Environmental Advisory Council Network News | | |
Session proposals are now being accepted for this year's Environmental Advisory Council Conference—providing education, resources, and networking for EAC members, municipal leaders and staff, and community partners seeking to advance environmental initiatives and local sustainability. Proposals may be for single-topic presentations, focused panel with moderator, roundtable discussion, or lightning round highlight. Proposals will be accepted through 5:00 p.m. on Friday, July 24.
Submit your session proposal online by July 24!
Specific areas of interest include:
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Data Centers—What EACs can do to request environmental impact data and other information from developers, support municipal decision-makers, and engage residents.
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Sustainability Communications & Public Relations—How EACs can communicate effectively with local government to advance environmental or sustainability needs, recommendations, and initiatives; as well as with residents to educate, inform, and promote positive image for the municipality.
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“Future-Proofing” Municipal Codes Through Sustainable Zoning—How to adapt zoning, planning, and ordinances for community resiliency and sustainability in a climate-changing world.
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Measuring Success—How EACs track, measure, and report to demonstrate accountability and impact.
Questions? Please reach out to Rebecca Buckham, Project Manager, at rbuc...@weconservepa.org.
| The 2026 Environmental Advisory Council Conference is hosted by: | | Road Salt Roundtable Levels Up Statewide Conversation for Municipalities | | |
WeConservePA hosted an Environmental Advisory Council Network Roundtable webinar on May 27, focused on road salt pollution and how municipalities can help reduce impact. With more than 60 attendees, the session's high-demand suggests that the problem of oversalted winter roads is gaining attention with municipalities and EAC volunteers. Thank you to PA Road Salt Action (PARSA) Working Group, Stroud Water Resource Center, Delaware River Basin Commission, Cranberry Township Public Works Department, and other partners who shared insight on health and environment concerns, updates from local communities working to implement best practices, and resources available for education and outreach.
View Recording: Road Salt Pollution & Municipal Strategies to Reduce Impact
The WeConservePA Library will soon include a section of resources dedicated to the topic of road salt. Stay tuned! If you know of materials that may be helpful to municipalities seeking to educate communities about road salt pollution and implement best practices for winter road maintenance, please share them with us via the form submission for EAC news & queries below.
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Municipal Leaders & Environmental Advisory Council Members Share
"How EACs Help Townships Succeed"
Thank you to all panelists who participated in a recent webinar hosted by PA State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) on how Environmental Advisory Councils can help townships achieve sustainability goals, leverage projects for greater impact, and be more efficient with budgets and staff time. The recording is available online courtesy PSATS. Visit the link below and enter the passcode to access. Please share the recording with municipal leaders who may be interested in learning more about the value of EACs! View Recorded Webinar (enter passcode: kq$Hz03#)
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Lancaster Twp. Passes New Ordinance
to Encourage Naturalized Yards
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Residents of Lancaster Township (Lancaster County) are now permitted to grow native plants taller than six inches, which was the prior height limit on landscape plantings per the existing municipal code addressing brush, grass, and weeds. For its new ordinance, Lancaster Township adapted WeConservePA's Model Naturalized Landscape Ordinance, created to help municipalities balance the parameters of weed ordinances—which serve to combat problems associated with neglect—with a desire to encourage landowners to embrace ecologically beneficial landscape practices.
John Donnelly, Director of Planning and Zoning for the township, explained the need for a new ordinance during the recent voting meeting: "A naturalized, meadow-like landscape typically has longer grass and native plants, and offers a number of ecological benefits. But what we were finding is that folks want to do this with their property, but our ordinance does not allow it...so we've developed an ordinance that allows for those naturalized landscapes."
Lancaster Twp. OKs ordinance change to allow naturalized landscape areas
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Nominate a Northeastern PA Environmental or Conservation Honoree
Know of an organization, individual, company, or project that has achieved excellence in environmental protection or conservation in Northeastern Pennsylvania? There's still time to submit nominations for the Northeastern Pennsylvania Environmental Partnership Awards, the Thomas P. Shelburne Award and the Emerging Environmental Leader Award. Nominations must be submitted no later than June 30, 2026.
Learn More & Submit Nomination
| | Celebrate Local Park & Rec Professionals on July 17 | | |
The 8th annual Park and Recreation Professionals Day, hosted by PA Recreation and Park Society, is held the third Friday in July and celebrated during National Park & Recreation Month. It's a great opportunity to honor the professionals who make your community a better places to live, work and play. The toolkit can help you promote your celebration and create a tribute to those who deliver quality recreational and educational programming and keep our parks clean, safe and ready to use.
Learn More & Download Toolkit
| | PA Game Commission Seeks Municipal Partners for Purple Martin & Chimney Swift Nesting Structure Installations | | |
Purple martins and chimney swifts are two species of birds that rely on artificial structures for nesting sites. Both of these species are on the decline in Pennsylvania. To help stabilize these populations, the PA Game Commission is working with municipalities and parks to install purple martin houses and chimney swift towers in areas that provide good habitat for these birds and also allow people to observe and enjoy. Since the program started last year, 40 purple martin structures and 30 chimney swift towers have been placed across the state. The PA Game Commission is looking for additional sites and welcome municipal partners.
For more information and to identify feasible locations for nesting structures on public property, contact Stefan Karkuff at skar...@pa.gov or 717-514-9083.
| | Planning Your Community's Clean Energy Future (with PA DEP & ProtoGen) | |
Sierra Club & Community Advocates for Clean Energy of Greater Philadelphia
June 24, 2026 | 12:00 PM EST | Virtual Event
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What does it take to move a community energy project from idea to action? Join a free webinar for all EAC members, clean energy and solar advocates, and learn about tools and programs helping Pennsylvania communities plan their energy future. Projects scoped now can be well-positioned for advancement through the CED program or other state and federal opportunities as they become available.
Everyone who attends will receive free access through December 31 to GridNav, an easy-to-use energy modeling platform for exploring, scoping, and financially modeling community energy projects.
Learn More & Register
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Pennsylvania Invasive Species Webinar Series
Penn State Extension
Ongoing| Live Webinars & Recordings
| | Several upcoming live webinars will expand the library of species-focused presentations, including: emerald ash borer, stiltgrass, wavyleaf basketgrass, and knotweed. Visit the informational page to register for live webinars and view previous recordings on-demand. Register & Watch Recordings | | |
Farmland Raptor Project: Recruiting Natural Pest Control to Working Lands
WeConservePA & Hawk Mountain Sanctuary
Recorded Webinar
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Know of any working fields or farmlands that could benefit from rodent control? If so, you may have ideal habitat for two declining farmland raptors, American Kestrel and Barn Owl. Bracken Brown, Biologist-Naturalist with Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, recently joined WeConservePA to share how landowners can "recruit" the predator services of these two species by installing nestboxes in open space areas. A limited number of free nestboxes (installation included!) are available through grant funding for sites located in the Chesapeake Bay watershed—and free plans to build your own nestbox are available to anyone. Questions? Contact Bracken Brown at Bracke...@HawkMountain.org or 570-943-3411, ext. 103.
Watch "Recruiting Natural Pest Control to Working Lands" Recording
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Did you know PA has an official state insect?
Photuris pensylvanica is commonly known as "firefly" or "lightning bug," sometimes also "glow-worm" in its larval form and "dot-dash firefly" for its flash pattern. Fireflies are beetles, and late June into early July, around the summer solstice, is when you are most likely to catch a great light show after dark. Celebrate our state insect this season and check out some starting resources to learn more about conservation and what you can do to support the health of PA's firefly populations:
Photo credit: Gould363, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
| | Your donation will help WeConservePA continue to develop resources and provide assistance to the Environmental Advisory Council Network as well as the conservation movement in Pennsylvania. | | WeConservePA advocates for pro-conservation governmental policy and assists government, nonprofits, and individuals in advancing sustainable practices, conserving land, and connecting people to the outdoors. | | | | |
