Clarion Conservation District

During October of 2022, the Clarion Conservation District was awarded a grant from the Climate & Rural Systems Partnership project as part of the National Science Foundation Grant #1906774 & #1906368. The grant was used to hold a two-part workshop titled "Gardening for a Changing Climate" in order to educate and equip members of the community with steps they can take to tackle two noticeable climate change issues that we are experiencing in this region; an increase in flooding and a change in our native plant species populations. Participants gathered at C&A Trees in Clarion, PA to learned about rain gardens and planting native plants as ways to combat climate change issues. Cub Scout Pack #51 and participants of the workshop helped the CCD staff improve the CCD public rain garden by planting more native plants and installing plant species labels and wildlife habitats. Cub Scout Pack #51 also helped build and paint the wildlife habitat structures (2 bird boxes, 1 butterfly box, and 1 bee box). Special thanks to our partners who made these workshops possible; the Mercer County Conservation District for facilitating the grant, Teresa Lapinto, owner of C&A Trees, Jim Seidle from EADS Group, Alice Thurau and Paulette Colantonio from the Seneca Rocks Audubon Society, and Amy Jewitt from the Western PA Conservancy/PA Natural Heritage Program. We are so excited to see the rain garden "come to life" this spring and encourage the public to come check it out too! Stay tuned for future rain garden programs.