During the winter months, we look to provide an online Zoom series of programs about various aspects of our work in a more detailed way in an effort to help local watershed groups, individuals and others hone their skills and improve resources. So far in 2026, we have the following sessions locked in:
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Monday, Feb. 2, 2026 - Water on its Way to the Chesapeake: Video Storytelling as a Tool for Collaboration and Public Engagement
Presenters: Michael Kinney, Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association Board President and award-winning filmmaker/videographer and Dr. Joseph Simons, association Board Vice President and Wild Trout Man, who oversees the YouTube channel of the same name with videos that take people on adventures to the watershed's headwaters
Monday, Feb. 23, 2026 - Birding, technology and using both to improve engagement with the public. This session will focus on ways you can use the public's fascination with birds to foster new opportunities to engage them with your watershed and work in general. It will cover key apps you can use and newer projects to incorporate elements such as nest videography.
Presenters: Andrew Bechdel is the West Branch Regional Director with MSRKA and an avid birder from Centre County. He has worked numerous field jobs including as a hawk watcher at Tussey Mountain and Yaki Point at the Grand Canyon and as a point counter with the 3rd PA Breeding Bird Atlas. Andrew is an advocate for using citizen science, such as eBird and iNaturalist, to contribute towards conservation efforts that protect wildlife species and their habitats. He also encourages citizens to explore central PA and discover new and exciting flora and fauna in their locales.
Jon Kauffman promotes conservation through citizen science projects such as Project NestWatch and the American Kestrel and Barn Owl nestbox program at Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center. He has served as a hawk-watcher for Tussey Mountain Hawk Watch and has also traveled and worked with other organizations such as Cape May Bird Observatory and Intermountain Bird Observatory in Idaho. In his free time you can find him exploring new habitats and discovering the interrelationship between the flora and fauna through avian life with his 6-year-old daughter.
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Monday, Feb. 2, 2026 - Water on its Way to the Chesapeake: Video Storytelling as a Tool for Collaboration and Public Engagement
Presenters: Michael Kinney, Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association Board President and award-winning filmmaker/videographer and Dr. Joseph Simons, association Board Vice President and Wild Trout Man, who oversees the YouTube channel of the same name with videos that take people on adventures to the watershed's headwaters
Monday, Feb. 23, 2026 - Birding, technology and using both to improve engagement with the public. This session will focus on ways you can use the public's fascination with birds to foster new opportunities to engage them with your watershed and work in general. It will cover key apps you can use and newer projects to incorporate elements such as nest videography.
Presenters: Andrew Bechdel is the West Branch Regional Director with MSRKA and an avid birder from Centre County. He has worked numerous field jobs including as a hawk watcher at Tussey Mountain and Yaki Point at the Grand Canyon and as a point counter with the 3rd PA Breeding Bird Atlas. Andrew is an advocate for using citizen science, such as eBird and iNaturalist, to contribute towards conservation efforts that protect wildlife species and their habitats. He also encourages citizens to explore central PA and discover new and exciting flora and fauna in their locales.
Jon Kauffman promotes conservation through citizen science projects such as Project NestWatch and the American Kestrel and Barn Owl nestbox program at Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center. He has served as a hawk-watcher for Tussey Mountain Hawk Watch and has also traveled and worked with other organizations such as Cape May Bird Observatory and Intermountain Bird Observatory in Idaho. In his free time you can find him exploring new habitats and discovering the interrelationship between the flora and fauna through avian life with his 6-year-old daughter.
Our 2025 series of Roundtables included:
January 6, 2025 - Juniata Forward: Building on 25 Years of Conservation ... and an introduction to the Spring Creek Atlas
Presenters: Jennifer Farabaugh, Chesapeake Bay Watershed Manager, Western PA Conservancy; and Elyse Johnson, Spring Creek Watershed Commission
February 3, 2025 - Volunteerism in our Watersheds
Presenter: Travis Wingard, PA Wilds Region Master Watershed Coordinator, Penn State Extension
March 3, 2025 - Grant Writing Successes and Pitfalls
Presenters: Eric Skivseth and Eric Rosengrant, Moshannon Creek Watershed Association
January 6, 2025 - Juniata Forward: Building on 25 Years of Conservation ... and an introduction to the Spring Creek Atlas
Presenters: Jennifer Farabaugh, Chesapeake Bay Watershed Manager, Western PA Conservancy; and Elyse Johnson, Spring Creek Watershed Commission
February 3, 2025 - Volunteerism in our Watersheds
Presenter: Travis Wingard, PA Wilds Region Master Watershed Coordinator, Penn State Extension
March 3, 2025 - Grant Writing Successes and Pitfalls
Presenters: Eric Skivseth and Eric Rosengrant, Moshannon Creek Watershed Association
Write-ups of previous Roundtables
January 6: 2025: Juniata Forward (Jennifer Farabaugh) and Spring Creek Atlas (Elyse Johnson)
February 10, 2025: Volunteerism (Travis Wingard, Master Watershed Steward)
March 3, 2025: Grant-writing tops (Eric Skrivseth and Eric Rosengrant, Moshannon Creek Watershed Association)
February 10, 2025: Volunteerism (Travis Wingard, Master Watershed Steward)
March 3, 2025: Grant-writing tops (Eric Skrivseth and Eric Rosengrant, Moshannon Creek Watershed Association)
Roundtable recordings
The following are recordings of our roundtable sessions after they occur for people to be able to check them out if they weren't able to attend.
March 3, 2025:
Feb. 10, 2025:
January 6, 2025:
