Partnership Welcome & Update |
|
The South Mountain Partnership works best as a network of people and organizations working toward common goals.
Our common goal? Making the future of our region better.
|
|
What's in this Newsletter
SMP News
-South Mountain Science Summit
-Spring Partnership Meeting Registration Open
-SMP Mini-Grant Applications now open
-Take Action Now: Advocate for Growing Greener III
-Sponsor a SMP Event!
-Save the Dates
-Volunteer with SMP!
Partner News & Social Media Roundup
- Top Social Media Posts
-Tending Change on the Michaux
-Chesapeake African American History Mapping Project
-Employment and Funding Opportunities
Trainings, Workshops & Learning Opportunities
-ARPA Webinar
-Chesapeake Bay Webinar
Calendar of Events
|
|
Greetings!
Happy Spring! The vernal (spring) equinox has brought back to us more sunlight and warmth. Blooms and buds, as well as wildlife are literally springing forth again thanks to where spring begins: vernal pools. I hope that you have the ability to frequent a place where there are vernal pools so that you can experience the wildlife and natural areas that can only be found in the South Mountain landscape – that you hear spring peepers, see wriggling salamanders, newts, and fairy shrimp, and touch the new green shoots of native plants. So illustrious are South Mountain’s vernal pools that Jorge Ribas of Discovery Channel filmed this video about them at Kings Gap!
Unlike a lot of wildlife, we did not hibernate this winter. We invested a lot of time and effort into the future of the South Mountain Partnership:
- Leadership Committee members and staff met for a creekside planning retreat in December, where we penned the 2022-2025 strategic plan.
-
Committee member training activities kicked-off. Our commitment to the professional development of our committee members led us to secure a highly customized and free three-part training with The Institute of Conservation Leadership. Read more here.
|
|
SOUTH MOUNTAIN PARTNERSHIP NEWS |
|
South Mountain Science Summit April 29, 2022 |
|
Registration for the 2022 South Mountain Science Summit has been brisk, with South Mountain Landscape partners, land managers, landowners and university programs all represented. The biennial summit will be held on Friday, April 29th at Big Hill Ciderworks (338 Georgetown Road, Gardners, PA 17324). The summit program features presentations of important research conducted here in the South Mountain Landscape and will help define regional research priorities for the next grant cycle. The summit is the best regional opportunity for students, faculty, land managers, planners and land use professionals to meet, network, and envision the future of science and research in South Mountain country.
The program will include a welcome from DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams-Dunn and will feature a full afternoon of presentations and discussions on a variety of important environmental, geoscience, and historical/archaeological topics. Following the presentations, a cash reception will be held in the Cidery’s tasting room, with delicious wood fired pizza available from Artisan Pizza and live music from South Mountain’s own The Flying Matlocks.
|
|
|
|
Registration for the summit is free, but capped at 150 attendees. |
|
Registration Open for Spring Partnership Meeting May 13, 2022 |
|
Friday May 13, 2022
9:00 am to 11:30 am
Lakeview Pavilion, Gifford Pinchot State Park
Registration is limited, register today!
Twice annually, the Partnership holds a Partnership-wide meeting for all partners and any interested individuals or organizations to come together and build relationships and collaborations around the promotion and preservation of our region’s landscape resources. This Spring our meeting is being hosted by our partners in York County and will feature a spotlight on some of the great work happening across the county.
|
|
SMP Mini-Grant Pre-Applications Open April 4th |
|
The South Mountain Partnership’s Mini-Grant Program is intended to catalyze on-the-ground projects that further the goals of the Partnership, and to advance the capacity of partners to complete projects throughout the region. The Program provides funding, on a competitive basis, to projects that sustain the South Mountain landscape’s sense of place by protecting and promoting the region’s Landscape Resources.
The pre-application stage opens on April 4, 2022. New this year we are moving to a digital application process. Pre-applications are due May 27, 2022.
|
|
Take Action Now:
Advocate for Growing Greener III
|
|
|
|
The Growing Greener Coalition is asking for your help to advocate for the allocation of a portion of Pennsylvania's remaining $2.7 billion in federal American Rescue Plan funds for natural infrastructure, conservation, and recreation.
This funding is critical to support conservation in our region. This funding could activate farmland preservation, funding for parks and recreation projects, water conservation work, and so much more. Did you know SMP is funded through the Environmental Stewardship Fund?
You can assist in this effort by reaching out to your state senator and representative today, as well as spreading this message through your network. We've gathered resources and sample messages so you can act in as little as 5 minutes!
|
|
Sponsor a SMP Event or Newsletter in 2022 |
|
Sponsoring a South Mountain Partnership event or newsletter offers great exposure for you, while supporting quality content and learning opportunities for our partners. In 2021, our events reached over 380 participants in four counties (and beyond) and newsletter and social media have a reach of approximately 2,000.
The Friends of the South Mountain Partnership is a Program of The Foundation for Enhancing Communities, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and your investment is always tax deductible. Our sponsor opportunities offer a variety of packages or we would be happy to work on a custom solution for you! Please feel free to contact Katie with questions or additional customizations at 717-609-4581 or via email at khess@appalachiantrail.org
|
|
|
Mark Your Calendars for SMP Events |
|
Now Recruiting Volunteers, Committee Members |
|
We are recruiting new committee members and volunteers! This opportunity is especially great for young professionals, those wishing to build their resumes and professional networks, and retired individuals. If you strive to be a good communicator and a “doer” who takes action and gets things done, you may be a great fit!
|
|
Most Popular Social Media Posts |
|
The following are some of the most popular social media news posts,
followed by partner-submitted news that you should know about.
Follow us for the latest news, upcoming events, and more!
|
|
Tending Change on the Michaux: Who’s the Habitat For? |
|
"Most people equate forestry with timber management and logging operations. Indeed, that is the most obvious work we do on the Michaux. Because it yields economically valuable timber products and is frequently done through commercial harvesting contracts; many assume this part of our tending work is being driven strictly by economic demands.
It isn’t. Sometimes what’s most obvious disguises what’s most important. Commercial timber management is one tool we use to tend Michaux habitats for forest dependent wildlife species.
Michaux is an anomaly within the state forest system because it represents over 90% of remaining forest habitat within the South Mountain eco-region. Eco-regions are delineated based on their underlying geology, which in turn shapes landscape and watershed ecology. So the Michaux is uniquely responsible for species such as the ruffed grouse and eastern brook trout who have been part of the South Mountain story for millennia. We don’t want their populations to decline or disappear under our watch. Since our eco-regional habitat conditions at the tip of the Blue Ridge mountain range are unique, the genetic diversity represented in our grouse and brook trout populations are also unique; and a critical biological asset to ensuring the future adaptability of the species. Early successional species like grouse need dense young forest growth on the landscape. Healthy streams require diverse an abundant insect diversity on the landscape, also better supported with a mosaic of young and old forest types at the watershed level. Some biologists call Ruffed grouse feathered brook trout, given how both species are best sustained by diverse forest types and age classes at the watershed level.
|
|
Submit Your History! Chesapeake African American History Mapping Project |
|
The Chesapeake Mapping Initiative aims to ensure that places important to African American heritage are better represented in historic preservation and land conservation in the Chesapeake Bay Region. In this current effort, they are focused on southcentral Pennsylvania (Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Fulton, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry, and York counties). They are utilizing crowdsourcing tools to allow members of the African American community and local researchers to place points on an interactive map and share information about a property or story that is important to African American history in Pennsylvania.
More information about the project’s goals and links to participate are found at the project website: https://www.chesapeakemappingpa.com/ or you can attend one of the county level conversations here: www.chesapeakemappingpa.com/virtual-public-meetings
|
|
Employment and Funding Opportunities |
|
Strawberry Hill is a non-profit organization whose mission is to inspire stewardship of our natural world by connecting the community with environmental educational opportunities. To achieve this mission, Strawberry Hill delivers educational programming to school-aged children, provides experiential learning for adults and families, collaborates with regional partners to host engaging lectures, programs, and workshops, and hosts community events with a focus on environmental education. They are hiring for several positions:
• Naturalist Educator (P/T)
• Seasonal Environmental Educator
• Office Manager (P/T)
|
|
DCNR Now Accepting Applications for 2022 Community Conservation Partnerships Program Grants: Deadline April 6th! |
|
- Planning, acquisition, development, and rehabilitation of public parks
- Trail planning and construction
- River conservation and access
- Land acquisition and conservation
- Streamside tree planting
- Regional and statewide partnerships
|
|
Trainings, Workshops & Learning Opportunities |
|
April 20 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) offers a historic opportunity for counties and local municipalities to invest in local projects, programs and organizations. This webinar will explain why and how you can find funding for historic preservation and economic redevelopment projects in your community.
|
April 21 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
How are localities leveraging conservation, open space and parks funding to maximize economic development, environmental stewardship, and quality of life? This webinar will explore the policies and opportunities that support conservation, recreation and open space at the local level.
|
|
April 13 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
The Watershed Alliance of Adams County will hold its annual meeting as an in-person event at the Adams County Agricultural and Natural Resources Center (670 Old Harrisburg Rd., Gettysburg) on Wednesday, April 13, from 7 to 8 p.m.
Members and anyone interested in learning about watershed protection in Adams County are invited to attend.
April 16 @ 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Lend a hand to clean up the trails at Camp Michaux.
Michaux State Forest personnel have cut down some trees that were in danger of falling and others that were already down. A lot of brush from that effort needs to be cleaned up as well as some other smaller downed trees that have fallen across trails. We’ll be able to use saws, rakes, shovels, loppers, hedge trimmers. If you have a chain saw, there are places one or more of those would be useful.
April 23 @ 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Learning to view the landscape during the “off-season” and using tools for identifying paddock size will compliment discussion about small ruminant grazing during a pasture walk for small ruminant graziers hosted by Capital RC&D at the farm of Eli and Mackenzie Strawser of Top Line Meats, in Carlisle, PA.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
