South Mountain Partnership has presented 10 organizations with $56,000 in grants. Grantees were honored at SMP’s 16th annual Power of the Partnership event early this month..
“These projects embody our mission to preserve our region’s resources for the future,” says Julia Chain, program manager of SMP. “From reducing water pollution to heading up preservation and conservation education, these projects ensure that our children will be able to enjoy our region’s beauty just as much as we do today.”
South Mountain first launched in 2006 as a partnership between Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The organization has its roots in a small meeting at Kings Gap Environmental Center in Cumberland County to workshop a solution to protect the 850-acre White Rocks area, near the Appalachian Trail, from development.
This planted a seed for the South Mountain Conservation Landscape, and from there, it grew into a partnership of citizens, businesses, nonprofits, academic institutions and government agencies. The partnership’s work led to the conservation of the White Rocks area in 2011.
Since its inception, the organization has focused on various projects over the past two decades. Notable accomplishments include
- The receipt of two grants supporting the South Mountain Fruit Belt Economic Impact Study and increased capacity to achieve regional goals;
- Three “Go Local for Health” summits focused on affordable recreation and food opportunities;
- Completion of a Cultural Landscape Assessment and Plan for Michaux State Forest;
- An educational speakers series informing citizens about past and present conservation challenges;
- Regional networking meetings that celebrate the landscape and offer relevant speakers;
- Launch of the State of the Region Report Card and subsequent implementation projects, which received a 2026 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence.
“Our strength shines in the energy of the people behind this collaborative,” Chain pointed out. Today, the partnership is dedicated to protecting and promoting the agricultural, historical, cultural and natural resources in the South Mountain area, which extends across nearly half a million acres in Franklin, Adams, Cumberland and York counties.
Among their numerous accomplishments, partnership members are proud of their robust grant programs, which have invested a total of over $850,000 into the region.
“As SMP celebrates 20 years of conservation in this region, we are pleased to see our grantees furthering our mission to make this area a safe place to live, work and play for generations to come,” Chain said.
The group’s Community Impact Program, formerly the Mini-Grant Program, is funded by the bipartisan Environmental Stewardship Fund through the state department of conservation and administered by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.
The program’s goal is to stimulate on-the-ground projects to sustain the region’s sense of place through the enhancement, promotion or conservation of the South Mountain area’s resources and assets. Municipalities, counties, nonprofits and educational institutions within Adams, Cumberland, Franklin and York counties are eligible to apply.
Since its launch in 2009, this program has distributed over $832,000 in grants, funding 107 grantees. For each grant dollar invested in these projects, $2.50 matched those investments. Five nonprofits received grants through the Community Impact Program this year:
- Big Spring Watershed Association received $5,000 to replace invasive plants with native plant species along Big Spring Creek in Newville, Pennsylvania.
- Friends of Barnitz Mill in Carlisle received $8,500 to preserve and document the mill’s history through interpretive signage, educational videos, oral histories, and artifacts, and encourage others to participate in their preservation work.
- Friends of Shippensburg Community Parks received $15,000 to extend the Dykeman Walking Trail to connect to downtown Shippensburg, the Middle Spring Greenway and the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail.
- Keystone Trail Association received $11,500 to construct a waterless, single vault public toilet on the Scott Farm in Carlisle, to be made available year-round for visitors and hikers on nearby trails.
- The Middle Spring Watershed Association received $10,000 to use water quality monitoring, partner expertise, and geographic information system (GIS) analysis to update their Middle Spring Watershed Improvement Plan.
The Flex Grant program, celebrating five years in operation this year, is funded by private donations. This program awarded five grants this year.
- The Adams County Conservation District of Gettysburg received $1,000 in support of an education program that will teach high school art students about water conservation through a rain barrel decoration project.
- The Coalition to Protect Franklin County, an agricultural preservation organization based in Chambersburg received $1,000 to promote agricultural literacy. This award will allow them to distribute books on local farming, conservation, and stewardship, for free to Farm Fun Fest attendees.
- The Coalition to Save Big Spring (not pictured), located in Newville, received $1,000 to support a water monitoring program, which will establish baseline pre-construction petroleum levels and detect petroleum pollution within Big Spring Creek.
- Dillsburg Arts & Revitalization Council (not pictured) received $1,000 to preserve stained glass windows, first installed in 1888, in the historic Monaghan Church building.
- The West Shore Wildlife Center (not pictured) in Dover, Pennsylvania, received $2,000 for their South Mountain Wildlife Rehabilitation Career Training Program. This program creates paid wildlife rehabilitation trainee positions for students and recent graduates, providing career development opportunities in conservation work.
