarded, and plans and events for the coming year are reviewed to keep you informed.
Agenda included welcome from Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn and Franklin County Commissioner Dave Keller; Vision and Approach to Planning the Next Decades of Land Use in Franklin County by Steve Thomas of Franklin County Planning Department; Funding Opportunities For Conservation and Recreation Through the American Rescue Plan by Silas Chamberlin of York Economic Alliance; Spirit of South Mountain award; and 2021 Mini-Grant project awards.
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Take Action Now: Sign on to our ARPA Letter! |
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Will you help us to support the many small projects and organizations doing this work in the South Mountain region? There is little funding for this work in the South Mountain landscape – and they need more funding.
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Sponsor a SMP Event or Newsletter in 2022! |
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Sponsoring a South Mountain Partnership event or newsletter offers great exposure for you, while supporting quality content and learning opportunities for our partners. In 2021, our events reached over 380 participants in four counties (and beyond) and newsletter and social media have a reach of approximately 2,000.
The Friends of the South Mountain Partnership is a Program of The Foundation for Enhancing Communities, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and your investment is always tax deductible. Our sponsor opportunities offer a variety of packages or we would be happy to work on a custom solution for you! Please feel free to contact Katie with questions or additional customizations at 717-609-4581 or via email at khess@appalachiantrail.org
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2021 Mini-Grants Announced |
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The South Mountain Partnership announced its 2021 Grant Recipients at its Annual “Power of the Partnership” Celebration Event. The South Mountain Partnership’s Mini-Grant Program is intended to catalyze on-the-ground projects that further the goals of the Partnership, and to advance the capacity of partners to complete projects throughout the region. Financial support is provided by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources through the Environmental Stewardship Fund.
This year’s grantees received $50,000 in grant funds and leveraged +$155,000 in matching funds. The projects represent a diverse set of local organizations and municipalities with projects that advance sustainability, recreation, clean water, and so much more! We've celebrated these projects with videos capturing their individual projects.
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SMP Releases Year in Review Infographic |
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We've released an infographic summarizing our top accomplishments of 2021 and highlighting plans for 2022, watch for the full report next month! |
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Mark Your Calendars for SMP Events! |
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Now Recruiting Volunteers, Committee Members |
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We are recruiting new committee members and volunteers! This opportunity is especially great for young professionals, those wishing to build their resumes and professional networks, and retired individuals. If you strive to be a good communicator and a “doer” who takes action and gets things done, you may be a great fit!
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Most Popular Social Media Posts |
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The following are some of the most popular social media news posts,
followed by partner-submitted news that you should know about.
Follow us for the latest news, upcoming events, and more!
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Tending Change on the Michaux |
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The South Mountain Partnership is proud to announce a new communications partnership with the Michaux State Forest, the core of our region and heart of the South Mountain, by bringing you a new perspective straight from the forest in this monthly column written in conjunction with the Bureau of Forestry staff and the Friends of Michaux.
"We think of forests, particularly publicly managed forests, as places where change should happen slowly, if at all. It’s a comfortably held notion because it aligns a lot of what we know about forests from eighth-grade biology with the fact that many people like their public forests “just the way they are.” People, at both the individual and collective level, have the idea that public forest lands support a broad range of values that can easily be threatened or disrupted by change. The forest might not be perfect. There may be things they wish were done differently – better trails, cleaner restrooms, less paperwork required to get an activity agreement, fewer timber sales, and in general more and better opportunities to discuss their interests and concern about “their” forests with whoever’s “in charge.” If people’s expectations of forests aren’t too severely restricted, disrupted, or trammeled by obvious change, many assume the forest they have now would likely be a whole lot worse if someone fiddled with it too much." Read on here...
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South Mountain Trolley Greenway joins CVRTC! |
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The Friends of the South Mountain Trolley Greenway are excited to announce that they have recently joined the non-profit Cumberland Valley Rails-to-Trails Council (CVRTC) as a working sub-committee focused on the ongoing planning and future development of the proposed South Mountain Trolley Greenway. This partnership with the CVRTC provides the Greenway initiative with a solid and respected organizational structure and enables our growing Friends organization with the capability to fundraise and continue public outreach. Read more here.
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Become a Water Tester for WAAC! |
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From our partners at WAAC
Most people know it can be unsafe to drink unfiltered water out of a stream or lake, even if the water is visibly clear. This is true almost anywhere, including Adams County. The Watershed Alliance is launching a water-testing program aimed at this issue. We piloted the program last year, testing five sites.
Thanks to a grant from the South Mountain Partnership, we’ll be expanding this testing program to 20–30 sites in 2022. Our plan is to inform the public about where our local waters may be contaminated, and we hope that our findings will inform future water-quality improvement efforts. Here’s how you can help:
- First of all, we need to identify 20–30 sites in Adams County where folks like to fish, wade, swim, or otherwise play in the water.
- And then we need to find and train volunteers who can help with sampling the water at these sites. We’ll be collecting five samples at each site within a 30-day period in summer. The samples will need to be labeled, kept cool, and promptly delivered to the Adams County Ag Center for transport to the testing lab.
Would you like to help measure the cleanliness of our waters? If you can suggest sampling sites and/or would like to help gather water samples for testing, please drop us a line.
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Employment and Funding Opportunities |
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Executive Director, Central Pennsylvania Conservancy (CPC)
CPC is seeking an experienced, dynamic, and ambitious leader who can work effectively with the Board of Directors and its committees to grow the organization, both internally and externally, to advance its strategic goals and strategies. The Executive Director (ED) works under the guidance of, and cooperatively with, the President and members of the Board of Directors and oversees the work of several staff members. The ED is responsible for the successful management of CPC and must therefore be a strong communicator, administrator, and manager. Excellent interpersonal skills are essential since continued positive relations with board members, volunteers, landowners, governmental agencies, donors and staff are necessary for CPC to grow and achieve its goals.
Keystone Internship State Historic Preservation Office
Are you exploring the field of historic preservation and looking for some real-world experience? The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission's Keystone Internship Program provides opportunities to pursue your professional growth and contribute to sharing Pennsylvania's rich heritage with the public.
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DCNR Now Accepting Applications for 2022 Community Conservation Partnerships Program Grants |
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- Planning, acquisition, development, and rehabilitation of public parks
- Trail planning and construction
- River conservation and access
- Land acquisition and conservation
- Streamside tree planting
- Regional and statewide partnerships
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HGAC Barn Preservation Grant Program Open |
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Attention Adams County Barn Owners! If you own a barn and want to be considered for a barn preservation grant in 2022, applications are now being accepted for consideration until March 1, 2022. Grants are only awarded to historic barns that are within Adams County and that are listed on the HGAC Barn Register. It is expected that the grant money for 2022 will help with the stabilization and repair of at least six more historic barns. Once again this year, additional funds are available to HGAC to be specifically awarded to barns in the Adams County Fruit Belt area. Learn more and apply here.
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Trainings, Workshops & Learning Opportunities |
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Due to the COVID-19 and recommendations from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), please visit individual partner organization's websites to confirm event details prior to the event. Stay healthy! |
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Proposals Requested for Carlisle Climate & Justice Teach in!
The Dickinson & Carlisle Climate Justice Teach-In, scheduled for March 30, 2022, is co-sponsored by the Center for Sustainability Education at Dickinson and Bosler Memorial Library. The Teach-In will be a day of dialogues, activities, and workshops for members of the Dickinson and Carlisle area communities to educate each other and engage in conversations about climate change risks, equitable and just responses, needed social, economic and technological transformations, and leverage points where we can make meaningful impacts. An overarching theme and goal of the day will be to promote ongoing engagement in equitable climate action.
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Pennsylvania Land Conservation Conference
March 16-18, 2022 in Gettysburg, PA
The Pennsylvania Land Conservation Conference is Pennsylvania’s premier networking, training,
and inspirational event for staff and volunteers of conservation groups.
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Sunday February 6th, 2022 @ 2:00 PM
Special added attractiom!
A slide show of vintage pictures of the 1947 Waynesboro Sesquicentennial.
Free Admission * Popcorn & Soda $1.00 each.
February 17 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm (virtual)
Since the dawn of the space age in 1957, tens of thousands of satellites have been launched into orbit around our planet. Although most of them fell back to earth as their orbits decayed, many remained in orbit, and others fragmented, littering our neighborhood with an estimated million bits of space debris larger than a centimeter in size. This population is about to increase significantly with the launch of “satellite constellations” that promise to provide cheap and global wireless internet service.
March 24 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Lecture by Randy Watts. Based on recent research this program will tell the story of how the boring mill came to be located along Mountain Creek in the Holly Gap, describe what is known of it, and how it fit into the production of weapons at the Public Works (Washingtonburg) that eventually became Carlisle Barracks. Along the way the true story of the local iron industry in Cumberland County during the Revolution will also be told.
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