The District is pleased to welcome a number of new team members, including two new permanent farm planners, three new AmeriCorps Service Members, and one Encore Program member. In only a couple of months, these new additions have brought great energy, ideas, and insights to our efforts and are helping us continually improve the programs and services we provide our community. It's great to have them all on board!


Robin Buckingham is our new Farm Resource Specialist for livestock farmers in the Puyallup-White River watershed. He is available to provide technical assistance including developing farm conservation plans, facilitating cost-share funding, and no-obligation site visits.







Paul, a long-time resident of Pierce County, joined Pierce Conservation District in March 2018 after working for many years at the King Conservation District. As the KGI Farm Resource Specialist, Paul will work with livestock owners in the Key Peninsula-Gig Harbor-Islands Watershed to help them address natural resource concerns on their farms and improve local water quality. He believes that we all have a part in protecting our environment and is excited to now be working in his neighborhood – Pierce County. When he is not promoting conservation at work, Paul enjoys enhancing the wildlife habitat in his backyard and observing nature around him.

Nicholas Cusick joins the District as an AmeriCorps service member with the Climate Resiliency and Knotweed Control Programs. Nick will be assisting rural business owners and agricultural producers apply for renewable energy grants, developing resonant messaging on rural climate resiliency, and upgrading our knotweed monitoring and GIS protocols.








Meet Kalicia, Harvest Pierce County’s new Community Garden Outreach Intern! Kalicia is a recent Oregon State University graduate with a B.S. in Agricultural Science. Through the BIA Pathways program Kalicia has worked with various environmental service and advocacy organizations in the Pacific Northwest including the Nisqually River Education Project and the NW Indian Fisheries Commission. She is a Puyallup Tribal member, born and raised in Tacoma, WA. For fun Kalicia enjoys running and hiking with her dogs, volunteering with horses, and experimenting with DIY household and beauty product recipes.

Chris joins us as an AmeriCorps service member and will be heading up the Gleaning Project, as well as helping us reach our goals around urban agriculture and equitable food access. Growing up in the beautiful PNW Chris enjoys the outdoors and loves exploring this amazingly biodiverse area of the world. He has a passion for fruit trees, and was recently the orchard manager of an organic orchard that produced: apples, pears, cherries, mulberries, Asian pears, kiwi, chestnuts, walnuts, blueberries, and much more. Chris is excited to help Pierce County residents enjoy a more beautiful and delicious place to live!


Bill Winkelman joins the District as an Energy Conservation Fellow to help with the Climate Resiliency and Resource Conservation Management programs. Bill comes to PCD through the Encore Program coordinated by 501 Commons.