​News and Hot topics​
** = NEW!
Youth Conservation Camp
Applications are now being accepted for this summer's Youth Conservation Camp!
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For over 40 years, the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (VASWCD) has sponsored a week long summer conservation camp for Virginia high school students (currently enrolled in grades 9-12) on the campus of Virginia Tech. The program brings together about 70 interested students for a week of learning about Virginia’s natural resources from conservation professionals and faculty from Virginia Tech. Most of the instruction is hands-on and outdoors.
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This year, the Youth Conservation Camp will be from
Sunday, July 14 - Saturday, July 20, 2024.
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For an application, please click here! Deadline to submit an application to Prince William Soil & Water Conservation District is May 1, 2024.
Applications can be mailed or dropped off at:
PWSWCD
Attn: YCC 2024
8850 Rixlew Lane
Manassas, VA 20109
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They can also be e-mailed to Kim Lowther at education@pwswcd.org.
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For questions or more information, please contact Kim Lowther at education@pwswcd.org.
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For more information on Youth Conservation Camp, please visit: https://vaswcd.org/conservation-camp/.
College Scholarship
Scholarship Opportunity!
Individual applicants must be Virginia residents and full-time students enrolled in or who have applied to a college freshman level curriculum. Applicants shall document a class ranking in the top 20% of their graduating class or a 3.0 or greater Grade Point Average or appropriate equivalent of individual scholastic achievement. A copy of the applicant’s most recent official school transcript must accompany the application. Applicants shall demonstrate active interest in conservation. Four $2,000 scholarships will be awarded to statewide winners.
For a scholarship application, please click here! Deadline to submit an application is April 17, 2024.
Applications can be mailed or dropped off at:
PWSWCD
Attn: Scholarship
8850 Rixlew Lane
Manassas, VA 20109
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They can also be e-mailed to Kim Lowther at education@pwswcd.org.
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For questions or more information, please contact Kim Lowther at education@pwswcd.org.
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For more information on Youth Conservation Camp, please visit: https://vaswcd.org/student-scholarships/.
The Conservation District Gets A Water Quality Education Outreach Sculpture!
Promoting Clean Water Awareness and Plastic Pollution in PWC Waterways
This recycled piece of art is made from reused materials and debris collected from Prince William County's local waterways and other items that would have gone into our landfills. This sculpture was made by ReUPit.
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Huge thanks to the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia for supporting this project.
For more pictures and videos, click here!
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For a video of the premier of our Water Quality Education Outreach sculpture, go to https://youtu.be/LuPZbjA96Dc.​
Adopt-a-Stream Site Locator
Are you inspired to make a difference in your community? Locate any site (point) on this map or propose any waterway/body close to home and contact waterquality@pwswcd.org for more information.
Together, we can promote clean waterways in Prince William County!
Nutrient Management: An Important Message for Producers
The 2025 Chesapeake Bay cleanup goals are here, and we need every farmer's help! We need documentation of implementation of every nutrient management plan in Prince William County. Here's what you can do to help:
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Work with your nutrient management planner to develop a plan that can be implemented easily
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Keep application and yield records
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Put in place a record-keeping system so you can justify application and yield data.This must include required elements such as dates, field locations, loads, bales, bushels, gallons of manure, tons of litter, etc.
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Share this record-keeping system with your planner.
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Update your plan as changes occur on the farm.
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Be prepared at the end of the growing season to evaluate how well you were able to follow your plan.
If you have questions, please contact your nutrient management planner:
(571) 379-7514​
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You can also call the DCR Warrenton Regional Office at 540-351-1501 or
540-351-1570. For more information, click here.
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Below are some record-keeping sheets to further assist you:
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Nutrient Management Records (All of the records above combined)
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Virginia Agriculture Cost Share (VACS)
​Cost Share funding is available from the District! These funds provide financial assistance for agricultural landowners and operators to implement best management practices on their properties in order to improve soil and water quality. If you have a natural resources concern on your farm, now is the time to talk with district staff about developing a plan to address these concerns! We can provide cost-share funding for practices to help:​
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decrease soil erosion on crop and pasture land
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exclude livestock from waterways
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implement nutrient management plans
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adopt new precision nutrient application technology
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establish tree plantings or vegetated buffers along streams
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plant cover crops
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construct manure storage or chemical storage facilities
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construct feed lots/sacrifice areas
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continue to practice no-till planting
In order to qualify for cost-share, your farm must meet the following:
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Property has/had a water quality concern (e.g. livestock has/had access to a waterway, manure is washing into a waterway, there are no cover crops when main crops aren’t growing)
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Property must have at least 5 consecutive acres
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Property has been in agriculture production for the past 3 years
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Property has produced at least $1,000 worth of agriculture products/year (agriculture products include crops, hay, and livestock, such as cattle, equine, sheep, goats, llamas, alpacas, etc. Horses solely for personal use are not considered as agriculture products.)
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Property is located in Prince William County (if your farm is outside Prince William County, contact your local soil and water conservation district; to find your district, click here.)
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If you feel you have a need to implement these practices on your farm, or have any questions about the cost-share program, please contact us:
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(571) 379-7514
Duane Mohr - duanemohr@pwswcd.org
Nicole Slazinski - nicoleethier@pwswcd.org
Seth Hatfield - sethhatfield@pwswcd.org
Alex Murphy - alexmurphy@pwswcd.org
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Want to learn more? Then go to our cost-share page!
Tax Credit Updates
The state has made some significant changes to the tax-credit program available for the purchase and installation of conservation tillage and precision agriculture equipment and for our cost-share practices.
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For more information on these changes, please watch this video (~38 minutes). If you have any questions, please contact us at 571-379-7514 or e-mail nicoleethier@pwswcd.org. Please note that the Soil and Water Conservation District cannot provide any tax advise, but we can assist you with the program and answer any questions you have on the program.
Market Maker from Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE)
As more and more people want to buy their food fresh and locally, Market Maker is an upcoming way to connect farmers with their customers. Market Maker is an online portal where customers can search for farms, farmer's markets, specific agriculture products, etc. that are near by. Farms can also sign up on the portal so customers can better find them. Market Maker is free for both farmers and customers.
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For more information on Market Maker, go to: https://ext.vt.edu/agriculture/market-maker.html.
Become a Certified Water Quality monitors in Biological Monitoring!
Are you interested in becoming a Certified Water Quality monitors in Biological Monitoring? If so, visit: https://www.iwla.org/water/stream-monitoring/upcoming-water-monitoring-workshops/online-certification to start your online identification training!
Please ensure to fill out this registration form: https://forms.gle/NRir3RFUiX1pDkNK6 so that the Izaak Walton League of America (IWLA) can follow-up on your progress. After your online training, please e-mail Veronica Tangiri to start on Part II: Field Practical Test and complete certification.
Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (VASWCD) Education Videos
Being unable to hold public events at this time, the VASWCD has compiled a YouTube channel for kids and adults containing videos across the state on a wide variety of topics including Agriculture Best Management Practices, Watersheds, Septic Systems, Soils, and more!
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Check out their channel by clicking here!
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Did you know we also have a YouTube channel? Check out our channel by clicking here! (New videos recently added!)
