On May 1, 2012 high school students from all over Berks County competed in the Berks County High School Envirothon held at Nolde State Forest.  Oley Valley High School swept the competition taking first, second, and third place; while Gov. Mifflin were awarded the “Spirit of the Envirothon” Award.

Click Here to see the Results!

Click here to read about the Envirothon in the Reading Eagle!

The Middle School Envirothon was held on May 9, 2012.  The winning team was from Oley Valley  Last year’s defending champions from Fleetwood took 2nd place. The 3^rd place team, also from Oley Valley.  The Berks County Conservation District also awarded a team from Tulpehocken with the Spirit of the Envirothon Award as they proved themselves to be a team that works in great cooperation with others.

“The Berks County Envirothon is more than just memorizing facts for a competition,” said Kate O’Brien from the Berks County Conservation District.  “It is about getting students to work together as a team, to realize that learning can take place outdoors, and finally to learn about the environment that we are so fortunate to have.  The Envirothon utilizes math, science, history, and problem solving skills to form a great competition.”

Ashley Mohn, Alaina Weinheimer, Alexandra Rae Wagner

The 2012 Scholarship Winners were announced at the annual Conservation Award Banquet on Monday, March 19, 2012.  The annual banquet is a partnership between BCCD and the Farm Service Agency to recognize the conservation efforts of farmers, businesses, and citizens of Berks County.  To read more about the Banquet, click here

Kefeni Kejela Stands in Gully that is at least as deep as he is tall

New Edition of the District Digest

Kefeni Kejela, of the Natural Resource Conservation Service, writes about a massive gully in Berks County, and how the NRCS, the landowner, and the local municipality were able to reclaim the land by implementing Agricultural Best Management Practices in the newest edition of our newlsetter, the District Digest.  Also in this edition of the District Digest, a Chesapeake Bay update, information about the new Manure Management Manual, the annual seedling sale (including new plants for this year), and a puzzle with prizes. To read Kefeni’s article, or any of the news about conservation in Berks County click here!

Click Here to Download the Don Hartman Conservation Leadership School Brochure! 

This year’s week long residential school will focus on PA Wildlife! It will take place at Alvernia University and starts on June 25 to June 29, 2012

 Learn More… 

In October of 2011, the PA Department of Environmental Protection released new regulations for all farms of any size that produce or apply manure.  These regulations  require everyone to maintain records on manure and animal management on operation.  The new regulations include horse farms, small farms that land apply manure, those that export their manure, and farms that pasture animals.

Information about the new regulations can be found by following this link: New Manure Management Manual.

PAOneStop

PaOneStop is an online mapping resource that assists farmers in developing Conservation plans.  It should be noted that the new Manure Management Manual requires a map as part of your Manure Management Plan.  You can learn more about PAOneStop here.