The Schuylkill Conservation District held an awards ceremony Aug. 21 at Sweet Arrow County Park. The following were honored for their efforts to conserve the community’s shared natural resources:
Volunteer of the Year: Barbara Ritzheimer gives her time and talents to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary and the Schuylkill County Conservancy. She uses social media to provide information to the public about conservancy events and opportunities for learning. She is a retired Pine Grove School District teacher.
Educator of the Year: Katie Kelly of Schuylkill IU 29 has done much to further environmental education by organizing teacher and student experiences involving hands-on, minds-on environmental education endeavors. She serves as supervisor of STEM and provides support to school districts, especially the Meaningful Watershed Environmental Experiences program.
Professional of the Year: DCNR Service Forester Will Thomas uses his gift for communication to pursue his priorities: the love for trees and stewardship of forests. He takes part in events from the Envirothon to serving on the conservancy’s Woodland Stewardship Committee.
Media Conservation Award: Republican Herald reporter Ron Devlin is being recognized for his many years of relating important stories to his readers.
Forest Stewardship Award: The Woodland Stewardship Committee of the Schuylkill County Conservancy connects and organizes landowners to help centralize valuable resources, communicates information with other landowners and demonstrates hands-on land management skills.
Conservation Organization of the Year: Penn State Master Gardeners-Schuylkill County operates a plant telephone hotline and participates in the Lakefront Festival at Sweet Arrow Lake. The group serves the community with any issues pertaining to the health of plants, gardens and landscapes.
Conservation Service Award-Business: LEW Site Construction donated operator and equipment time to prepare portions of the Donaldson Culmbank/Good Spring Creek Floodplain Restoration Project, which is being developed by Frailey Township into a municipal park for future tree plantings. So far more than 10,000 trees and shrubs have been planted on the 8 acres prepared by LEW. The planting is being done by community volunteers and students from Pine Grove and Tri-Valley school districts.
Conservation Service Award-Public: Carol Haldeman is involved in organizations such as Penn State Master Gardeners and the South Schuylkill Garden Club. She plays a key role in Sweet Arrow Lake’s annual tree seedling sale fundraiser and the garden club’s annual plant sale plus its booth at Schuylkill Haven’s Borough Day.
Youth Conservationist of the Year: ACHIEVE is an afterschool program offering opportunities for elementary-age students to go that extra step as they learn much about themselves and their environment. Students have created pollinator gardens and vegetable gardens.
Dr. James S. Shadle Conservation Farm of the Year: Hepler Homestead Farms LLC, owned and operated by brothers Jesse and Josh Hepler, is a 300 dairy animal (100 milking cows) and 600-acre grain/hay farming operation in Eldred Township. The 100% no-till, 100% cover cropped farm has implemented conservation and manure management plans and has been participating in the Conservation Stewardship Program since 2010. The Hepler brothers continue to modernize the farming operation and seek out the best conservation stewardship practices.
Source: Berkshire mont
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