The staff and supervisors of the Orleans, Essex, and Caledonia County Natural Resources Conservation Districts met in East Burke on Thursday, September 12 to share a meal and engage in conversation. The three NEK districts have been meeting annually for at least 15 years! Every three years, each district gets the opportunity to host and craft an agenda, although in practice all three NEK districts work together to make sure the meeting is productive and social. This year, topics of conversation included the ideal relationship between VACD and NRCDs, related to the consultant hired by the VACD Capacity Building Committee; the locally led conservation delivery system; and a “failed” project and what each district learned from that experience. Thank you to the staff and supervisors who made time in their schedules to prioritize building relationships with and learning from their fellow districts. – Emily Finnegan, District Manager, Caledonia County NRCD