Latest / Clean Water Conversations / Lancaster County Clean Water Success Stories: Chesapeake Conservancy

Transcript

Lancaster County Clean Water Success Stories: Chesapeake Conservancy · Clean Water Conversations

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_02: Clean Water Conversations is sponsored by Chesapeake Conservancy, working to conserve and restore the natural and cultural resources of the Chesapeake Bay watershed for the enjoyment and inspiration of this and future generations.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you, Chesapeake Conservancy, and now on to our show.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_02: Hello everyone, and welcome to Clean Water Conversations, the podcast where we have casual discussions about creating clean and clear water right here in Lancaster County.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_02: I'm Ken.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_05: Hey everybody, I'm Allison.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_05: We are here and excited to be wrapping up our season three with today's finale.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_05: Woo!
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_02: The studio audience who loves it.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_05: They're amazing.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_02: They're always right there, right there when you need them.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_05: That's the beauty of a network.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_05: Allison, where are we?
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_05: Today we are at Ascension Lutheran Church in the Peckway Creek watershed.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_05: But Ken, why are we here today?
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_02: We are.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, now I gotta now I gotta contend already with it with a um acronym.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_05: Don't do the acronym.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_02: Just say it now.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_02: It it is NIFWIF, which stands for National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, crescendo in collaboration, celebration.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_05: Oh yeah, it's party time.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_05: Yes.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_02: And we will talk a little bit more about that in a bit.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_02: In the meantime, let's kick things off with an icebreaker.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_02: And the icebreaker question is do you play any musical instruments?
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_05: Well, I suppose the answer is not currently.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_05: But I have, yes, some experience with both viola and piano.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_05: And now trying to teach my children and keep them interested.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_05: But I have to give you this fun story because my son plays trombone.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_05: I have no idea how to play anything brass.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_05: But there's a group coming to my church.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_05: They're a national group of expert performers.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_05: And they needed host families for people to stay with.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_05: So I was like, sure, we'll have somebody stay with us.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_05: So I have no idea what it's going to be like, but I requested a trombone player so that Riley has someone.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_02: That is awesome.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_02: And I love it that he's playing trombone.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_02: That's a great instrument to play.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_05: And Ken, I think this may take a long time for your answer.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_02: My answer is yes.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_02: You're right.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_05: It was a yes or no question.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_05: Oh man, I just kept going.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_02: I play a lot.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_02: That's more detail.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_02: None of them, I I don't play any of them that you would go, wow, that guy's a virtuoso.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_02: I I suffice at most of them.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_05: Okay, but rattle off the list.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_02: Uh oh my gosh.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_02: Um I play piano, drums, guitar, bass, uh, trumpet, baritone, tuba, trombone.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um I can play a little bit of flute.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_02: Uh the reed instruments I'm not so good on.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_02: It's uh it sounds pretty rough.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_02: It sounds like a goose.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_02: But I I have played those.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_02: And uh bowed instruments sounds like someone strangling a cat.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_05: Okay, we'll avoid those.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, we'll avoid those.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah, there you go.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_05: Wow, that's really impressive.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_05: To that audience member who's uh asking the question, maybe as you listen, no, there will not be a band for the Lancaster Clean Water Partners.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_05: No symphony included.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_02: Band called the BMPs.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_05: Oh my gosh.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_02: Best management practices, by the way.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_02: You're not gonna catch me on that.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_05: Best musical performance.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, I like that.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_02: Somebody write that down.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_02: We'll get back to that one.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_05: Oh, we've had quite little characters join us for this season.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_02: We have.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_02: It has been so much fun and so informative.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um I it started back on January 16th, uh, episode 20 with Jenna Beckett.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_05: Mm-hmm.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_05: Well, I'm picturing an image that I've seen in a number of slide presentations that you've done, and it has the tagline of you scream, I scream, we all scream for clean streams.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_05: This is typically something we associate with ice cream, but you're gonna have to give us more details on why that is tied to the alliance for the Jess Peak Bay.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so as we started to get really excited about our work with the plainsec communities uh in in Lancaster and surrounding counties, uh, we realized that a wonderful way to engage with more farmers would be to really get in touch with their supply chain and had the opportunity to connect with John Cox, the former CEO of Turkey Hill Dairy, and have some really wonderful conversations with him to talk about how Turkey Hill might take more of a role in clean water.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: And John, uh, you know, I remember him saying, you know, if there's anything that Turkey Hill can do to help Langster County, you let us know.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so we made sure to follow up on that.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: And and I think I can remember the most critical question that we asked him that I can tell, just a major light bulb went off for him was do you know how many farms that supply milk to Turkey Hill have a conservation plan?
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: And he said, Huh.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: I haven't thought about that.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: And two weeks later, I and Chris Thompson, the district manager at the Lancaster County Conservation District, got an email from him with draft language to put in the new bid that he was about to send out for a new co-op to supply Turkey Hill dairy.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: And the language was a requirement for conservation plans, implementation of that plan, and an increased premium uh for the milk that Turkey Hill would be buying uh from that dairy cooperative.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_05: Um's always had a bias towards action, but there it is.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_05: It's an action code.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_05: It's an action code.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_02: And then we came back and we talked with Brian Gish, which was just the dude's a storyteller.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_02: He really is.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_02: Talk about characters, that's for sure.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_02: He's fun.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_02: And I had no idea that he had a boat.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_05: Oh, yes.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_05: He's quite the fisherman, quite the uh carpenter.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_05: He's got all kinds of talents.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_05: And as he would say, and he would be disappointed if we didn't reiterate it here, that you can't spell Gish without GIS.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_02: Here's a question.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_02: You are going to sail around the world.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_02: What is the name of your boat and why?
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_11: So I have a boat right now, and it has the most perfect name for how I use it.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_11: The boat is the Albatwitch.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_11: For those of you unfamiliar with the Albatwitch, the Alba Twitch is a cryptid species and fond of throwing apples at people.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_11: They were on the shields of the Native Americans when Europeans showed up in the area.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_11: And their last bastion is believed to have been around Chicky's Rock.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_11: And so, having grown up at the base of Chicky's Rock, right there, had to go with the Alba Twitch, especially on the Susquehanna.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_11: So this would have to be the Alba Twitch 2.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_11: And if I'm going around the world, anyone who knows me is going to know that sailing around the world, that fishing rod is never leaving my hands.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_05: With you at all times.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_11: So, Mountain of Tackle.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_11: And I also want, and I don't care if this is a fictional item.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_11: I guess it's kind of less fictional all the time.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_11: I want the Universal Translator from Star Trek.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_11: Because I want to go fishing with everyone along the way that I find and be able to tell bad jokes and everything with them.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_11: Find out.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_11: Oh, and I probably pack a bottle of um selenium pills to counteract all the mercury I'm going to be ingesting by eating so much fish.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_11: Um But I think if I have the universal translator, so I can like just jam with these guys about fishing and got my selenium.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_11: Probably some dramamine too.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_02: I uh and then we came back with kind of a special episode, an emergency episode, something I don't know what what exactly you would call it, but it was about all about the federal funding phrase.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, all throughout season three, our partners and the network as a whole has really experienced some uncertainty and some people feeling like the chaos of the federal changes and impacts that that had directly on them, or maybe some of the ripple effects that that they have been feeling related to changing in the changes in the federal funding.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_05: So yeah, thanks, Ken, for that chance to give our partners a voice of support and a place for us to share some of the resources that groups like the Choose Clean Water Coalition have created.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_05: And even since then, while there's still uncertainty, we have found success and partners have said that just sharing tools with each other is so, so valuable.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_05: So whether you have a template that you found really helpful for decision making, or if there is a way that you have looked at your budget and that's helped you feel more comfortable with what you have to do next, continue to share, continue to have conversation, invite people to coffee, show that support to each other because that uncertainty, while it's still there, I think we're all in a a better place, but need to continue supporting each other as new things come along.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_02: So and I think the the overarching message is still the same.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_02: Let's let's help each other out as much as we can and keep pushing towards clean and clear water by 2040.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_05: Absolutely.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_05: Advocating for things in lots of different places and lots of different ways.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_05: Our voices are important.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_02: And then in episode 23, we talked with Emily Landis, who is in charge of the Blue-Green Connector project.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_02: And she talked about where that is going and some of the fascinating little details uh that are that are still yet to come.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_05: Sure.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_05: We'll talk about a fun project that is at scale that includes public education, public access, restoration, communications, new logos and everything.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_05: And well, it's been like this special bonus that since then, I don't know if we tried tried this or not, but having her on this season was perfect because the Blue Green Connector Project hosted a visit with DEP or the Department of Environmental Protection for Earth Week.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_05: And at the Little Conestoga project, there was a media event and a way to show off the progress of this project.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_05: So it was really exciting to have Emily in the lead role there.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_05: Fun to work with her.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_05: Can you tell us what you do at this Diamond Foundation?
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_09: I definitely can, Alison.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_09: So I am the director of education and environmental strategy.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_09: And what that means is, well, I'm I'm primarily working on this big blue-green connector project.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_09: And it is uh an environmental restoration project.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_09: It is a trial system, and it also is a learning lab.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_09: And so the part that I'm spearheading is the learning lab component.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_09: And so I'm working on a master plan to make sure that um learning will definitely happen on the blue-green connector.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_09: I kind of see this blue green connector project as being one big science factory spun out along a 3.5 mile trail.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_09: Yeah.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_09: So there's a lot of opportunity for creative placemaking.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_09: Um this trail will be fully ADA accessible.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_09: Uh, all the things that you can do alongside exhibits, uh, demonstration areas, uh, obviously interpretive signage, uh, artwork, um, all sorts of things that uh create a space for learning uh that are creative and they're outdoors.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_09: So um, yeah, I see it as a natural progression of that work from the science factory.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_05: And then how appropriate that in episode 24, we were with Natalie and Mike from the Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake or IPC.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, nice.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_05: Because they're part of our host team for today.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_05: Here's Ascension Lutheran.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_05: Like you said, we'll get into more details, but I gotta tell you, the view right now is pretty nice with these beautiful big windows in the back of the church looking out over the farmland and one of our stream delisting catchments in particular.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_02: What does IPC do?
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_06: IPC works with these congregations to be good caretakers of our shared watershed.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_06: And we like to say that we do this in two ways.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_06: So by raising the awareness that people of faith have to restore clean water, and then we also offer hands-on assistance by helping congregations not only plan, but also pay for.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_06: So we help them to get grant funding to then install what we call healing practices on their grounds that then will, you know, trickle out into their communities.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_06: So that can be anything from rain gardens, rain barrels, cisterns, tree plantings, native planting, you name it.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_01: And congregations that don't have physical space, we all we like to still support them in ways that they can still contribute.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: So we have lots of congregations who may not be able to put in those physical caring practices, physical practices, but who might host movie nights, might host event nights, might, you know, attend trainings and do other things that that kind of helps the mission.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_02: Aaron Powell That really helps them kind of connect with the the community at large as well.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_01: So Yeah, it does.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of those, and you know, both end, you know, we we one thing that we say a lot about the practices that our congregations put in, you know they they have a rain garden, and you're a lot of the times, you know, your church is right on a main road and there's a big parking lot, and so a rain garden is going to be easy to see.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_01: People can can observe it.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: And the same thing with if you're hosting uh just a get together, a green day.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: It's a congregation is a very community-friendly place, and so it's somewhere that a community can can get together and learn.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_05: And then in episode 25, we talked with Diana Martin, who has now been dubbed the most interesting person in Lancaster County.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_02: Seriously.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_02: Oh my gosh, the things she has done.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_05: It's so fun.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_02: Have you ever completed anything on your bucket list?
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_02: And if not, what would you like to be the first one?
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_08: I have compete completed a few things on my bucket list.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_08: I feel like here.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah, I feel like my whole bucket list is places I want to travel to and just kind of adventurous activities I want to try.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_08: So I have been uh bungee jumping where in South Africa.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_08: Wow.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_08: What?
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_08: Been bungee jumping in South Africa.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_08: I think it's the third highest one in the world.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_08: It's the highest one off of a suspension bridge.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_08: So they walk you out.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah, like it was pretty scary.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_08: I'm not gonna lie.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_08: It was pretty scary.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_08: They walk you out.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_08: Um, actually, the walk out is almost just as scary.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_08: They walk you out about halfway through uh in the middle of this suspension bridge.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_08: And then, you know, they they sit you on the ledge and you're kind of put your arms out, your feet are together, and they count you down one, two, three, and you just jump off headfirst.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_08: Uh, and everything in your body is telling you not to do it.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_08: Don't do it.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah, don't do it.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_08: But it's definitely a huge adrenal adrenaline rush.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_08: So how long are you actually?
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_08: I also went uh diving with great white sharks in South Africa.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_08: So I was like I was doing like the you know, getting getting it all in on one trip.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_07: So this is not exactly like whoopee pies and buggy rides on your tourist adventure.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah, exactly.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_08: Um, so a bungee jump that fall that far, the free fall is like over three seconds where you're just falling.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_08: It's enough to be very cognizant of it.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_07: Oh my gosh.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_07: I can't imagine what else is on your bucket list.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_07: I still need to go skydiving, so that's still on there.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_07: Okay.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_02: And then episode 26, we cracked open a cold one.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_02: Oh yeah.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_02: And talked with poor man's brewing, who worked with our town brewing to brew together the beer for Lancaster Water Week.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_05: Yep.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_05: And you can't have good beer if you don't have clean water.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_05: So these guys are an essential part of the clean water story and very appropriately called their beer ripple effect.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_04: Um, so they approached us and they had already been brewing this with different breweries.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_04: I think we were the third, like us in our town, have been the third and fourth breweries to be involved.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_04: And the idea behind getting two breweries involved was thinking maybe we could get one that was not you know in the city and we get one that's in the city, so we can kind of cover the whole county a little bit better.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, clever.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_04: And we brewed each year, has been kind of a different concept, but we brewed two different beers the first year under two different names.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_04: And the whole point of the project is to release a little bit before Water Week kind of launch up and you know, kind of build hype for Water Week, and then they have this product that can be available at different bars and help spread the word for it.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_04: The beer itself is available at different functions that have to do with Water Week throughout.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_04: So it's kind of like the beer always comes out pretty early, and that's a little bit they've always wanted it that way, because it's a little bit more of kind of like a soft launch to get people talking about Water Week and the importance of it.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_04: So it's once it's out there, it's kind of just a matter of making sure that we made enough of it to make sure it gets to all the things, and then just trying to you know have the conversation across the bar with whoever wants to talk about it.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_02: And now we come to the end of our season.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_02: How about that?
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_02: And we are still through all of this.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I think the the biggest, our biggest thing has been and continues to be setting the narrative of, you know, we're coming up to the end of the Bay Agreement at the end of 2025, but we are focusing on look at all the amazing work, and this season shows it.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_02: Sure.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_02: All the amazing work that our partners are doing for clean and clear water.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_05: We're getting there.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_05: And the pace, I think, is truly inspirational.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_05: The momentum has definitely been building for many, many years.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_05: And so being able to showcase that with this kind of tool like a podcast and being able to have those voices, it is demonstrating that narrative of local success.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_05: I think down into the weeds of some of the practices and the projects that we've seen, you're not going to see them on a podcast.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_05: But these people that we've heard from are oftentimes leading so much of this work for the shovels in the ground type of projects.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_05: So for example, in the Chesapeake Bay portion of Pennsylvania in 2024.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_05: So again, building into this season, the number of best management practices that went in the ground was about 4,025 in Lancaster County alone.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_05: And that's 26.09% of all the BMPs that went in the ground in Pennsylvania, the Chesapeake Bay watershed portion.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_05: So that's just that's incredible.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_05: And true testament and a sense of gratitude to all of those partners that are leading that kind of work.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_02: So we are trying to do good work through this podcast as and and and reflect the good work that our partners are doing.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_02: So how can you, the listener, contribute all this?
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_02: Well, the first thing is collect those stories.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_02: Let us know.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_02: When somebody out there is doing something good for the waterways, let us know.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_05: I think an example of where we saw that was at the full partners meeting.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_05: We had that in April, so midway through our season here, and we had over a hundred people come together on the shores of the Peckway at Old Village Mill.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_05: So shout out to them for hosting us.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_05: And all of the people who were there, they heard some stories from partners who shared about the Peckway work, but they also got to tell each other their own stories.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_05: We really worked together on the revisions for the common agenda.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_05: So teaser alert of what may be coming up in uh season four is sort of the results of that common agenda.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_05: And that really is this tool that everybody commits to using as an outline, as a framework for what we're all doing together.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_05: You mentioned clean and clear by 2040 and how we're gonna get there, that's what the common agenda is for all of us.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_02: And I I think one of the biggest ways that you can help us out if you like what you hear, if if you're one of those folks that found us by accident and then went back and binged all of our episodes.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_02: Which has been done.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_02: Which has been done.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_02: Somebody just told me last week that they that they did that.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_02: So um, spread the word.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_02: Tell other people, hey, this is a really cool podcast and and check it out.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_05: Even if you just really love Lancaster, you can tell somebody who lives elsewhere and tell them about these amazing people doing Gleanwater work in Lancaster County.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_05: Uh and I think it ranges from people who are storytellers, but then also collectors of those stories.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_05: So yeah, being able to somebody was telling me that they listen to the podcast while they clean their house and then other people have said, Yeah, I took you on vacation with me.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_02: Please do.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_05: We like that.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_02: And the other thing that you can do, and this is really important, we are always looking for sponsors.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_02: So uh to get that information, that is on our website.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_02: Or just hit the link in the show notes and uh that'll be there.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_02: Uh yeah, we are always always looking for sponsors.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_02: And I do want to thank Ches Peak Conservancy for their sponsorship uh this year.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_02: That that's huge.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, big thanks to them.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_05: Uh uh, let's uh tell people some numbers though.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_05: The why.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_05: Like as a sponsor, here's what you can get.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_02: Uh well, aside from from supporting the show, you get a uh the mention that's at the beginning, you get the reader that's at the end, depending on what level of of sponsorship you want to to support in.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_02: Um we would also do a mid-show drop-in of another another announcement for you, and those can change all the time if you have an ever changing message.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_02: And just as a little bit of of incentive, because people might want to know you know how many people tune in to this show.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_02: That they would that they might be sponsoring.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_02: So how what kind of yeah, what kind of what kind of audience would they get?
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_02: As of this morning of this recording, we had four hundred and forty six thousand.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: Downloads of just season three episodes.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_02: We have had 283 visits to our podcast page on our website since episode 20 was published on January 16th.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_02: And we currently have a total of 2,733 downloads.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, and incidentally, Lamont is still in that top spot with 171 downloads.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_05: Man.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_02: Followed closely by Carly Dean at 149.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_02: And if you would like to dethrone the king and queen of the podcast, you gotta tell your friends to listen.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, so many more stories to hear.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_05: We really appreciate all of our guests and the stories that they have shared with us, the inspiration that they've given to lots and lots of listeners.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_02: That is absolutely awesome.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_02: And we we have, I know I the segues get worse every time.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_05: Wow.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_02: But I've got a knack, so I'm gonna go with it.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_02: Every episode we have asked each other this season, what is awesome in your world?
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_02: So what I want to know is what is your season of awesomeness?
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_02: In other words, what has been awesome in your world since the since the first episode dropped on January 16th?
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_02: Because in my world, it is all of the event.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_02: I'm the communications coordinator.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_02: You're the water partners.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_02: This is what I do.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_02: I'm a storyteller.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_02: And and there's been so many really amazing stories to tell.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_02: Not and not just the project the shovels in the ground projects, but the educational opportunities, kind of like the one that we're at right now.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_05: That's right.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_02: Which is also a celebration.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_02: And there's so many things that so many people have put together.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_02: Our full partners meeting is another one.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_02: Um events like that our coworkers have have put together and all and put in all the work to make them actually happen, to get off the ground and and and happen, like the one we're at right now.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_02: This is, as we mentioned before, is the NIF WIF Crescendo in collaboration celebration.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_02: It's the end of this.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I'm gonna pick it up right there because that's part of my season of awesomeness.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_05: I'm gonna celebrate that this three-year grant that has multiple sub awards, multiple project leads that are part of our network, it's coming to an end.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_05: And thinking about the scale of this, the expertise that we've been able to help grow in capacity building, in shovels in the ground building.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_05: Um, but being able to work with lots of local groups and celebrate three years worth of collaboration, leverage dollars.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_05: This was almost a one million dollar award.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_05: So a big impact, but also I'm just gonna play up this here on a rainy day, big ripple effects that this grant has had, this project has had, and leaders from our team, like Alex Cooper, as well as all the subgrantees.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_05: Absolutely.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_05: Yep.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_05: So we're so excited to have Ryan Hill with the Chesapeake Conservancy here with us, the NIF WIF celebration event today, and lots of partner organizations who have been here to both party and share stories and give project examples.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_05: So thanks for joining us, Ryan.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_10: Yeah, absolutely.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_10: Happy to be here.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_10: Now, what role did Chesapeake Conservancy play in this project?
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_10: So, Chesapeake Conservancy, um, we typically use uh high-resolution data.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_10: What we like to do is use this data to sort of provide the partners with this information to say, hey, this is this is where we think the work will have the highest impact on stream health.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_10: Um and what that allows us to do is work with on-the-ground partners.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_10: It lets us refine our data even more because those on-the-ground partners know what's going on in the area the best.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_10: And we like to use that to verify what we're seeing and improve our data.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_10: And then on the other side, we like to see how our data is helping the small catchments um improve their uh water quality.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_05: Ryan, you guys do this kind of work all over the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_05: What have you guys found to be unique about Lancaster?
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_05: Or what's one of the reasons that you all like to work here?
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_10: One of the main reasons I really like to work here is the community.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_10: As I mentioned in there, looking at these catchments from 20,000 feet, it's really hard for me to appreciate every single individual that's working on these projects.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_10: So when I get to come to events like this and see the catchment and see all the people working there, um, it's absolutely incredible that we're able to bring this many people into these projects that are passionate about water and uh and water quality.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_10: Um, so I think that to me is one of the biggest impacts.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_10: And then the farm community here, generations of farmers here are doing these practices.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_10: And um, it's just uh there's so much history of agriculture here.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_10: I think it makes it such an interesting area.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, there's lots of different kinds of stories to tell.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_05: That's for sure.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_05: We have good views.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_02: It's very good views, yeah.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_02: Even on a rainy day.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_02: And I did want to say, since you're here, thank you so much to you, to uh Chesapeake Conservancy for sponsoring this season of our podcast.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_10: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_10: I think it's uh I think it's great.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_10: And we've we've talked about this marketing for uh for conservation and and restoration as a whole.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_10: There's that education piece and the marketing piece, and I feel like this is such a great way to get it out.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_10: It's you know, everybody's listening to podcasts now.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_10: I've got 50 I'm waiting on trying to live on the drive home.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_10: So yeah, this is uh a great opportunity, and I we really you know appreciate you doing this too.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_10: Thank you, thank you.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_10: Thanks.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_10: I really appreciate you guys bringing me in to this celebration too.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_10: Um because I know I I was talking to Alex a little bit about the work that was going on here, but I feel like until I actually see it and can wrap my head around the people that were involved in the and the projects actually I can see the project from uh from this view, it's it's a really great opportunity.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_03: Nice.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_02: So what is coming up in season four?
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_03: What's next?
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_02: Season four of this podcast comes at an integral time.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_02: As I mentioned before, 2025 is the end of the Bay Agreement, and now we have different organizations looking at beyond 2025.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_02: So we are going to talk a little bit about what is coming up, what is culminating, where do we move forward, and then in official capacity, where are we going with beyond 2025?
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_02: We're gonna focus the next season on that theme.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and especially because 2025, while it's an important date for Bay-related things, our goals here in Lancaster are clean and clear by 2040 in Lancaster County.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_05: So yeah, life goes on beyond 2025, and we still have a lot of work to do.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_05: We have such momentum.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_05: We are doing so well and excited to speak with some of those storytellers, the leaders, the change makers who are shaping Lancaster's clean water success.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_05: Um, and there's lots of them.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_05: So be ready for season four and using things like the common agenda, which will be up and running and ready, and people have a bigger sense of ownership, a more complete commitment that includes action steps, that includes more deadlines, that includes progress indicators that we all have agreed to and are really, really close on a lot of these goals.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_05: So pretty exciting.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_02: There is a lot of excitement coming up, and you just have to stay tuned.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_02: Well, that is our show.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_02: That is our season three.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_02: And folks, we will see you in just a couple of months.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_02: Until then, take care.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_02: This episode of Clean Water Conversations is sponsored by Chesapeake Conservancy.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_02: Conserve, restore, and empower with data.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_02: And produced by Lancaster Clean Water Partners, striving for clean and clear waterways by 2040.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_02: If you have comments or suggestions for show topics or are interested in becoming a sponsor, please contact us at infotlancastercleanwaterpartners.com.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks for listening.