NACD's sister organization, the National Conservation Foundation (NCF) is asking for your support in the development of the next generation of conservation leaders. Last week, they launched their annual fall fundraiser with a goal of raising $75,000 by the end of 2022! NCF programs and partnerships advance locally-led conservation and work to develop the next generation of conservation leaders. Their two flagship programs, the NCF-Envirothon and Next Generation Leadership Institute (NGLI) help deliver those results. 

With past support, NCF was able to create and implement the NGLI, which is now in its second cohort. The program and its curriculum is helping to grow the next generation of conservation leaders by selecting cohort members from diverse background and equipping them with skills and resources related to personal, civic, and organizational leadership development.

Through your support, NCF has also continued to run its Envirothon program, a problem-solving competition that builds leadership experience for high school students. Its mission is to educate students about the environment and conservation of natural resources through hands-on outdoor experiences, academic study and collaborative competitions. The program winners are rewarded with scholarships, encouraging their continued education into conservation.

NCF needs your help to continue to expand its influential and crucial programming! Tackling conservation and natural resource management must begin with education and training of the next generation. 

OCEAN COUNTY SCD AND BARNEGAT BAY PARTNERSHIP SHARE NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT GOALS

In the United States, 29 percent of the population or approximately eighty-seven million people live in coastline counties. Coastal communities, and the country at large, depend on the health of our watersheds for food, water, recreation, and more. To protect and restore the resources of our country’s coastlines and estuaries, Congress established the National Estuary Program (NEP) in 1987. Currently the NEP includes 28 estuaries located across the U.S., stretching from the Puget Sound in Washington State to the Galveston Bay in Texas, and along to the San Juan Bay in Puerto Rico. NEPs are designed to bring a diverse set of local stakeholders together to work toward common natural resource management goals. In New Jersey, the Barnegat Bay Partnership (BBP) is the perfect example of the power of partnership work in the watershed.

In July 1995, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accepted the nomination of the Barnegat Bay estuary to be included in the National Estuary Program. The Ocean County Soil Conservation District (OCSCD) has been integrally involved with the Barnegat Bay Partnership since the drafting and approval of the Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan for Barnegat Bay in 2002 and has actively served on several committees for the partnership. The relationship has evolved and expanded over the past 20 years, and the district continues to play a critical role in the partnership today. Conservation districts are well aligned with the goals of the NEP and in the case of the BBP, it has provided the district with opportunities to be engaged with many different people and programs across the watershed.

“Ocean County Soil Conservation District seeks to address critical and priority issues identified through effective communications with its partners and the needs of the local communities,” said Christine Raabe, OCSCD District Director. “Partnerships are the key to accomplishing more together for mutual benefits.”

Read the full blog post to learn more about the work the Ocean County Soil Conservation District does with the Barnegat Bay Partnership.  

NGLI COHORT MEETS FOR FINAL SESSION FOCUSED ON BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS

On October 16-19, the National Conservation Foundation's (NCF) Next Generation Leadership Institute (NGLI) 2022 cohort met in Ardmore, Oklahoma for their final session of the year. The theme for the session surrounded partnerships and the group got to visit with professionals from state, local, non-profit, federal, tribal, and other partners that share the conservation vision in Oklahoma.

The cohort was welcomed first by Trey Lam and Lisa Knauf Owen from the Oklahoma Conservation Commission (OCC), who helped to underwrite the session. The three- day agenda included:

• Visiting landowners on their property to see the results of implemented BMPs though federal and local contracts
• Going out to see watershed flood control dams with OCC staff
• Learning about the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts (OACD) and their CARE project, which focuses on assisting socially disadvantaged and veteran producers to get conservation plans and contracts
• Stream sampling with the Oklahoma Blue Thumb project
• Hearing from the Lake Arbuckle Watershed Association and how they partner to achieve their goals
• Learning from Dr. Carol Crouch, NRCS Tribal Liaison on how to effectively work with tribes
• Experiencing soil health first-hand from Jimmy Emmons, Soil Health Mentor
• And much more!

This was a fun, hands-on session designed to demonstrate the end products of what effective partnerships can achieve, and how to create those partnerships to increase capacity at any level.

The 2022 NGLI cohort will celebrate the completion of their program with a graduation ceremony at the NACD Annual meeting in New Orleans in February. To learn more about NGLI and to support NCF in order to keep this and other conservation education programs running, visit the NCF website.