While February may be the shortest month of the year, the days are finally starting to get just a little bit longer.

And we are grateful for all of our partners and members of the public who braved the cold last month to participate in some of our workshops,  supported the SRICD, and continued to be involved in conservation work in and around Kent and Washington counties. We hope you'll continue to work alongside us this month as we kick off another wave opportunities for you to get involved in!

Local Working Group Input Sessions!

We have two (count 'em) TWO more input sessions where you can join the conversation about the natural resource concerns you have in your communities! This is an important step in local conservation work because we need any and all observations of natural resource concerns to help determine where future technical and financial assistance is most needed! We want to hear from anyone who lives in Kent and Washington counties (farmers, private landowners, forest owners, businesses, etc.) so we can best paint the picture of the natural resource priorites you have.

 

Tomorrow from 12:00-1:00 is a virtual session held over microsoft teams for anyone who can't get out to us but still wants to be involved!

Sign up for the February 2nd session by clicking here!

 

At the end of the month is an in-person and final session, held at the South Kingstown Land Trust Barn! It will run from 10:00am-12:00pm

Sign up for the February 28th session by clicking here!

 

Don't know what a local working group is? Here's a brief overview of who they are and the duties they have:

The local working group is a committee made up of agricultural producers, forest land stewards, conservation district officials and other professionals familiar with natural resource issues in the community. The local working group identifies what the natural resource concern priorities are in their communities, set conservation goals/objectives, and identify what is needed to achieve those goals. 

That information is then reviewed by the State Technical Committee, who analyze the information and make recommendations to the USDA for establishing appropiate criteria for conservation activities and programs.

Do you own forest land? Maybe need some Connecticut certified forest practitioner credits? Well good news! This month, the Rhode Island Forest Conservators Organization will be hosting a series of workshops filled with valuable information and guidance from the pros! 

Sign up for the Woodland Owner Workshops here!

It's not always easy to get out and travel in New England, especially this time of year, so SARE is making it easy! Over the course of the next few months, there will be a series of incredible webinars hosted by some of the leading voices in agriculture centered around animal carcass performance! Don't miss out on getting involved!

Sign up for the Tri-State Sare Project Webinar Series here!

Are you looking to learn more about the funding and collaboration opportunities provided by the Regional Conservation Partnership Program?

Happening next month, March 5th from 10:00am-12:00pm at the USDA Service Center Conference Room is an in-person meeting and a chance to be a part of conservation in Rhode Island.

"This workshop aims to raise awareness of funding and collaboration opportunities under the NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) - a program designed to foster innovative partnerships that deliver measurable conservation outcomes"

If you would like to sign up, click here!

This workshop is meant for conservation professionals, Tribal entities, agricultural producers, forestry professionals, educational institutions, and state & local goverment members!

 

 

If you aren't able to make any of our local working group sessions or perhaps you'd like to help us even more nail down natural resource priorities in your communities, we have a survey available on our website for just that!

We want your opinion on any natural resource concerns you've encountered, and also how you feel us, alongside our partners have done to address those concerns so far!

Take the survey here!

We hope you enjoyed this month's newsletter, where we can take a minute to reflect on previous work and look forward to future projects! Be sure to follow our social media on Facebook and Instagram for more frequent updates and our website for new upcoming events!

From everyone at the Southern Rhode Island Conservation District, we thank you for being good stewards of the land and we hope to see you soon.