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SWCS National Capital Chapter Events

Upcoming Events:

Conservation Networking Event
Thursday, May 25, 2023, 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Wunder Garten, 1101 First St. NE, Washington, DC 20003

Please join us for an informal gathering to see SWCS CEO Clare Lindahl off to the Midwest after three months in Washington, DC. View the event flyer.

Past Events        

 

Ag Conservation Coalition Happy Hour
Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Volunteer and Networking Event 
Saturday, April 22, 2023 

The SWCS National Capital Chapter organized a volunteer team to help the Anacostia Watershed Society clean up the Anacostia River. 

Water Week Social Event: Conservation and Conversations
Thursday, April 27, 2023

Co-hosted with our friends at the Source Water Collaborative.

Agriculture Week Networking with the SWCS CEO, Clare Lindahl
March 23, 2023

View the event flyer (PDF)

Habitat Restoration Workday Service Opportunity
March 25, 2023
Site: Kingman Island, Langston Golf Course Driving Range, 3047 Benning Rd NE, Washington, DC 20002
View the event flyer (PDF)

Please contact any of the NCC Officers with suggestions for tours and seminars.  

Conservation and Cocktails
Tuesday, December 13, 2022 | 6:30PM – 7:30PM
(Arlington Ballroom Salon IV, Marriott Crystal Gateway)

The Clean Water Act, established national water quality standards, restricted pollution, and invested in wastewater treatment and better wetlands management. Today, our waters are dramatically cleaner and yet, significant challenges remain. 

As we celebrate 50 years of the Clean Water Act, the National Capital Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society will lead a special session featuring Nancy Stoner, President of the Potomac River Keeper Network and one of the nation’s most experienced water policy experts who recently served as Acting Assistant Administrator at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  You won’t want to miss this session!

View the event flyer (PDF).

Networking Event with SWCS CEO Clare Lindahl

Join the National Capital Chapter of SWCS and CEO Clare Lindahl for a final conservation networking event in Washington, DC, before she returns to the Midwest. Drop by Wunder Garten (1101 First St NE, Washington, DC) on May 26th from 4:30-6:30 p.m. for an informal gathering of dynamic individuals whose contributions are creating a bright future for agriculture, the environment, and society. 

View the event flyer for more info

Earth Day Clean-Up

NCC-SWCS is putting together a team of volunteers to support the Anacostia Watershed Society's clean-up efforts on Saturday, April 23, 10 a.m. to noon. If you are interested in joining register here by April 8. You can still register after April 8 as space allows.

View the event flyer for more info.

Networking Events with SWCS Staff

Drop-in for an informal gathering of dynamic individuals whose contributions are creating a bright future for agriculture, the environment, and society. 

  • April 28, 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. at Wunder Garten (1101 First Street NE) with Clare Lindahl, CEO and Renee Bouldin, Chapter and Community Builder
  • May 3, 10 - 11 a.m. at Pavilion Cafe at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden with Clare Lindahl, CEO; Joe Otto, Special Projects and Partnerships Director and Historian; and Dale Threatt-Taylor, SWCS Chair and Southeast Region Director

View the event flyer for more info.

Field Trip: Choptank River Watershed Tour
Tour Eastern Shores farms growing perennial grasses for use as poultry bedding: A potential legacy nutrient conservation practice
April 6, 2022
Delmarva Peninsula

View the event flyer.
RSVP by March 31 for meal and transportation.

Agriculture Week Networking with the SWCS CEO, Clare Lindahl
March 25, 2022, 4:30 - 6:30 p.m.
BLUEJACKET, 300 Tingey St. SE, Washington, DC, 20003

View the event flyer.

Conservation and Cocktails
February 10, 2021, and June 30, 2021 - Virtual Events
The NCC held two Conservation and Cocktails events in  2021. This was an idea we came up with while trying to create a social event during the pandemic. The events were intended to provide conservation education and networking member engagement. Conservation and Cocktails, because it was virtual and the subject matter was relatively light, allowed for lots of discussion among members.

At the first event, NRCS Historian and NCC President-Elect, Dr. Shelby Callaway, shared an engaging talk about Felix Summers, who was the Soil Conservation Service's resident artist/cartoonist in the 50s-60s and tied his work into larger mid-century artistic movements and the conservation movement. Chapter officers had also arranged for Jim Larkin, COO of MurLarkey Distillery, in Bristow, Virginia - a local distillery with local agribusiness and conservation-minded strategies - to share about their "Farm to Flask" pledge for sourcing local grains and ingredients and recycling water used in the distilling process. 

The June event focused on water availability, drought and agricultural sustainability supply chain. Chapter President, Lisa Duriancik (NRCS CEAP Watershed Assessment Leader) presented a brief overview of the concerns around water availability and drought in the West, studies to evaluate conservation effects on water availability and new water management tools by UC Davis. We also heard from Mark Brusberg, of the USDA Office of the Chief Economist and SWCS-NCC member and meeting participant, regarding USDA work addressing drought and water concerns in the west. Lexi Clark, Field to Market and SWCS NCC Council Member Representative, shared a video discussing sustainability of the ag supply chain and a video of sustainability processes of Jose Cuervo around agave production and use of spent materials to manufacture compostable straws.

Neabsco Creek Wetlands Boardwalk and Talk
May 2, 2021

The NCC hosted our first (since the pandemic) in-person Chapter technical educational event on May 2, 2021, at the Neabsco Creek Wetlands Boardwalk (Neabsco Creek is a tributary of the Potomac River) at the Julie J. Metz Wetland Mitigation Bank in Woodbridge, Virginia. 

The walk and talk attracted around 40 participants. We also invited a local Webelo Cub Scouts Den to join us to learn as part of their "Into the Woods" Adventure. Our chapter president, Lisa Duriancik discussed water quality concerns of the Neabsco Creek and surrounding watersheds and she arranged for two guest speakers, new SWCS-NCC Member Dr. Joe Prenger of NRCS and Maryland Chapter member Dr. Greg McCarty of ARS. Following the short presentations, guests walked the wetlands boardwalk to view the wetlands and wildlife in the habitat.  


July 2016: Chapter members dinner at Sidebar for Soil and Water Conservation Society Annual Conference in Louisville, KY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Left to Right: Andy Manale, Michelle Perez, Maggie Spinelli, Phil Spinelli, and Becky Mitschele.

Enjoying some Mexican food after the movie screenings of Expedition Blue Planet: North America and Potomac: American Reflections.  Left to Right: Andy Manale, Michelle Perez, Maggie Spinelli, Phil Spinelli, and Becky Mitschele.

Left to Right: Andy Manale, Michelle Perez, Maggie Spinelli, Phil Spinelli, and Becky Mitschele.

 

 

 

 

Enjoying some Chinese food after the movie screening of the Symphony of Soil.  Left to Right: Ed Murtagh, Michelle Perez, Joceyln Aieman, and Kathy Michels. 

Past Seminars 

September 2017 Lunch and Learn: Communicating Science 

August 2016 Lunch and Learn: Drought, Climate Change, and Food Security

December 2014: The Case of Conowingo Dam- Green infrastructure for climate resilient coastal and river corridors 

Presentation and discussion by Wendi Goldsmith, a geomorphologist and VP at Chester Engineers. Wendi Goldsmith is a pioneer in the field of ecological restoration and the application of sustainability principles to natural resource planning, commercial development, and public infrastructure.   

November 2014: Panel on The Future of Non-Point Source Pollution Reduction Strategies at American Water Resources Association annual conference in Tyson's Corner, VA: NCC Chapter Officers organized a special topic session panel presented by Lara Bryant, Sara Walker, Chris Hartley, and Michelle Perez. The goal of this session was to discuss the latest strategies for addressing non-point sourcepollution through multi-stakeholder partnerships, and especially to inspire public works to consider adopting their own non-point source strategy. Attendees were presented with ideas on how partners can work together to effectively address water quality problems in a more cost-effective manner.

December 2012: Lessons Learned from 13 NIFA-CEAP Watershed Projects: Dr. Deanna Osmond presented on lessons learned from thirteen watershed projects  funded by NIFA and NRCS as part of the overall CEAP initiative to focus on relating water quality change to conservation.  

June 2012: Feeding a 9 Billion World: Implications for Soil and Water ConservationDr. Neil Conklin, Dr. Theo Dillaha, and Dr. Sara Scherr, presented on is how to meet these new demands for food, fiber, and fuel while conserving our soil and water resources and protecting biodiversity.   The three panelists discussed the different viewpoints regarding 1) the need for a new Green Revolution and the need for more land for crop production, 2) the possibilities for shifting current production to more conserving production, including the transfer of technology from first to third worlds, and 3) the role of changing food and product choices—food versus fuel, healthier food consumption habits.  How do we shift to a more sustainable trajectory towards food security?

August 2010: Dr. Ryan C. Atwell is an American Association for the Advancement of Science Technology Fellow working with the USDA Office of Environmental Markets. Dr. Atwell will share highlights from his dissertation entitled “Linking Resilience Theory and Diffusion of Innovations Theory to Understand the Potential for Perennials in the Corn Belt.” Interview data indicate that the adoption of conservation practices is based not only on immediate profitability but also on the interplay between contextual factors at three distinct levels of the system: compatibility, community level reinforcement, and well-targeted incentives and regulations. 

October 2009 Sally Collins, Director of USDA Office of Ecosystem Services and Markets will discuss how markets for water quality, wetlands, carbon, and biodiversity can reward America’s landowners for their stewardship activities.

September 2008: A Special Seminar The Renewable Fuels Standard Panel Presentation and Discussion: Pros, Cons, Challenges, Unintended Consequences and Regulatory Activities.

Summer 1999: The U.S.-South Africa BiNational Commission and the Role of the Working Group on Sustainable Natural Resource Utilization. 

Tours

2017 Tour of USDA Beltsville Agriculture Research Center

2014 Tour of the USDA Green Roof

On July 22, 2014, NCC members toured the USDA's green roof, bee-hives, and composting and recycling program with USDA staff as the guides.

2013 Tour of Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant

In November 14th 2013, six members of the National Capital Chapter toured the Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant.

 Members touring the Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plan

 Members touring the plant

2009 Spring Tour Botanical Garden

2008 Fall Tour Rock Creek and National Arboretum

2007 Spring Tour ARS Research Farm and US FWS Patuxent Center

2007 Fall Tour Conservation at the Rural Suburban Interface

2006 Fall Tour Beltsville Agricultural Research Center

2005 Fall Conservation Tour Potomac and Anacostia River Tours

2003 Fall Tour Conservation in Anne Arundel Co MD