Brian Zeidner, Director of Member Services, Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative
This is part three of a series of articles that inform the public of an ambitious project that will benefit our local communities in many ways. Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative has undertaken a lawn-to-native pollinator habitat transition project on the grounds of their headquarters building, located along Route 6 in Wysox, Pennsylvania. Expected benefits include improved environmental stewardship, evaluating new right-of-way management strategies, educational opportunities for local students and groups, and reduced maintenance costs. Claverack is a rural electric cooperative that is owned by the members we serve.  

One of the most impactful things you will ever do is choose a partner. This is true for marriage, for business, and most certainly, for contractor selection. The right contractor will make the project pleasurable and provide lasting satisfaction. The wrong partner leaves you with a lot of regrets.

Brian Zeidner, Director of Member Services, Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative
This is part two of a series of articles that inform the public of an ambitious project that will benefit our local communities in many ways. Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative has undertaken a lawn-to-native pollinator habitat transition project on the grounds of their headquarters building, located along Route 6 in Wysox, Pennsylvania. Expected benefits include improved environmental stewardship, evaluating new right-of-way management strategies, educational opportunities for local students and groups, and reduced maintenance costs. Claverack is a rural electric cooperative that is owned by the members we serve.  

The Power and Process of Planning

Businessman Nido Qubein said, “The trouble with many plans is that they are based on the way things are now. To be successful, your plan must focus on what you want, not what you have.”
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At Claverack, we recognized if we wanted to have a successful native pollinator habitat project, we would need help and a good plan. I mentioned before that Bedford County residents Mike and Laura Jackson had been successful with projects like this, so I reached out to Laura and followed her advice. 

Brian Zeidner, Director of Member Services, Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative
“We humans are the only creatures that think a nice flat, short, green lawn is a good thing. Every other species on earth views such a lawn as a barren desert.” My friend, Kevin Brown, from the Bradford County Conservation District made this stunning statement. He’s known for making provocative statements, so I had to investigate his claim.

Cathy Yeakel, District Manager, BCCD
Are you a resident of Bradford County and attend a college or university, majoring in natural resources, conservation, agriculture or another related environmental field? If you said yes, here is an opportunity for you to apply for some scholarship funds! Applications for the scholarship are accepted until September 30th of each year. 

Katie Morse, Intern, BCCD
Mosquitoes—we all know what they are—little flying bugs that like to take advantage of any exposed skin and ruin a good night outside. They bite anyone willing to provide a blood feast.  But what if you don’t want to be that dinner? Well, here’s some good news: there are a few things you can do to prevent becoming the next victim of a mosquito attack by preventing repopulation around your home.

Kevin Brown, Ag Resource Specialist, BCCD
This past week was an exciting one for some of us around the area.  Monday night, as dusk was approaching, along came the storm of the century.  For some, this would be an exaggeration, but for right where I live, probably not.  I have never experienced a storm with that much wind in my lifetime.  I have only had to “head to the middle of the house” one other time during a storm.  As the winds died down, and the rain tapered off, we emerged from our safety area to assess the damage.  Trees down.  Power out.  Powerlines down in our own lawn, with two poles really leaning and ready to snap.  Tree limbs strewn everywhere.  I will admit, I am a strange person. (But aren’t we all?)  I love storms.  I love watching them.  The forces that they have are incredible.  Imagine a thing that you can’t grab ahold of (air), and some days you can’t even feel, but at the blink of an eye it can completely shred everything around you.  Anyway, without hesitation, I grabbed my chainsaw and away I went.  I knew help would be a while getting there if I did not do something on my own.  I met the neighbor at the top of the hill with his mid-size tractor.  “Is everyone ok up there?”  “Yep.”  “Is everyone ok down there?”  “Yep”.  “Then let’s get to work.”   Two plus hours later, we had made it almost a quarter of a mile up the road to where the last tree laid across it.

Kevin Brown, BCCD, Ag Resource Specialist
I have been going to write this for quite some time now, but something always comes up.  Now it is the time of year where it will make a little less sense, but hopefully you will understand what I am talking about.  Maybe it will help you put fields to bed for the winter in a little better shape than usual and be rewarded next spring.

Miranda Neville, Agricultural Resource Specialist, BCCD
There has been a lot more discussion in the world surrounding mental health in recent years but even though there are efforts to reduce the stigma there is still a lot of discomfort around the topic. Speaking specifically about farming, in the agriculture community, there are still so many voids in mental health care options. Most farms in Bradford County aren’t seasonal cropping operations, meaning it’s 365/24/7 and with that comes a large physical and mental toll. There’s rarely any down time for farmers to decompress, which means they are at a higher risk of becoming mentally (setting aside physically) exhausted. Burnout is the number one mental health concern among farmers.

Kevin Brown, Ag Resource Specialist, BCCD
I was watching the local news the other day (I won’t say which one as to not incriminate them) and they started talking about this new study that was out where they had looked at “heat islands”.  Have you ever heard of a “heat island” before?  I would not expect that many people to have heard of such a thing, and I didn’t really expect the anchors to know about it, but I was pretty surprised that the weatherman didn’t really seem to know what it was referencing.   No, it is not anything like Love Island, LOL.  Heat Islands are urban areas that, just by their nature, absorb more heat during the day and then continue to stay a lot warmer during the nighttime hours.  Then, guess what happens the next day?   They heat back up even faster than the day before- and so the cycle continues.  What is the end result?  You guessed it, it is a lot warmer than surrounding, non-developed land.  What can confound the problem even more is that the wind typically blows less in the cities.  That makes it even harder for these areas to dissipate heat.  As we continue to see Mother Earth getting warmer, we tend to blame a lot of things.  Maybe some of these things are real, and maybe they are a figment of someone’s imagination to get you to donate to their cause.  However, anyone that knows anything about concrete and asphalt will tell you that these products definitely hold in more heat for longer periods of time than soil or grass.  So, the more we build, the worse it gets.  Have you ever tried to walk across asphalt on a 90-degree day with the sun beating on it?  (Don’t try it!)  Now walk across your plush yard.  Think there is a difference?  Uh, yea. 

Kevin Brown, Ag Resource Specialist, BCCD
So, occasionally we get calls or requests from residents for monies to do certain things.  We, here at the district, do have grant monies that we work with in order to help with certain things.  We don’t typically have money at the ready, but rather apply for it once we know there is a need (from you).  We have an Ag group and a Stream group and a Dirt and Gravel Roads group.  I am part of the Ag Team, and we specialize in ag stuff.  People will see some of the projects we do as they drive around.  Some counties get lots of funds because they have lots of things to do in that particular area, and some counties get very little because they don’t.  For example, Philadelphia County doesn’t have a whole lot of agriculture or dirt and gravel roads so they would get very little money in those two programs. Bradford County, on the other hand, is one of the top ag counties (although that is fading fast), and the top county for the Dirt and Gravel Roads Program.