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Saving Farms. Protecting Water. Building a Voice: Lancaster Farmland Trust · Clean Water Conversations

• 0:10
  SPEAKER_02: Hello everyone and welcome to Clean Water Conversations, a podcast where we have casual discussions about creating clean and clear waterways right here in Lancaster County.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_02: I'm Ken.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, everybody.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's Allison.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_02: Allison, we are at the start of season six.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Let's have some fun with them.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_02: That's right.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_02: There was, we just got back from our little summer vacation.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_02: Well, that's summer, like our time off, you know.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: And there's too many things that we get to talk about this.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_02: Holy smokes, there was a lot.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_02: There was a lot of exciting things that happened.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_02: Our hundred partner celebration.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um, which was, of course, predicated by Elizabeth Township becoming our hundredth partner.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_02: As of right now, we are at 112 partners.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_02: So exciting stuff.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_02: Keep going.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_02: We did green drinks.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for everybody who came out to learn about the podcast and hear specifically about clean water conversations at Green Drinks.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_02: And um the July storms, we had uh just like last year, we had some big heavy storms in July.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_02: And I talked to uh several managers of different projects, and every single one of them reported that those projects, be them wetlands or stream restorations or what have you, operated exactly as they were designed.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: That's amazing.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_02: So that's really some really, really cool stuff.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_02: And congratulations to those folks.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_02: And then, of course, in June, the last thing you you would have heard from us was about water week.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_02: It was the 10th anniversary.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_02: And it was also the River of the Year, the Conestoga's River of the Year was officially presented.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that announcement was so big.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: And what an amazing way to celebrate um the work that has been happening and all of the momentum around the Conestoga.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_02: It's absolutely amazing.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_02: It's absolutely amazing.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_02: And the end of last season, speaking of which, the last thing, the very last thing you would have heard was our trivia to you folks.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_02: And I have the answers.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_02: The first question was what in the history of television was the biggest watched series that had a season finale that was not a series finale.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_02: Very specific.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, yes.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_02: So that so the show was not ending, it was just the end of the season.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_02: What was the one that had the most people watching?
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_02: And the answer to that was Dallas in November 1980.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, the episode was Who Done It?
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_02: Of course, most people are going to know that as Who Shot JR.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_02: Right, right.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_02: And then, of course, we did the, I think the easier one of the two, which was which one it was a the highest rated season finale that was also a series finale, meaning the show was coming to an end.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_02: And that, of course, was MASH Goodbye, farewell, and amen from February of 1983.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_02: Jeez.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Reminder, these things are tied to the fact that it was our season finale at the end of the spring.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: This is not any indication that we are ending the podcast.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: This is not any indication we are living in the 1980s, but it is just to emphasize the fact that we have these seasons and it's a great way to break things up.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks again for finding some fun with that.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_02: We had a lot of things that happened already, and there's some things coming up.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: The MS Forum is coming up in October, October the 5th.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: So definitely sign up now because spots are going to go quickly.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: There's still a field component.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to a buffer at Overlook Community Park.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: It'll be a it'll be a great day.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_02: And there's also opportunities for sponsorships there as well.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, yes, please.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_02: Mm-hmm.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_02: And um we have a uh leadership academy.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, there's a deadline for application of September 7th.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: Watershed Leadership Academy 2027 cohort started.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: We've got the kickoff in November, so we got to get you on that list.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_02: Exciting stuff.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_02: And it was so worth every second of it.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_02: It was, I learned so much, and it was and it was so much fun to vote.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, it was very cool.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we've already got a great list of applicants.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: So definitely get your name on there.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_02: And we also have some cap funding.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_02: Not gonna catch me.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_02: County wide action plan cap funding.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um, if you have a project that you would like uh funded, uh the application deadline for that one is August 31st, that is, on a Monday.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Shout out to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for the CAP implementation dollars.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: Very nice.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: Very nicely done.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: Starting the season off right.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_02: There you go.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, and speaking of starting off the season, what are we talking about this season?
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: This season, we have got a focus of collective advocacy.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: We use our common agenda and pick one of the priorities for each of our seasons.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: So, collective advocacy, I think your brain could go all kinds of ways when you hear that term.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: But we really are focused on a powerful voice for the community.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: We're diving deep into the world of advocacy, not only as a political tool, but as a collaborative force for progress.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Because really, it it is an engine.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: It is a tool that drives federal, state, and local policies towards a common goal.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: We're doing that with all our work, clean and clear by 2040.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: So this season, we're exploring advocacy at every level and volume, recognizing the loudest is not always the most powerful voice.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: So we're gonna have a lot of guests that are gonna talk about ways that they identify and prioritize things for collective advocacy, building relationships.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: That's such a key part of this, and no matter what kind of advocacy you're doing.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna communicate and educate.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: That's kind of what we do on this podcast.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: And we're gonna equip and empower people to use these tools because taking action is a the main goal of all of this.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: So being an advocate, it takes a different kind of skill set sometimes, but also just an awareness of what what can I do?
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: What is the issue so that I can take action?
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a big reason why it matters, and that's what you guys as listeners are here to find out.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_02: And you talked about our guests, the very first one of this season.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_02: He is the president and chief executive officer of Lancaster Farmland Trust and a member of our board of trustees for Lancashire Clean Water Partners.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_02: He is Jeff Sweinhart.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: Jeff Sweinhart has been a big part of this collaborative effort for Clean Water for a long time.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: We really appreciate his leadership.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: And we're gonna give him a pass and say LFT is the Lancaster Farmland Trust.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: So, Ken, you can't buzz him.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_02: I will not.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: At least not for that.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_02: There you go.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_02: Let's go.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: What is it like for your landowners at this point?
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'm thinking of pre-harvest season.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: Does it change how you guys work with them at all?
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I mean, I would say some what we're sensitive.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_03: You know, if you start hitting middle, end of August, and end of September, it can be a little difficult to find people who have time.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: Availability next to me.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_03: So so yeah, I mean, we adjust accordingly.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_03: Flexibility.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_02: Well, let's start things off with an icebreaker.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_02: Your question is what was a moment in your life when you could have chosen a different path?
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, good question.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_03: Before I landed at LFT.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know, fresh undergraduate, out of college, looking for employment.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I essentially had two opportunities.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_03: One was at LFT, the other was working for essentially an engineering firm in York that would have been doing surveying work.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_03: So still sort of in the outside environment realm.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_03: But you know, I really didn't have an appetite to travel to York.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that river boundary.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_03: And just, you know, my experience in agriculture up until that point, you know, had an appreciation for it, and LFT seemed like the right fit.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, that was definitely a fork in the road where if I would have chosen the other path, I probably would have never been engaged in farmland preservation and water quality work, or at least not at the level that certainly I'm engaged at in it now.
• 7:57
  unknown: Yeah.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_02: And talking about that, I mean you grew up in Lancaster County.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_02: You worked on your family dairy farm.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_03: Not family dairy farm.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_03: So I did I I did not grow up on a farm, but I grew up in Holtwood and right on Tuckwan Glen Road, so the Tuckon Creek was my playground as a kid.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_03: And if you know the southern end in the river hills, I mean, it's pretty rural.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_03: And all of my parents' friends essentially were farmers.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_03: So I spent a lot of time on farms.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_03: But I always think it's a little sort of ironic, you know, the work that I'm doing now, because on my mother's side, my great-grandfather owned about seven or eight farms outside of the Quarryville area.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_03: So my mom grew up on the farm and having that experience.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_03: And when he passed away, he left all those assets to would have been a great uncle of mine, who unfortunately was the worst business decision maker on the planet.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, wow.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_03: And some of those farms were then since developed along, like if you know, White Oak Road, some of that development along White Oak Road.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_03: But ironically, here, just about two or three years ago, we ended up preserving a piece of the home farm that my mother grew up on.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_03: So as I reflect upon that, I think it's sort of ironic how it's come full circle that there was a strong agricultural presence.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_03: Unfortunately, some of those farms, you know, got converted into other uses, but now some of them are preserved.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_03: And so I just always sort of look at that and find it interesting in a family history perspective.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_03: But then I did work on a dairy farm.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_03: So when I was, I don't know, 12, 13, I was bugging my parents.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_03: I wanted to get a job.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_03: And then my grandmother owned about 30 acres south of the buck.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_03: And that's where my dad really grew up most of his childhood.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_03: And she was renting her land out to the neighboring dairy farmer.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_03: So my dad said, Me, well, let's go talk to Bob Kaufman, maybe see if he needs some help.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: That's Metro Chores.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_03: And he looked at me and he goes, Well, we'll give you a try.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_03: Oh man.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_03: So then that turned into all through, you know, then last parts of middle school, all through high school, first couple of years in the college until he he had three daughters, and nobody was really interested in taking over the farm, so he sold the herd at that point.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_03: So but that's really where I got my experience and appreciation for agriculture and understanding the challenges that farmers deal with and the hard work, the blood, sweat, and tears that they put into caring for animals and caring for the land.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_03: And 24-7, it never stops, and certainly is a character-building process of experience.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_02: There is no quicker way, I've always said, than to learn what real work is than to go work on a farm, especially when you're young.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I always tell people I think like every young individual should have to spend a day in the top of a hay mount in the middle of August.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_03: Because if anything, it'll build character and gain an appreciation for farmers and not take it for granted.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron Powell I will add that to the list of you should work in retail, a restaurant, and apparently the top of the hay pile.
• 11:00
  unknown: Yes.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_02: In the middle of August.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_02: In the middle of August, yes.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_02: Now this season we are talking about collective advocacy.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_02: Now when you hear the phrase collective advocacy, uh what what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I would say the first thing that comes to my mind is sort of the power of the collective, the group, the individuals, the organizations.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_03: And I think in the realm of advocacy, it's you know, how do all of those entities formulate what is the common threat or common message and carry that throughout the community?
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_03: And whether that's to individuals who might be directly engaged with their organization, or to you know, local elected officials or policymakers, or even just when they're sitting with a group of family and friends and talking about the issues.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_03: That's what I really define as collective advocacy.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_03: Just everyone coming into an agreement that the core message is consistent and the same and everybody's carrying that forward.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: Are there ways that you found that LFT leans into that, but then also looking ahead, are there opportunities that you see that are the right fit, the best opportunity for LFT to achieve those goals with advocacy in mind?
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I would say to date and historically we probably have not leaned into our donor base or individuals passionate about the movement of farmland preservation and water quality work to the extent that we could have.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_03: And I would just say it's not always top of mind.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_03: And people get consumed with other responsibilities and other tasks and other metrics that you have to meet.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_03: And for us, it's how many farms are we preserving, how many acres are we preserving now?
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_03: It's you know, how many water quality projects are we doing?
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_03: And you sort of you can easily lose sight of the importance of that advocacy work.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_03: But looking ahead, you know, as we look to the future of LFT and what we have on the horizon, this concept of a community farm is, I think, a really good platform for that advocacy component.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_02: Aaron Powell For anybody listening who's not familiar, can you tell us more about the community farm?
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_03: So what we envision there is a space that will operate really as a community gathering opportunity.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_03: So if you think about youth in our communities, especially related to steel standards now with science, technology, engineering, environmental literacy, and sustainability.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_03: Now a real focus in schools.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_03: We we envision this community farm as a platform to offer those opportunities, or at least some components of those opportunities.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_03: Um I should also mention this farm is adjacent to the Blue Green Connector project.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_03: So there's that connection that can be made there in terms of an educational standpoint.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: So just public access from all different kinds.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_03: That's cool.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_03: So I think like that's one aspect.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_03: We've also been engaging with a lot of other community-based organizations and what their needs are, and finding that there's real opportunities in that regard.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_03: So like Church World Services, as an example, working with immigrants that land in Lancaster, what I have found is a lot of those immigrants have an agrarian background.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_03: They have no access to land in Lancaster.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_03: Trevor Burrus, Jr.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_02: So they would be part of the people that are farming it?
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_03: Well, you know, potentially we have space there where they could grow things that feel like home.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_03: And then I don't know, maybe there's some small business incubator that comes out of that.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_03: They start supplying local restaurants or whatever the case might be.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_03: I just had a conversation with an individual who said, well, location is close to the health campus.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_03: Like, could you have people who are recovering from surgery or have some health condition?
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_03: And could there be like raised garden beds and they could care for plants and vegetables and have that outside experience?
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_03: And I went, you know what?
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_03: I didn't think about that, but that's pretty darn good.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_03: I like that.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_03: So and then you think about like 4-H and FFA kids.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I live in Manhattan Township in a housing development.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_03: And if there's some 12-year-old in my neighborhood that wants to raise a sheep to show at the Land Feater Fair, they can't, they're not raising a sheep in Manhattan Township, right?
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_03: Potentially we have space where they could raise that animal there and care for it.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_03: So and then when you think about some of that programming, just like new beginning farmer mentorship opportunities.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_03: You think about youth development leadership skills, counselors over some of these programs, you know, summer camps, that sort of sort of piece of it.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know, we think there's lots of opportunities there.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_03: And then also it's a space where LFT where we could hold some events, fundraising events, things of that nature.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_03: It provides that opportunity to really make that connection about agriculture, how it impacts you on a daily basis.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_03: And then again, connecting why permanent preserving farmland is important.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_02: So and that goes back to the beginning of this conversation, how there's fewer and fewer people that have had exposure to farms.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_03: As a society, we have been so removed from agriculture that I think people lose the appreciation for it, they lose the understanding of it, they lose the components of it that that contribute to their quality of life.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_03: And for a lot of people, I think they just take it for granted.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_03: We take it for granted, we show up at a grocery store, there's going to be food on the shelves and all these sort of things.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_03: And obviously, during COVID, we had experiences where that wasn't the case.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_03: But I think it's also a matter of over time, we have moved away from agriculture.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_03: And as I go out and talk with groups and I ask the question, who lives on a farm, who grew up on a farm, you know, whose grandparents had a farm, there's fewer and fewer hands that go up.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_03: And and in some cases, experience where people have never stepped foot on a farm.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_03: And in a place like Lancaster County, where agriculture is all around us, there's something that's that's significantly wrong with that.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_03: Like we have this tremendous natural resource and this infrastructure to support it, and all these families who are working the land and and how it contributes to our quality of life as Lancastrians.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_03: And we really feel this community farm concept is going to provide a space for the average person out there that has no connection to farming, has never been on a farm, to actually come and learn about agriculture, learn about the importance of the work that farmers are doing by implementing best management practices on their farms to help with local water quality.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_03: And then from our perspective, then really making that connection with why permanently protecting farmland is important.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_03: I think that's really important for the overall movement of farmland preservation moving forward.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_03: I have come to this realization over the last handful of years.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_03: We've done a great job in Langster County in terms of preserving farmland, lead the nation in farmland preservation.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_03: That's wonderful.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_03: We've been doing it for 40 years now.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_03: And I get this sense of complacency in the community around that particular issue.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_03: You can ask people, do you support farmland preservation?
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, let's save, save all the farms.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_03: And people voice it, but are people really taking action around it?
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_03: And I think that's where that advocacy part comes into it.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_03: It's easy to say, yeah, I support farmland preservation.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_03: It's the next step to actually do something about it.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_03: And whether that's reaching out, stressing that importance to your local supervisors in terms of land use policies or reaching out to county commissioners and expressing why farmland preservation is important and those sort of components, or people just being more active in terms of sourcing food directly from the farmer down the street as an example.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_03: And I think if we want to continue to preserve farmland at a reasonable pace in Lancaster County, we need to re-elevate that conversation in the community.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_03: And I think the community as a collective needs to be a stronger voice of why it's important and that it's going to take resources.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_03: And as a community, we think this is a good use of public resources to do this.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_02: Now LFT has preserved over 38,000 acres.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_02: Obviously, there's some help with from landowners, for example, but who what other kind of organizations have helped you along the way?
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_03: Obviously, farmers are relying on various service providers for needs and goods and professional guidance, those sort of things.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_03: So when you think about the lenders that are in the community that help spread awareness about farmland preservation or answer questions.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_03: And at LFT, we typically have individuals on our board from the lending institutions, not all of them, but you know, good representation, so that they know what the current state of farmland preservation is, those sort of things.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_03: Those bing key partners, I would say some of the service providers that are out working with farmers on a day-to-day basis, like the individuals that sends an Ig's feed mill as an example.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_03: They're out talking with a lot of Amish farmers.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_03: And in my experience, I find farmers rely on those trusted individuals and resources that they have to really seek a lot of input and guidance related to whatever the particular issue is.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_03: But we we often hear from those individuals, oh, you know, I was talking with this farmer and he was asking about how the program works or something like that.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_03: So those have been like real key assets in terms of, you know, again, spreading awareness and eliminating some of the barriers that individuals have.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_03: But but I always like to say when you think about farmland preservation, especially our work at Langster Farmland Trust, when we're preserving farmland at 35 cents on the dollar of what it's actually worth, these families are making a significant sacrifice, potential windfall of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_03: And I just find that first, that's really remarkable that if I'm at least willing to make that sacrifice and their commitment to the land to have it be permanently protected and always available for agricultural use.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_03: And then on the flip side of that, you know, I look at the individuals or donors who are deciding to take their own resources and investment organization that has that mission.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_03: And I always like to acknowledge that it's those two parties that really are the magic of it happening.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_03: LFT is just becomes the mechanism to come to reality, but without the desire and the passion of farmers who want to protect their land, and without the desire and passion of individuals who are willing to commit their resources to it, it doesn't work, right?
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_03: It just doesn't work.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: With all of those types of trusted advisors, both for LFT and then the farmers that you're working with, where's the pushback?
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like who says no when you ask that question of who supports farmland preservation?
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_03: Aaron Powell Yeah, there are some opinions out there when it comes to farmland preservation that it's infringing on private property rights.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_03: And and I would say that comes from a framework of well, you're You're taking something away from a future generation, right?
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_03: You preserve this farm, you're taking away the ability for a future generation to develop it as an example.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_00: To make that decision.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_03: It's two sides of the same coin, right?
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_03: So if somebody develops the farm today, you're taking away the ability for a future generation to be able to farm.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_03: But so that property rights aspect come in there.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_03: But you know, the reality is how we work, when when you are when your name is on the deed to a property, you hold all those rights.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_03: And it's your decision to make at that point in time.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_03: So I would say there's some of those naysayers out there from the property rights aspect.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_03: Some people are concerned just with the long-term viability of agriculture.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_03: And is it still going to be an industry that thrives in Lancaster County?
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, you think about all the infrastructure and the industry that's there that's to support farmers and hearing from farmers of other regions, New England or wherever, where that infrastructure has disappeared because they've lost so much farmland.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know, I don't think that's a really, in my opinion, a really good argument.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_03: I think agriculture will remain in Lancaster for a long period of time.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_03: So and then some of it's just confusion.
• 23:19
  unknown: Right.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_03: It's just confusion.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_03: It's people get together, they start talking about, well, I heard about this farmer and he couldn't do X, Y, or Z.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_03: And people translate, well, then that means I can't do X, Y, or Z.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_03: So and especially in Lancaster, where you have the work of Lancaster Farmland Trust, and then you also have the work of the Lancaster County Ag Preserve Board.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, at the end of the day, the result is a farm gets preserved, but the restrictive covenant, being a conservation easement that's subject to that property, can have a lot of different variations to it and nuances to it.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_03: So you can't take just sort of a cookie-cutter approach and say restrictions on this farm is going to be the same restrictions on that farm.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_03: Especially within LFT's portfolio.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_03: One of the reasons why a lot of members of the playing community like to work with us is we can offer a bit more flexibility.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_03: You as a landowner can negotiate the terms of that ease a bit.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_03: Whereas the county's program, authorized under the state program, is fairly rigid.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_03: You as a landowner really don't get to influence a lot of those restrictions.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_03: So confusion can also be a barrier to overcome.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: I have so many more questions about advocating for funding or changes to conservation easements, or like you said, the forward opportunities, like I want to hear more about the community farm.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_00: I want to hear about what solar means to you guys.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: There's so many things that require that collective voice.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm curious about the landowners.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_02: And you said, you know, they have different views of farm preservation.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_02: In what way does the relationship you form with those landowners maybe affect those decisions or or the education thereof?
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_03: I think it's one of the reasons there's trust in Langster Farmland Trust.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_03: Our former chair of our board, who m probably many listeners already know John Cox was a chairman of the Langster Farmland Trust board at one point in time in an interview.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_03: And John has attended settlements where a family has signed the conservation permanent preserving it.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_03: And I think in his words, he said, you can see in their eyes that they're indicating I'm trusting you, Langster Farmland Trust, to uphold my intentions that this will always be a farm.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, that's a powerful statement by a landowner to make.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_03: And it comes with a significant burden for Langster Farmland Trust.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, it's you have these people who are willing to make that level of a commitment, and they are putting their trust in you as the organization to uphold their intentions and their desires, regardless of who owns that farm.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_03: So I mean it's humbling from that perspective.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_03: But again, you know, I think just really speaks to the power and the land ethic that we have here in Lancaster and the commitments that families have to their farms.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: It sounds like they can be your best advocates as well.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_00: Trevor Burrus To neighbors, to other lawyers.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_03: And you think about advocacy, we have found, especially as we have leaned into more of the clean water work, working with farmers' own management practices.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_03: You know, we often hear from farmers that if it wasn't for the relationship that they had with Lancaster Farmland Trust, they would not be in a position to make those improvements to their farms.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_03: And as they carry that message out to their neighbors when they're at church or whatever, they're helping to spread that message of one, the importance of the clean water work, but also the importance of farmland preservation, and I think provide some credibility to Langster Farmland Trust.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_03: And we have certainly realized in terms of our clean water work that has led to then landowners also preserving their farms along with both directions.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_00: Tell us more about that conservation work, the clean water efforts that you guys have done, because it's really changed over the last couple of years.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: And you all have been committed to this for a while and for different reasons.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: Describe it for us.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it has really grown for us significantly.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_03: And I would say, even if you just look back a handful of years, six, seven years, something like that, there was a point in time where it was it was somewhat of a struggle.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_03: It was how do you get farmers to yes, you know, a piece of it.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_03: And people were cautious and suspect.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_03: And if I take these funds, does that give government greater reach over my farm and things of that nature?
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_03: And I think as the movement has progressed and farmers have seen others in their communities make these improvements.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_03: They see how it affects the operation and management of the farm.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_03: But then also, you know, the positive environmental outcomes in terms of forest repair and buffer, they now have all sorts of various wildlife that didn't exist there and the opportunities that it provides for recreation and just watching nature and those sort of pieces.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_03: So it it has evolved to the point to where we're now only focusing on preserved farms of the network, which we have found is a way to really demonstrate the value of owning a preserved farm.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_03: And we would often hear from the second, third, fourth person who owns that preserved farm but didn't preserve it, and they go, yeah, it's preserved, but what's the benefit to me?
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, like they didn't receive any financial compensation or tax deduction.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_03: You know, the original grantor of that conservation easement received that.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_03: So this has been a great way to bring resources to them to really demonstrate the value of owning a preserved farm.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_03: So that has led to an increased volume to where we now have, I don't know, it's 30 or 35 farmers who are waiting in line for this conservation work.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_03: And we at LFT really like the connection of those two components.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_03: You think about that clean water work, utilizing a lot of public resources for it, right?
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_03: And making those public investments on a privately owned farm that's permanently preserved.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_03: So the public is at least assured some guarantee that the farm is always going to be there.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_03: You know, it's not going to become a housing development or a data center or whatever the aspect is.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_03: So I think in terms of public confidence, those investments happening on a preserved farm at least provides some level of public confidence related to that.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_02: Similar to that.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_02: How have you found being a partner with Langster Cleanwater Partners has benefited your efforts in preservation and in water conservation?
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_03: It's been a tremendous benefit.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_03: If you think about the collective impact that has occurred because the Langster Clean Water Partners exist, individual organizations focus on their mission, those sort of things.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_03: It's easy to lose sight of that advocacy work that has to happen.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_03: It's easy to lose sight of we gotta visit with our congressional delegation.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_03: We have to visit with our state house reps and our state senators who are making not only financial decisions, but also policy decisions and legislation around particular things.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_03: So we've seen real benefit from having the partners exist in terms of that engagement piece there and helping to smooth out some of the barriers and challenges that were experienced, and then just providing the platform for the collaboration to happen.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, we are partnering with many more organizations in the clean water space than what we were doing before the partners existed.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_03: I think there's a lot of different variables in there in terms of sort of the silo effect that was happening or concerned of stepping somebody else's turf and all those sort of components.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_03: But I think when you have this demand from the agricultural community that it's so great.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_03: And fortunately that we've had more resources coming to the county, you know, across that collective effort, I think it just then provides the environment where you can have much more collaboration happening between organizations.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_03: And each one can lean into their own sort of specialty, if you want to call it that.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_00: I have to give you a shout-out because you have taken that message and amplified it in other places.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_00: You mentioned congressional visits, or I'm thinking of lobby day with the Choose Clean Water Coalition.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, LFT has been a voice outside of Lancaster about the impact that's happening locally, the literal ripple effects that you're seeing with landowners, but downstream as well.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you for being one of those super strong voices to ensure that we still have those resources coming and that the processes are as simple as we can.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_00: We can always improve them, but ensuring that they get to the partners on the ground.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_03: That advocacy work, you know, at federal level, state level, it's it's important.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_03: They want to hear from their constituents and they want to hear examples about it.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know, it's that's important work that that should be done.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_00: What are some of the ways that someone can advocate for farmland preservation or clean water if you're not a policy expert or you're not comfortable going to talk to your legislator directly, which everybody should be, but maybe you don't know the technical terms.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_00: Like you don't work in conservation all the time.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_03: Aaron Powell I think it really comes down to, I mean, it's just talking about something that's important to you.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_03: We all live someplace, we all have a community.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_03: And if the environmental conditions of that community are important to you, then just go talk about it.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_03: You know, and it can be talking about it with, again, friends, family, social functions.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_03: Everyone should, again, in my opinion, probably be a bit more engaged in a civic manner in terms of their local municipality.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_03: Because if you really think about what can impact someone probably the most in terms of what the environment looks like around them or what land use is happening around them, it's at their local municipal level.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_03: It's the supervisors that they're voting into office.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_03: And in many cases, our townships are relatively small in comparison to other forms of government where it might be entirely county-based or something like that.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_03: So it's just a lack of civic engagement there.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_03: I think people have just been deterred, frustrated for whatever the case is about, quote, government in general, and therefore they just stop participating altogether, which is unfortunate because that's where you really can have an impact.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_03: I think it's just going and talking about what's important to you.
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_00: What are some of the ways that LFT tries to educate people about advocacy or ways that they can advocate?
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_00: Because I think we can sometimes use the word educate instead of advocate.
• 34:20
  SPEAKER_00: Not all the time, but I know that when you're at a social function and somebody says, Oh, that farm just got turned into a development, or it's always been my backyard and now it's not.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_00: That may have been planned for years and nobody knew it, but it's always been planned to be that way.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_00: I'm hearing you say, if you had gone to your municipality and been in a land use planning, then you would have known that.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_00: How does LFT ensure that some of that education happens?
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's so hard.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_00: Like you said before, people are busy, people are overwhelmed.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_00: How do you guys tackle that?
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_03: You know, it's a challenge because it is people are busy, right?
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, we've done some educational sessions about what advocacy means and how you can do it in that sort of context.
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_03: But I would say the first thing is like the individual has to be willing to take some level of action.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_03: Sure.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, just sitting on the sidelines, you're not going to influence anything.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_03: So you have to be willing to take some level of action.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_03: And probably the first step for most people, if they're not already advocating, is they need to become aware of what the issues are and understand them, and then be willing to reach out.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_03: It's certainly challenging because you know, I think in some cases people will feel they don't have the knowledge, therefore they don't feel empowered because they don't feel they have the knowledge base to go and advocate for something.
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_03: So there has to be that personal initiative.
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_03: You know, you have to care about the issue enough that you're willing to, you know, reach out and educate yourself or find the resources so that you do feel empowered, that you can go and actually have a conversation and express your opinion and concerns and sort of vision.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_03: I think that's the first part.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_03: Like the individual has to take some initiative there.
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_03: Nobody's just going to spoon feed you and you know, send you on your way.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_03: And and quite honestly, that's probably not the most effective.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_03: Like, you know, like you you you have to be able to demonstrate that you care about the particular issue that you're there to talk about.
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_00: This probably fits under your description of LFT does some of that education for their volunteers or ways to become better advocates by emphasizing open space for the tourists that come in.
• 36:35
  SPEAKER_00: I know that you guys have worked with Discover Lancaster and Chambers and that connection to why people come here or why people want to live here.
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_00: There are values to that quality of life, is what I'm thinking of.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_00: But then also the ease of access to fresh food, to farms.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_00: So does that community farm that you guys are now starting on is like is that a bridge for you?
• 36:57
  SPEAKER_00: Is that a a way to achieve that public education or awareness component?
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, most certainly.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_03: It's one of the challenges that we have as an organization.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_03: My assessment is sort of gone are the days where people just wrote a check to a nonprofit organization because they believed in the mission.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_03: There's still some people out there like that.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_01: Thank goodness.
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_03: But when I look at like the next generation of donors that are contributing to nonprofit organizations, most of them want some level of engagement.
• 37:28
  SPEAKER_03: They want some interaction with the organization, programs that they offer, educational opportunities, whatever it is.
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_03: And then maybe at some point down the road, they might decide to financially support that organization.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_03: And that's always been a challenge for us at LFT because we don't own any land, right?
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_03: You know, we have all these farms that are preserved, we hold these conservation easements, but they're still privately owned.
• 37:50
  SPEAKER_03: Sure.
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_03: And trying to do things for 50, 70 people out on a working farm is difficult because they don't have facilities, there's not adequate parking.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_03: I always like to offer there's probably a little white Pomeranian that's biting at people's ankles.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, that's just you know, there's just a lot of barriers there.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_03: And then it's an inconvenience.
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_03: We're imposing on that farm family.
• 38:13
  SPEAKER_03: So we do some one-offs, but we can't do it with any regularity or frequency.
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_03: Having a space in which we own and operate as a farm removes that barrier and really then affords the opportunity to build programming around consistency so that you can reach more people and get more people engaged and exposed to agriculture and how food is produced and the importance of natural resources and water quality and what farmers are doing to improve water quality and all those things that are of concern to all of us, it just really provides that platform of opportunity.
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_03: This community farm concept isn't alter approach for Langster Farmland Trust.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_03: I really see it central to the long-term sustainability of Langster Farmland Trust and farmland preservation of your mission.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_03: Because if people do not understand agriculture, how it impacts them and have an appreciation for it, and quite frankly, why the hell is preserving the farmland even important to them?
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 39:13
  SPEAKER_03: So I think that's a real strong educational piece that has to happen there.
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_03: Otherwise, people aren't connected to agriculture.
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_03: Like I go to Giant and they got lettuce.
• 39:23
  SPEAKER_03: I'm I'm good.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_00: I'm good, yeah.
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 39:26
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and I think it's a great example of how collaboration actually happens in Lancaster because you guys are not trying to serve as another agritourism spot.
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like you're not going to have the sunflower visit, or you're not going to have the zipline through the farm field.
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's like there's a specific place and time for that.
• 39:43
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm hearing what you're describing as a very different component and role within the collaborative, not duplicating what somebody else is doing, but really adding to it for a value add.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, most certainly, you know, we we do not envision this as the agri-entertainment venue where they're chucking pumpkins and all sorts of things.
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_03: We really view this as an educational space for the broad community to come and learn about agriculture, you know, and understand how it contributes to their daily life.
• 40:14
  SPEAKER_03: And I just I think it's interesting in a place like Lancaster where agriculture is really all around us, that doesn't exist.
• 40:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I mean, when you when you think about other entities out there that serve sort of fill some of that gap, Penn State Extension is a great example, but their mission is really providing resources to farmers.
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_03: So I mean, I get Penn State Extension's emails and it come to this workshop about how you winterized your sprayer.
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_03: Well, you know, the person with three kids living in a housing development township probably really doesn't care how you winterize a sprayer, right?
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_03: Right, right.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_03: It's not what they're charged to do from that um aspect.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_03: And I haven't seen any other entities willing to step up to fulfill that role from a very authentic educational opportunity.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_00: Well, a shout out to you for your leadership and vision in so many ways.
• 41:08
  SPEAKER_00: And we've touched on some of your collaborative leadership with the Clean Water Partners.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_00: You are coming to the end of nine years on the board of trustees.
• 41:16
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you, thank you for being part of that from just about the original team and continuing through.
• 41:24
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of different times that you have been in a unique leadership role, whether it's chair of the board, a committee after committee, after work plan after task for.
• 41:35
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you.
• 41:36
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 41:37
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, it's been a great experience, you know.
• 41:39
  SPEAKER_03: And again, it's provided this space for me to connect with other individuals with organizations or really build that relationship there that has led to that collaboration.
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_03: And I think, you know, in the spirit of well, hey, the partners reform, that's that's what we wanted to achieve.
• 41:54
  SPEAKER_03: And it's just it's really rewarding to see nine years later at this point that how much of that has happened in Lancaster and how much entities and organizations outside of Lancaster look at Lancaster in the leader in that regard, which I think is pretty amazing.
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_03: But my thing is we all know like that's how we do it in Lancaster.
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_03: Tell us what's wrong and then get out of our way and we'll make it happen.
• 42:20
  SPEAKER_00: We will find a way to fix it.
• 42:22
  SPEAKER_00: What are some of the things that you've found across different sectors that help people become better advocates for clean water?
• 42:30
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, the voices weren't the same nine years ago, and the types of things we were even advocating for were so different.
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_03: I think once you get some momentum behind it and you get the issue out there and you start building excitement around it, I think it becomes somewhat easier.
• 42:48
  SPEAKER_03: You know, it's not never easy, right?
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 42:51
  SPEAKER_03: It's never easy, but I think it becomes somewhat easier to get more people engaged and have bring more voices to it.
• 42:59
  SPEAKER_03: And I think that's just an evolution that happens.
• 43:03
  SPEAKER_03: It's not quick.
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_03: It's just, you know, sort of steady as you go with it, and just being consistent about it.
• 43:10
  SPEAKER_03: So and then I think it is, it's being strategic in terms of ensuring you're bringing people in from those different sectors that you feel have an important perspective and can offer guidance or whatever the case might be.
• 43:26
  SPEAKER_03: Um and by doing so, you're building that awareness, right?
• 43:29
  SPEAKER_03: Because they're then going back to wherever they live or organization they're involved with, and they're carrying that message back.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_03: I think it becomes that ripple effect.
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_03: You know, where it just starts to slowly migrate through the community.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 43:43
  SPEAKER_02: So what do you think collective advocacy looks like 10 years from now?
• 43:48
  SPEAKER_03: My hope would be that their perfect world, there's so much advocacy in the next five years that you don't really have to worry about it 10 years from now, right?
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 43:58
  SPEAKER_03: I think it's that still.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_03: Steady momentum.
• 44:01
  SPEAKER_03: Hopefully there may be some greater recognition ten years out of the challenges in the clean water space and greater recognition about how you resolve those issues and how it benefits the local community.
• 44:18
  SPEAKER_03: And that the broader community really has a greater awareness of that.
• 44:23
  SPEAKER_03: My opinion is, and I think we've seen this through public opinion polls, like you know, the average citizen isn't really well informed about water quality impairment in Leicester.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_03: And I think that's really more of a visual type thing.
• 44:34
  SPEAKER_03: You look at a stream when it's a heavy storm and it looks like chocolate milk, you go, oh, it looks like chocolate milk.
• 44:39
  SPEAKER_03: It shouldn't look like that.
• 44:41
  SPEAKER_03: But you go check a stream today, and water looks clear.
• 44:45
  SPEAKER_03: Like what's wrong with it?
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_03: So I you know I think that's an education that has to happen.
• 44:50
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 44:51
  SPEAKER_03: And it doesn't happen overnight.
• 44:52
  SPEAKER_03: It's just being consistent, making sure that that message is out there.
• 44:56
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 44:58
  SPEAKER_02: Well, that brings us to my favorite time of the episode here, and that is trivia time.
• 45:06
  SPEAKER_03: Oh boy.
• 45:07
  SPEAKER_02: Here we go.
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_02: You'll do great.
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_03: I have never been good at trivia.
• 45:10
  SPEAKER_02: I think you might with this.
• 45:12
  SPEAKER_02: You enjoy hunting, fishing, gardening, preparing gourbet meals.
• 45:16
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm gonna give you the name of an edible plant or meat.
• 45:21
  SPEAKER_02: You tell me either where it's from or what it's also known as.
• 45:25
  SPEAKER_02: And I'll kind of cue you in on which one I'm looking for.
• 45:28
  SPEAKER_02: For example, if I say beef, it comes from a cow.
• 45:33
  SPEAKER_02: A cow, exactly.
• 45:35
  SPEAKER_02: That's how we do it.
• 45:37
  SPEAKER_02: So starting off, venison comes from deer.
• 45:41
  SPEAKER_02: It does.
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_02: Also, moose and elk is also known as venison.
• 45:44
  SPEAKER_02: Really?
• 45:45
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 45:45
  SPEAKER_02: I did not know that.
• 45:47
  SPEAKER_02: That's that's why we're doing trivia.
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_02: Mutton comes from.
• 45:52
  SPEAKER_02: Mutton?
• 45:53
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 45:54
  SPEAKER_02: Sheep.
• 45:56
  SPEAKER_02: I'm sheep, yeah.
• 45:57
  SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
• 45:58
  SPEAKER_02: There you go.
• 45:59
  SPEAKER_02: Nori, Rockwood, and kelp are also known as.
• 46:04
  SPEAKER_02: Seaweed.
• 46:05
  SPEAKER_02: It is seaweed.
• 46:08
  SPEAKER_02: Delicious sans sushi.
• 46:10
  SPEAKER_02: Oh.
• 46:12
  SPEAKER_02: You can have my share.
• 46:13
  SPEAKER_02: That's cool.
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_02: And aubergine is also known as lavender.
• 46:22
  SPEAKER_02: It's eggplant.
• 46:23
  SPEAKER_02: Oh.
• 46:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 46:25
  SPEAKER_02: The Brits call eggplants aubergines.
• 46:27
  SPEAKER_03: I did not know that.
• 46:27
  SPEAKER_02: There you go.
• 46:28
  SPEAKER_02: I didn't know it was Brits.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 46:30
  SPEAKER_02: Ruckfish is also known as.
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_02: Striped bass.
• 46:34
  SPEAKER_02: It is striped bastard.
• 46:37
  SPEAKER_02: Mahi Mahi comes from.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_02: No.
• 46:41
  SPEAKER_02: You know what?
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_02: It's a close enough fish that it's a dolphin fish.
• 46:46
  SPEAKER_02: Not a dolphin, but a dolphin fish.
• 46:48
  SPEAKER_00: Correct.
• 46:49
  SPEAKER_00: Different species.
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you know.
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_02: Shavan comes from.
• 46:56
  SPEAKER_02: Shavon.
• 46:57
  SPEAKER_02: Like Chev?
• 46:58
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 46:58
  SPEAKER_02: Like goat cheese.
• 46:59
  SPEAKER_02: Goat cheese.
• 47:00
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 47:01
  SPEAKER_02: So that would be.
• 47:02
  SPEAKER_00: He got it.
• 47:03
  SPEAKER_02: Chev.
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_02: That's right.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_02: Squab comes from.
• 47:09
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, isn't it squid?
• 47:11
  SPEAKER_03: No.
• 47:12
  SPEAKER_03: No.
• 47:12
  SPEAKER_03: It's a fish.
• 47:14
  SPEAKER_02: It's pigeon.
• 47:15
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, that's right.
• 47:18
  SPEAKER_03: It's the S that always gets me on that one.
• 47:21
  SPEAKER_02: Uh coriander is also known as.
• 47:24
  SPEAKER_02: It's cilantro.
• 47:26
  SPEAKER_02: There you go.
• 47:26
  SPEAKER_02: It is, in fact, cilantro.
• 47:30
  SPEAKER_02: Summer squash is also known as zucchini.
• 47:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_02: I love this next series of questions.
• 47:38
  SPEAKER_02: We call them French fries.
• 47:40
  SPEAKER_02: The Brits call them.
• 47:43
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, chips.
• 47:44
  SPEAKER_02: Indeed.
• 47:45
  SPEAKER_02: We call them chips.
• 47:47
  SPEAKER_02: Brits call them crisps.
• 47:51
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 47:56
  SPEAKER_02: We call it soda.
• 47:58
  SPEAKER_02: Ohioans call it pa.
• 48:01
  SPEAKER_02: Brits call it Fizzy.
• 48:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 48:05
  SPEAKER_02: Fizzy drink.
• 48:06
  SPEAKER_02: You got it.
• 48:08
  SPEAKER_02: That's it.
• 48:09
  SPEAKER_02: That's our trivia.
• 48:10
  SPEAKER_02: That is our show.
• 48:11
  SPEAKER_02: Jeff, thanks for coming on.
• 48:13
  SPEAKER_02: Telling us about all the work that LFT is doing, and it is fascinating to hear about that community farm.
• 48:21
  SPEAKER_02: And that's our show.
• 48:22
  SPEAKER_02: And we will be back in just a couple of weeks.
• 48:25
  SPEAKER_02: Until then, take care.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_02: Cleanwater Conversations is brought to you by Lancaster Clean Water Partners.
• 48:32
  SPEAKER_02: If you have comments or suggestions on show topics, or would like to be a sponsor for a season or an episode of Cleanwater Conversations, send us an email at infol at Lancaster Cleanwater Partners dot com.
• 48:43
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks for listening.