At the virtual annual meeting on January 15th, the Georgia Association of Conservation District honored 9 District Supervisors from the Flint River District who have made a long-term commitment as District Supervisors.

GACD is pleased to announce Maryanna Chitty from Fort Gaines, GA as the 2020 4-6 Grade State Poster Contest Winner.

he Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District announces that it will award $2,000 in grant funds through the Agricultural & Environmental Education Grant for K-12 programming within the District’s nine counties.

The Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District is excited to announce our newest team member! Kameron Landeen joined the team in August 2020 as a Georgia Association of Conservation District (GACD) District Program Assistant for the Bainbridge area.

The Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District welcomed a new team member this summer through a new District internship program. Bryce Phillips joined the team in May as the 2020 Smart Irrigation Intern.

Each spring the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) selects a theme to celebrate Stewardship Week, which promotes the importance of individuals conserving natural resources This year’s theme, “Where would we BEE without Pollinators?” allowed students to explore the environmental and agricultural benefits of pollinators.

rrigator Pro, a computer program developed by the National Peanut Research Laboratory, uses decades of historical crop data, field, and soil conditions to provide growers with an irrigation recommendation. This innovative tool has been trusted for irrigation scheduling decisions in corn, cotton, and peanut production across the country for years.

Today, the Georgia Water Coalition released a video highlighting the Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District (FRSWCD) and the District’s conservation work. The video honors Clean 13 award winners, which were announced by the Coalition in September.

The final feature in our Meet our Team series is Fredando Jackson, affectionately known as Farmer Fredo. Fredando is a southwest Georgia native and currently lives in Leesburg with his wife and son. He has worked in the area as a farmer and advocate for several years. Fredando joined the District team in 2017 to lead the Urban Agriculture Initiative. This has since been established as an independent 501(c)(3) organization, Flint River Fresh.

The next feature in our Meet our Team series is Perri Campis. Perri joined the District as Project Director in April of 2019, and transitioned into the role of Executive Director in October of 2019. Perri is a UGA College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Alumni with a degree in Agriscience and Environmental Systems, and received her Masters in Public Policy from Georgia State University.

The Produce Box Program launched by Flint River Fresh on April 4th in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is continuing its community impact thanks to support from stakeholders in the Albany area, including local businesses and foundations. This success has propelled the initial 14-day long pilot program into its seventh week of operation.

The Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District has a lot of new faces, and a few you may recognize. We’ll be taking the next few weeks to introduce and re-introduce you to our wonderful team, share more about their role at the District, and a bit about each of them. The next feature in our Meet our Team series is Bryce Phillips. Bryce joined the District as the 2020 Smart Irrigation Intern — our first ever intern! Bryce is an upcoming senior at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton. Bryce will be working with District staff and our partners at UGA to provide outreach and technical assistance to the AgWet project and other smart irrigation projects.

he next feature in our Meet our Team series is Summer Sheffield. Summer joined the team in June 2018 as a GACD District Program Assistant for the Blakely area. As a GACD District Program Assistant, Summer supports GACD duties for Area 3, supports with administrative duties in the Blakely NRCS office, and directly supports the District in activities such as education programs, the annual poster contest, and pollinator garden initiative. Read our interview with Summer below!

Winners of the Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) sponsored “Nip Nutrient Pollution” TiskTask Challenge were announced today. The first annual TiskTask Design Showcase was hosted by the Thomasville Center for the Arts. After months of research, interviews, and exploration of the topic of nutrient pollution, students worked to develop their own solutions to address the problem in their community.

The next feature in our Meet our Team series is Aretha Wimberly. Aretha is the newest member of the District team, she joined as a GACD District Program Assistant for the Albany area in March of 2020.

The next feature in our Meet our Team series is Lindsey Hayes. Lindsey joined the District as the first-ever Director of Operations in January of 2020. Prior to her role with the District, Lindsey spent over a decade with the Decatur County Extension office, most recently as the County Extension Coordinator where she was named Decatur County Ag Woman of the Year. As Director of Operations, Lindsey oversees the operations and administration of all District programs, provides support in securing funding and opportunities for expanding District projects, and oversees and support the District team.

Flint River Fresh has announced a minimum two week extension to the Produce Box Pilot Program launched April 4thin response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The initial 14-day long pilot program was extended after positive feedback and additional support from local businesses.

The Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District has a lot of new faces, and a few you may recognize. We’ll be taking the next few weeks to introduce and re-introduce you to our wonderful team, share more about their role at the District, and a bit about each of them. Next feature in our Meet our Team series is Kenneyon Webb (Ken). Ken has been with the District since October 2019 as a Conservation Technician. Ken is originally from Mississippi, where he attended Alcorn State and graduated in 2018 with a degree in Agricultural Science. Currently, Ken lives in Albany. As a Conservation Technician, Ken ensures District programs and projects that directly involve landowners are running smoothly, gathers critical feedback directly from participants, and supports conservation education and outreach activities.