The 2021 South Mountain Mini-Grant Program is now open! The grant program catalyzes on-the-ground projects that protect and promote the South Mountain region in Adams, Cumberland, Franklin, and York Couties. Submit your short pre-application form by Friday, May 28, 2021. Only those who pre-apply may submit a final application. For more information and to download the application, please click here.
Funding for South Mountain Mini-Grants is provided by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources through the Pennsylvania Environmental Stewardship Fund. Grants are awarded through the South Mountain Partnership, with assistance from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Our mini-grants leverage a return of more than double and fund community-driven projects that provide lasting improvements and benefits to Adams, Cumberland, Franklin, and York counties.
Twice annually—in spring and fall, the South Mountain Partnership holds a meeting with partners as well as interested businesses, non-profits, and individuals to learn more about current initiative and on-going projects. The Fall Partnership Meeting is slated for Friday, September 13, 8 AM to Noon, with an optional lunch.
The meeting will include:
Welcome by Franklin County Commissioners David Keller and Robert Thomas and South Mountain Partnership Director Katie Hess
Update – Proposed Independence Energy Connection Electric Line
Lancaster Clean Water Partners – best management practice implementation with municipal, business, and non-profit partners
Precision Mapping for Water Quality Programs
Chesapeake Conservancy – discussion around creating a regional tool for planning and reporting
Programs to support Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPIIIs)
It is easy to register on Eventbrite. Go here to sign up.
The Fall Partnership Meeting hopes to connect local and county agencies and officials to technical and funding resources for planning and implementing WIP IIIs – all types of partners have a role to play and a contribution to make. In addition, the meeting will facilitate discussion and next steps for working as a region to attract more implementation resources to the counties and WIP teams in the South Mountain landscape (portions of Adams, Cumberland, Franklin, and York counties).
South Mountain Partnership meetings help to build and strengthen a network of organizations working throughout the region to preserve and conserve the landscape known as South Mountain, the eastern terminus of the Blue Ridge. Meetings are a way to spark conversation and collaboration across political and sectorial boundaries and help partners understand opportunities to engage in the on-going work of the Partnership. Learn more about the Partnership here.
The 7th-annual South Mountain Partnership‘s Power of the Partnership breakfast is slated for January 26, 7:30 AM to 10:30 AM, at Bongiorno Conference Center in Carlisle . It is a celebration of the South Mountain region, encompassing the South Mountain and Michaux Forest landscape of Franklin, Adams, Cumberland, and a small portion of York Counties. The region encompasses four state parks–Mont Alto, Caldeonia, Pine Grove, and King’s Gap– and such communities as Chambersburg, Waynesboro, Gettysburg, and Carlisle The mountain greenway is a special mix of heritage, culture, nature, and recreation and contributes a distinct character, attracting residents and visitors to the landscape.
South Mountain Partnership invites individuals, businesses, municipalities, and non-profits:
Celebrate our collective accomplishments in 2017, and look forward to what’s to come in 2018;
Connect with the Partnership as a whole and get an understanding of how the Partnership works and where we are going;
Network with folks in the region who are making a difference;
Hear about projects that have received funding through the 2016 South Mountain Mini-Grant Program.
The South Mountain Partnership is a regional, landscape conservation project in south-central Pennsylvania. Launched in 2006, the Partnership operates as a public-private partnership between Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. It has grown into an alliance of citizens, businesses, non-profits, academic institutions, and local, state and federal government agencies and officials collaborating to envision and secure a sustainable future for the South Mountain landscape. This landscape is home to many. Together, the Partnership strives to collaborate in sustaining the South Mountain landscape.
