Next year, NACD will celebrate its 68th Annual Stewardship Week from April 30-May 1, 2023, focusing on the theme, “One Water.”
NACD Stewardship Week is one of the largest national programs to promote natural resource conservation. Celebrated annually since 1955 between the last Sunday in April and the first Sunday in May, NACD Stewardship Week reminds us of our individual responsibilities to care for natural resources.
Each spring, NACD and thousands of dedicated conservationists organize a multitude of outreach events and educational learning experiences for students and adults to increase awareness about the importance of natural resource conservation. During Stewardship Week, local conservation districts and their state associations educate the public on the importance of soil health, water quality, pollinator habitat and other conservation topics. Different classroom activities, field visits and community events are hosted to honor and recognize efforts in conservation at the local level.
Stewardship Week gives conservation districts the opportunity to extend the reach of their education programs and educate future leaders on the significance of natural resource conservation. Next year’s theme raises awareness on the importance of our interconnectedness through our watersheds.
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JOINT FORESTRY TEAM AND NACD FORESTRY POLICY GROUP MEET IN OHIO |
The Joint Forestry Team (JFT) and member’s of NACD’s Forestry Resource Policy Group (FRPG) gathered last week to learn about ongoing projects and connect with partners from the National Association of State Foresters (NASF), The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service (USFS) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and others.
The event kicked off on Monday, August 1 in Columbus, OH with a meeting of the JFT. The JFT is a committee of partners involved in forestry who meet to coordinate their work and strengthen the effectiveness of on the ground forestry and natural resources management. The group consists of representatives from NACD, NASF, NRCS, and the USFS.
The following days of the event included presentations from various partners, discussions on innovations in forest management, and a field tour to a local cooperage and state forest.
To read more about the event, check out the full blog post on NACD's website. For more information about how districts engage in Forestry work, or to share your district’s Forestry success stories please contact Annica McGuirk at annica-mcguirk@nacdnet.org.
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REGISTER NOW FOR AUGUST URBAN WEBINAR |
Register now for NACD's August Urban and Community Conservation webinar to learn from Amy DePierre, Urban Agriculture Outreach Technician for Jefferson Conservation District in Colorado, about their successes growing urban agriculture partnerships through their 2021 UAC Grant.
In addition to partnering with numerous community organizations, including farmer presenters for workshops about goat grazing for weed management on small farms (above right), the district worked closely with the the City of Wheat Ridge and others to support community urban agriculture partnerships.
The district brought together producers, landowners, and agency partners to help identify opportunities, barriers, and actions necessary to create new urban farming operations, and created a toolkit to help guide conversations about urban agriculture.
Come learn from DePierre about the outcomes of their project and the toolkit, and how your organization can build more community-oriented agricultural programs.
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STRONG PARTNERSHIPS IN KANSAS SERVE VETERANS |
The SAVE farm began in 2015 as a center for transitioning service members to heal and learn through agricultural education. Through the program, SAVE offers its student with a science knowledge and hands on experience that leaves them with long-term agricultural skills and an an understanding of the importance of producing in an ecologically and economically sustainable way.
This mission fits well with conservation districts and NRCS. SAVE has been involved with both groups from the beginning to accomplish improvement work on the farm as well as to provide learning opportunities to their students.
This field day showcased the planning work of NRCS as well as the field improvement work done by KLICA. Students from Kansas and Oklahoma came out to see the organizations and the work they have accomplished so far. Staff from the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts were also present, and are working with SAVE and KACD to use as examples for their CARES project in Oklahoma.
This shining example shows how conservation districts can leverage partnerships to promote conservation agriculture to benefit multiple stakeholders at the local and state level.
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Like many conservation districts, Valencia Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) a 2020 grantee through the joint NACD-NRCS Urban Agriculture Conservation grant initiative, faced many challenges managing the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the district continued making progress at two community garden sites that comprise the East Valencia Urban Gardens Program (EVUGP), thanks in part to their UAC grant.
In a year of transition for EVUGP, the community gardens did well this year thanks in large measure to the heavy lifting of the two garden managers - Ms. Cervantes and Ms. Jimenez - both members of an underserved community within eastern Valencia County. During a recent campaign for re-election to the district board, Dr. Teresa Smith de Cherif, Valencia SWCD Vice Chair and one of the individuals responsible for spearheading the garden, said “Scores of people in El Cerro Mission, Monterrey Park, and Meadow Lake told me that the gardens have given people joy and a sense of pride in their own work and in their community.”
In 2021 the garden’s youth interns continued to help the two garden managers plant, water, weed, mulch, and distribute the garden’s abundant healthy produce. To do a better service to the garden managers and the youth interns, educational pamphlets were given to the garden workers every week, focusing on topics like soil health, gardening in New Mexico, perma-culturing, and use of beneficial insects and spiders.
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As Valencia SWCD looks forward to the future for the gardens, the district will continue to partner with community members and one important partner Youth Development Inc. (YDI). After several efforts to secure funds for the long-term management of the garden through the county and USDA, the two partners were able to successfully apply for a State of New Mexico Next Generation grant in 2021, which is geared toward educational opportunities within the state.
The district is very excited to take next steps to ensure the continuation of the EVUGP gardens. Throughout 2022, they will lead several educational events, including healthy soils field days. For these events, they will invite people from other community gardens and a list of small organic farmers to come to the gardens and use a sheet mulching technique to reduce weeds (e.g., infestation of goat heads), safe water and improve soil organic materials. This will also be a chance to enlist local farmers and gardeners to join EVUGP as partners.
Valencia SWCD will also continue providing maintenance at the gardens, with plans to replace the drip irrigation system as needed, repair the hoop houses, and prepare seedlings for in-ground plantings. According to Dr. Smith de Cherif, such management of the gardens has helped program participants and other volunteers have learned soil and water conservation techniques and produced some 2,500 pounds of vegetables each year over the last few seasons. “I believe these gardens are vital to the health, wellbeing, and future of our communities," said Dr. Smith de Cherif.
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NACD Announces Director of Communications |
NACD is pleased to announce Terrence Curtiss as the new Director of Communications.
Curtiss has been with NACD since October 2021, serving as the Director of Membership.
Prior to joining NACD, Curtiss served as the Director of Membership and Communications with the Association of Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T). While at ASIS&T, he designed segmented messages for email marketing campaigns and successfully launched and maintained a new membership database for the association. He also spearheaded the launch of their Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) task force. Curtiss holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and Communication with a minor in Political Science from SUNY, The College at Brockport.
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NGLI 2023 Cohort Application Open |
We are currently accepting applications for the 2023 cohort! Representation from each of the seven NACD regions is the goal, so please, if you have identified a candidate or think you may be one yourself, check out our website to see if NGLI might be the next step in your leadership journey. Applications must be submitted by September 30, 2022. |
NACD Attends SWCS Annual Meeting |
NACD participated in the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) annual meeting last week in Denver, CO. The theme this year was “Elevating Conservation to New Heights”.
Many breakout and general sessions covered topics of interest to Conservation Districts and NACD Leaders, Staff, as well as our Committees. There were numerous individual studies and reports on conservation success stories. NACD’s exhibit booth was visited by a number of existing and new partners. NACD has a long standing strong partnership with the SWCS and has additional work together ahead including collecting and sending a joint delegation to the one water summit in WI next month.
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Environmental Justice in PA: What's New |
Join this webinar to learn about how the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is updating its Environmental Justice Policy. Hear from the speaker, Ngani Ndimbie about the department’s efforts to use new factors to define environmental justice areas in the commonwealth.
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2022 Source Water Protection Week |
Through the Source Water Collaborative (SWC), the American Water Works Association (AWWA) is holding the second annual Source Water Protection Week from September 25 through October 1, 2022. Join to raise awareness throughout the week about the importance of water quality and community water sources.
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Forestry and Natural Resources Webinar |
On August 25 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET, the U.S. Forest Service in partnership with the U.S. Biochar Initiative and the Southern Regional Extension Forestry will be hosting a biochar webinar. The webinar is titled: "The importance of woody biochar for continued ecosystems services," and will feature a presentation from USFS Senior Forester Dr. Carlos Rodriguez Franco.
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Promote your conservation district or state association's tree sale, annual meeting, webinar, field day, or other events on NACD's Calendar of Events!
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