×

Conservation District holds banquet

Courtesy photo Donna Fisher (right), Blair County Conservation District manager, presents Outstanding Conservation Farmer and Educator Awards to Jim Biddle, Outstanding Conservation Farmer, and Jean Sinal, Outstanding Conservation Educator.

The Blair County Conservation District held its annual banquet on Oct. 19 at the Scotch Valley Grange Hall.

Kara Stultz, alternate to Blair County’s 2017-18 Dairy Princess, served milk punch before dinner and presented a speech related to her experiences with agriculture and the promotion of the dairy industry to the millennial generation.

Unveiling of the new name for the Conservation District Property — NatureWorks Park — was presented to the audience along with the new logo that will be utilized.

The district purchased 15 acres in the Borough of Hollidaysburg at the intersection of Route 36 South and Bedford Street in 2012. Construction of Blair County’s first environmentally specific park will begin in 2018.

NatureWorks Park will include a walking trail, educational signage, demonstration gardens and riparian buffer plantings, a boardwalk over a wetland and a soft access to the Beaverdam Branch of the Juniata River.

The park will also include two pavilions and an amphitheater looking toward Chimney Rocks and over the Exceptional Value Wetlands located on the property.

Honored that evening were numerous senior volunteers serving the district and the community by their monthly water sampling of area streams.

Twelve volunteers, some having as much as 16 years of service, collected monthly water samples at 20 sites and completed macroinvertebrate assessments on 12 Blair County streams.

The volunteers have logged more than 175 hours — equating to a value of $4,500 in stream monitoring service.

The evening ended with the presentation of the 2017 Outstanding Conservation Awards.

This year, the district chose to recognize both a local farmer and educator for awards — both with a strong emphasis of conservation education.

Jim Biddle of Williams-burg was awarded the Outstanding Conservation Farmer Award for his lifelong approach to conservation.

Jean Sinal, a life science teacher with 16 years of experience at Hollidays-burg Area Junior High School, was honored as the 2017 Outstanding Conservation Educator.

To learn more about the Blair County Conservation District and its many programs, visit www

.blairconservationdistrict

.org or visit the district on Facebook.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.39/week.

Subscribe Today