As recently announced, NACD and The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation (SMGF) have renewed their ongoing partnership to deliver urban webinars and information on backyard conservation. As part of these efforts, NACD participates in SMGF’s National Partner Network (NPN), a group of 17 organizations with a shared focus on water quality and sustainability across the U.S.

On Oct. 2, 2020, NACD participated in the first virtual meeting of the NPN.

“There’s a collective power that comes from bringing together these organizations,” said Carol Kauffman, corporate social responsibility manager for ScottsMiracle-Gro. “Each group is on the frontline of water stewardship issues in its community. Together, we’re able to share solutions and learn from one another, as we all work toward a clean water future.”

While the event was initially scheduled to be in-person in Galveston, Texas, the Galveston Bay Foundation still hosted the virtual partner meeting. The event started with each organization sharing one unique accomplishment and one challenge from the last year. While COVID-19 (coronavirus) dramatically affected many of the organizations, most have been extremely resilient in how they’ve approached their ongoing research, technical assistance and education programs.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) was also a common theme in many of these efforts, with partners emphasizing their new approaches in both staff training and programming in order to achieve DEI goals. Ron Rohall, chair of the Urban and Community Resource Policy Group (RPG) and Ariel Rivers, Pacific Region Representative, represented NACD, highlighting the adoption of NACD’s Board Statement on DEI, as well as the need to continue outreach to underserved populations. These are two goals that will be in-part achieved through NACD’s new DEI task force, as well as the urban and community webinars supported through contributions by SMGF.

As each organization within the SMGF NPN focuses on similar issues to conservation districts, NACD’s involvement in the NPN provides an opportunity to share information and learn new approaches to outreach and technical assistance.

To read the rest of this recap, visit NACD's blog. Read more about the ongoing partnership between NACD and SMGF in the recent press release about the renewed partnership. Tune into the Urban and Community (U&C) Conservation Webinars on the third Thursday of each month. For questions, contact NACD Pacific Region Representative Ariel Rivers.

In Champaign County, Illinois, one of the major natural resource issues is water quality as it pertains to nitrogen and phosphorous runoff. The Champaign County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) focuses on promoting practices that influence nitrate loss, with the added benefit of improving overall soil health. Thanks to a 2019 NACD Technical Assistance Grant, the SWCD has been able to hire a new staffer to further help farmers address these natural resource concerns.

In 2017, the SWCD developed Saving Tomorrow’s Agriculture Resources (S.T.A.R.), a free tool to assist farm operators and landowners in evaluating their nutrient and soil loss management practices. The tool has been a huge success and is utilized by counties across Illinois and other nearby states in helping reach the states’ Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy goals.

Erin Gundy, the SWCD’s new resource conservationist brought on with the grant, has spent a lot of time helping run the initiative.

“This initiative automatically stood out to me, because it’s a farmer-driven initiative to help other farmers in the area gain recognition for the work that they’re doing to reduce nutrient losses and improve water quality,” she said.

“I love it because I’m able to participate in the science side and the programmatic side of it, helping us create better communication and organization as an initiative, while also working with farmers and being a technical resource,” Gundy said.

Beyond the S.T.A.R. program, Gundy continues to assist the SWCD in promoting cover crops and other soil health practices. She has become a part of the Cover Crop Leadership Lab, a program funded by the Sustainable Food Lab to bring different organizations together to brainstorm ways to help and encourage farmers to adopt soil health practices. Through this lab, she’s been able to learn ways to reach women landowners and middle-adopters and encourage them to use these practices.

“This is a wonderful grant that Champaign County SWCD is very fortunate to receive,” said Renee Weitekamp, administrative coordinator for the SWCD. “It has allowed our district the ability to devote additional staff time into promoting and utilizing S.T.A.R. in our county and beyond.”

To learn more about NACD’s Technical Assistance grants or to read other TA success stories, visit the NACD Technical Assistance Grants webpage.

In 2019, together with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), NACD awarded funding through the Urban Agriculture Conservation Grant Initiative to the Winkelman Natural Resource Conservation District (WNRCD) in Arizona.

The district and OCLG will continue workshops and outreach through the garden, including efforts to use the OCLG as a place for community support. Recently, OCLG partnered with Borderlands Produce Rescue to use the garden site as a distribution location for fresh vegetables otherwise destined for the landfill. This winter, WNRCD will also provide tree cuttings to the OCLG to grow native saplings for a district restoration project, which will further generate revenue for OCLG.

“Our community garden continues to be seen as a vital contributor to our area’s sense of place, and community members’ ownership of the garden is growing,” said Kyle Thompson, WNRCD coordinator.

According to Liz Harris Tuck with OCLG, the project taught conservation, promoted appreciation and understanding of the environment, and encouraged responsible stewardship of natural resources. "Our partnership with WNRCD has enhanced our growth and sustainability,” she said.

Visit NACD's Urban and Community webpage to learn more about our UAC grant initiative and other activities.

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, NACD’s Washington, D.C. office will be closed with staff teleworking until Nov. 30.

This Thursday, Oct. 15, NACD will open its application period for the Friends of NACD District Grants Program. Donations through the Friends of NACD program will support four grants to dues-paying members of up to $2,500 each, to be awarded at NACD's 2021 Annual Meeting.

Conservation districts are encouraged to think creatively in how they can use the funds to conduct new activities or test novel approaches to their operations. The fiscal year (FY) 2021 request for proposals (RFP) is now available to view on the Friends of NACD District Grants webpage. The deadline to submit applications through the online portal is Monday, Nov. 30 at 11:59 p.m., local time.

For questions, please contact NACD Pacific Region Representative Ariel Rivers at ariel-rivers@nacdnet.org or NACD Director of Membership Kimberly Uldricks at

kimberly-uldricks@nacdnet.org.

Beginning today, Oct. 13 through tomorrow, Oct. 14 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific, Amazon Prime Day is full of great deals and discounts. You can help NCF and donate a portion of your purchases from Amazon Prime Day by linking your account here and using the search term "National Conservation Foundation."

Project proposals are due by Nov. 4, 2020; however, NRCS has indicated that they may extend this deadline. NACD looks forward to conservation districts continuing to be leaders in locally-led RCPP projects.

To learn more and watch a webinar on how to apply, visit NRCS's website.

The National Ground Water Association (NGWA), an organization that assists those in the groundwater industry, offers resources and best water management practices for homeowners on its website WellOwner.org.

Additionally, the website includes NACD's conservation district directory, where you can find your local district by state. Learn more about water conservation efforts and how to find your district here.

This year's winners of the Montana Leopold Conservation Award were Craig and Conni French of Malta, Mont. Craig is the president of the range committee for the Philips Conservation District.

The Frenches are fourth-generation ranchers, who have traded harvesting hay for grazing methods that let their cattle harvest the forage themselves. Additionally, with assistance from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), they moved livestock water tanks and windbreaks away from a creek, allowing for the return of willow trees and natural habitat.

Each year, the Montana Leopold Conservation Award, sponsored by the Sand County Foundation, recognizes farmers, ranchers, foresters and other landowners who inspire others with their dedication to the land, water and wildlife habitat management on private, working lands.

To learn more about the award, as well as the Frenches and their conservation practices, check out the Sand County Foundation's 2020 Awards webpage.

This month, we want you to share stories on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter highlighting your conservation district's forestry conservation activities and programs. In honor of NACD's 2021 Stewardship and Education (S&E) theme "Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities," we want to know how you're teaching students and community members how to prevent wildfires and protect your forests.

Each conservation district that uses #DistrictsSupportForestHealth will be automatically granted one entry into a raffle to win two multitools and a pack of NACD face masks for their office from NACD's Marketplace. The winning district will be announced on social media and in the Oct. 27 edition of eResource. To learn more, visit NACD's 2021 S&E webpage.

Promote your conservation district or state association's tree sale, annual meeting, webinar, field day or more on NACD's Calendar of Events!