The New York State Envirothon program is ready to host more than 500 students, coaches, mentors, guests, and volunteers for the 2024 National Conservation Foundation (NCF)-Envirothon annual competition, an international environmental and natural resources academic competition for high school students, from July 28 to August 3, 2024. The New York State Envirothon is a program of the Environmental Education Foundation of Soil and Water Conservation in New York State, a registered charity and non-profit organization.

This year’s competition will be housed at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York. Students will be focused on the current issue topic of “Renewable Energy for a Sustainable Future.” During the event, students will learn about the different sources of renewable energy; the challenges facing transitioning from traditional fossil fuels to renewables; the environmental, economic, and social impacts of energy consumption; and how individuals can affect change in their communities. 

This year’s event will kick off with an opening ceremony on Sunday, July 28 at 7:30 p.m. ET, including keynote speaker Scott Jordan, a former teacher and Envirothon advisor, followed by a trading session and social. The week’s events will conclude on Friday, August 2, including the announcement of the top placing teams at the banquet and awards ceremony. This year, the top three team announcements and oral presentations will be live-streamed on YouTube.

New York residents, there are still opportunities to volunteer to support the NCF-Envirothon 2024 Competition! Fill out this form if you are interested in volunteering your time.

The NCF-Envirothon team looks forward to meeting the students, teachers, guests, and volunteers attending this year’s competition! Find more information on the NCF-Envirothon website.

DU & WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE RELEASE NEW MARKETING TOOLKIT FOR HIP REGISTRATION

Ahead of the upcoming migratory bird hunting seasons, NACD partner Ducks Unlimited, together with the Wildlife Management Institute, has launched a Harvest Information Program (HIP) Marketing Toolkit to help state agencies and organizations involved in migratory bird conservation improve the data collected by HIP.

Whether it’s called HIP, or a Migratory Bird Hunting Permit or Stamp in your state, all states nationwide require migratory bird hunters to register with HIP, either online, or through their state’s hunting license vendor. By registering, hunters help protect game by providing information used for setting hunting seasons and bag limits, ensuring that migratory bird populations are managed sustainably for future generations.

The HIP Marketing Toolkit contains resources, strategies, and tactics state agencies and partners, like conservation districts, can use to communicate the importance of HIP registration to migratory bird hunters. Check it out and help encourage migratory bird hunters to “Protect the game, don’t skip HIP.”

WHAT'S UP IN WASHINGTON?GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS UPDATE

NACD joined more than 500 national and local organizations in sending a letter to congressional leaders urging passage of a farm bill this year.

The full House of Representatives is no longer scheduled to vote this week on a committee-passed appropriations bill to fund USDA in Fiscal Year 2025. The bill would decrease funding for several NACD appropriations priorities. The Senate version of the bill would increase funding for NACD requests, including NRCS Conservation Operations.

Events this week include:

July 25 at 8:30 a.m. ET – House Agriculture subcommittee hearing on reauthorization of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission

July 25 at 8:30 a.m. ET – USDA releases Weekly Export Sales report

CAMPBELL COUNTY CD DEVELOPS SOIL TRAILER WITH FRIENDS OF NACD GRANT

In 2023, the Campbell County Conservation District (CD) designed and developed a mobile educational “Soil Trailer.” The trailer was created to provide local youth and adult audiences with a creative, engaging, and inclusive way to learn about the importance of soil health. Filled with geographically relevant educational content, the Soil Trailer showcases the types of fossils, life, and environmental impacts that local soils and ecosystems feature. 

In the Campbell County CD Soil Trailer’s debut, approximately 675 students were educated on root system functionality while exploring the trailer’s interactive soil profile wall, prairie dog tunnel, and root length diagram. One teacher supporting the event reported that, “the Soil Trailer was a popular topic among students,” and recognized it as a “phenomenal tool for teaching kids about soil.”

The Campbell County CD anticipates continued expansion of its outreach and education programs as it explores options for capacity building to support this important work. In reaching the local youth of Campbell County, the district is playing a significant role in educating and developing the next generation of conservation leaders. This project continues to enhance the district’s ability to educate local community members on the important soil resources we all rely on.

Read more about the project in this blog post. 

The Friends of NACD District Grants Program is a grassroots-funded program designed by conservation districts to conduct new activities and/or test novel approaches to their operations. Stay tuned for the 2025 Friends of NACD District Grants Program opportunity, to be released this fall. Learn more about current and past projects on the Friends of NACD website. 

Please consider becoming a Friend of NACD to help provide more grant opportunities like this to districts throughout the NACD network.