NACD's Fall 2021 edition of The Resource has arrived! Click the cover above to begin browsing the latest publication.

You'll also read about how conservation districts are continuing to champion locally-led conservation in their communities, including how the East Rio Arriba Soil and Water Conservation District (ERASWCD) is utilizing its youth to achieve conservation goals, and how multiple conservation districts in Central and Eastern Montana are working together to control invasive species.

NACD's 76th Annual Meeting, hosted in partnership with the Association of Florida Conservation Districts, will be held in Orlando, Fla., from Feb. 12-16, 2022, at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista at Disney Springs Resort. The theme for next year's meeting is "Conservation Defined For All," which will be integrated into sessions and activities at the event!

Conference registration is open and includes entry into the Conservation Expo, NACD General and Concurrent Sessions, Monday’s Leadership Lunch and Live Auction, and NACD Training Sessions and Workshops. Tomorrow is the last day that you can take advantage of early bird registration for the discounted price of $470 before the December 15 deadline. Regular registration will be available on Dec. 16 at the full price of $520.

Visit NACD’s Annual Meeting webpage to learn more about scholarships, view the agenda, register and reserve your room.

DONATE TO NCF'S AUCTION

During NACD's Annual Meeting, the National Conservation Foundation (NCF) will host their auction to support Envirothon, the Next Generation Leadership Institute and conservation education programs. The auction will be held in person and virtually on Monday, Feb. 14 at 6:00 p.m.

The NCF Auction is a great opportunity to support conservation and we are accepting donations for the 2022 event now! The deadline for donations is Jan. 7, 2022.

To learn more about donating to the auction, see this webpage or email NACD Director of Education Keith Owen at keith-owen@nacdnet.org.

“Conservation is important no matter who you are or where you’re from. So, we want everyone involved. It’s important to the human race. Everybody has a voice.” – Millie Langley, chair, NCF-Envirothon Operating Committee

Making environmental education accessible to all is a top priority of the NCF-Envirothon program. Through the Diversity Enhancement and Underserved Audience Grant (Diversity Grant) program, NCF-Envirothon brings hands-on, outdoor natural resources education to students in minority and underrepresented groups across the United States and Canada. The National Conservation Foundation (NCF) and the NCF-Envirothon are committed to greater equity and inclusion among student access to and participation in Envirothon. As such, NCF is pleased to continue its partnership with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) in the delivery of our Diversity Grant Program.

The Diversity Grant program is an ongoing initiative to help state Envirothon programs expand student participation from underrepresented groups. Diversity Enhancement projects aim to facilitate environmental education for minorities of all kinds, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, language, culture, religion, mental and physical ability, class, and immigration status. Underserved Audience projects seek to expand the reach of the Envirothon program to students who would not normally have access due to a variety of barriers, including but not limited to socioeconomic status, geographic location, limited educational opportunities, physical or mental disabilities, and learning differences. Projects should provide students with exposure to the Envirothon program and the five areas of Envirothon study: aquatic ecology, forestry, soils and land use, wildlife and current environmental issues.

Applications for $2,000-4,000 are being accepted to support projects that promote the delivery of conservation education and Envirothon in diverse or underserved student populations, including projects that serve urban and/or rural populations. Project initiatives may concentrate on increasing diversity of student participation in a single conservation district or may have a state-wide focus. All state Envirothon programs who are current on their Membership Dues are eligible to apply. Conservation districts are encouraged to work with their local state Envirothon program if they have a project idea.

Past projects have focused on increasing participation by covering travel and/or registration costs that may have prohibited economically disadvantaged schools from participation, outreach and engagement initiatives to reach new audiences, cultural inclusion projects such as the translation of educational materials into languages other than English, accessibility projects to adapt training/testing materials for hearing, visually or mobility impaired students, and more.

See the full RFP online. Applications are due on February 4, 2022, by 11:59 p.m. Eastern.

Learn more about the NCF-Envirothon at www.envirothon.org or by following us social media; Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. 

Learn more and enroll at nacd.mercerindigo.com.

Last week, NACD's executive board and staff were able to gather in Washington, D.C. to discuss the ongoing and future goals of NACD.

The group spent two days collaborating and networking with each other and partners in the District. We were joined virtually by Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Chief Terry Cosby on Monday with an update on upcoming partnership opportunities between NACD and NRCS. On Tuesday, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Ag Advisor Rod Snyder joined to share updates on WOTUS and other EPA efforts.

"The districts have been our partner for a lot of years, and I hope that continues," said Cosby.

The retreat allowed NACD executives and staff to rededicate themselves and their work to serving our members and pushing locally-led conservation efforts across the nation.

The Inland Empire Resource Conservation District (IERCD), in Southern California, has been working with partner organization Huerta del Valle Community Garden (HdV) for over five years to bring opportunities for underserved communities to access local, organic produce at affordable prices.

Thanks to a 2020 joint NACD-NRCS Urban Agriculture Conservation (UAC) grant offered to IERCD, the district was again able to partner with HdV, a non-profit organization that operates five urban farm sites in the Inland Empire.

Through the 2020 UAC grant, IERCD’s second grant through this program, IERCD hired a full-time staff member to develop two new monthly pop-up market opportunities in the communities of San Bernardino and Jurupa Valley to bring locally grown produce to food desert communities, resulting in 38 additional market days with over 700 market visitors.

With support from UC Cooperative Extension, IERCD staff also organized six virtual workshops for farmers and community members focused on food preservation and the Asian Citrus Psyllid, an extremely harmful pest for Southern California citrus.

Lastly, IERCD staff worked with new and beginning farmers affiliated with HdV to support them in completing their Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification to be able to sell their produce to larger markets which often require a GAP certification.

The 2020 UAC grant kicked-off at the beginning of the pandemic, and though it was challenging to restructure some of the project deliverables, the need for underserved communities to access fresh produce became even more vital.

Through the UAC project and other local partnerships, Huerta del Valle was able to provide free or low-cost produce to community members who had lost work or were otherwise impacted by the pandemic. Moving forward the IERCD has secured funding to continue this staff position in partnership with Huerta del Valle to support the further development of the five urban farm sites and continue offering monthly pop-up markets in communities throughout the Inland Empire.

Read more about all grantees through NACD’s Urban Agriculture Conservation Initiative online in our ArcGIS Story Map. 

NACD is excited to announce Rachel Edwards as our new Stewardship and Education Coordinator!

Edwards is based in the Washington, D.C. office and can be reached at rachel-edwards@nacdnet.org.

administrative support to the NACD CEO, Officers, and Executive Board. They will serve as the first point of contact for callers and visitors to the NACD office and will assume primary responsibility for office supplies and

This position will be based in the Washington, D.C. office. To learn more and apply, visit NACD's website. Apply by Friday, Dec. 31 for priority consideration.

During the December Urban and Community (U&C) Conservation webinar, happening this Thursday, Dec. 16, at 4 p.m. Eastern, Claire Lane from Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), Dawn Slack from The Nature Conservancy and Indiana Invasives Initiative, and Stephanie Schuck from Southern Indiana Cooperative Invasives Management (SICIM) will present on their collaborative efforts to manage invasive species in Indiana. Through these collaborative efforts, Hamilton County SWCD and their partners host educational events, manage an invasive species trade-in program, and provide boots-on-the-ground technical assistance to remove invasive species.

Join the district and their partners in this webinar to learn more about their programs and the exciting and positive steps Indiana is taking to address the negative impacts of invasive species on our lands, waters and wildlife.

The Department of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program (REPI) recently released a new resilience primer titled, “Building Resilience to Climate Change Through Off-Base Natural Infrastructure Solutions.”

The primer guides installations and partners through the steps of developing REPI resilience projects and outlines how to pursue REPI funding for natural infrastructure solutions and climate adaptation. The document can be downloaded here.

On Dec. 9, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) announced the availability of $12 million in funding to support historically underserved farmers within the Gulf of Mexico watershed through the Farmer to Farmer grant program. Selected projects will work to increase collaboration among farming communities, while improving water quality, habitat, climate resilience and environmental education through the demonstration of innovative practices on working lands. 

Under this grant program, proposals will carry out project activities using one or more of the following methods: surveys, studies, research, investigation, experimentation, education, training, and/or demonstrations. The request for applications period will end on February 4, 2022.

View the funding opportunity here. View the opportunity on EPA’s Gulf of Mexico webpage here.

Register here for the webinar about this opportunity, which will be held on Thursday, January 6 at 3 p.m. Eastern.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) will host a webinar tomorrow, Wednesday, December 15 from 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Eastern for those interested in learning more about the 2022 Cumberland Plateau Stewardship Fund request for proposals.

A total of up to $4 million is available for 2022 proposals for projects within the greater Cumberland Plateau region that restore and improve shortleaf pine, white oak and other upland oak forests, riparian forests, soil health, water quality, and/or in-stream habitats, and populations of at-risk, listed, and other wildlife species, such as northern bobwhite, prairie warbler, as well as fish, amphibians, and other aquatic species. Full proposals are due Thursday, February 10, 2022 by 11:59 p.m. Eastern. 

Registration is required to attend the webinar.

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