Local Conservation Awards

Top- Awards

Throughout the year, there are different awards given to organizations, farms, and programs that show commitment to conservation.

Below are the recipients within New Castle County who have been recognized for their ongoing efforts.

Cooperator of the Year Award

This award recognizes landowners and entities that have demonstrated outstanding stewardship and conservation practices done in partnership with New Castle Conservation District (NCCD).

A cooperator is a landowner or entity who works or has worked with NCCD programs to implement land stewardship practices.

2024- Matthew Gott

Matt Gott holding his plaque for the 2024 Cooperator of the Year Award he received. Matt Gott is standing next to Board of Supervisors president Robert Emerson.

2024 Cooperator of the Year, Matthew Gott (left) with NCCD Board Chairman, Robert Emerson (left).

The 2024 New Castle Conservation District Cooperator of the Year is Matthew Gott. This Board award recognizes farmers who have demonstrated outstanding service and cooperation in agricultural conservation. Mr. Gott has been working with the District, USDA NRCS and FSA as well as other conservation partners to implement sustainable farming and environmental practices for more than 15 years.

Matthew Gott began his farming career in 2007 where he learned the tests of agriculture with resolve and persistence along with the inclusion of environmental and sustainable practices to enhance his success as well as the health of the land he works.

Examples of Gott’s conservation highlights include:

Around 3,100 acres of cover crop implemented since 2018
Irrigation Water Management Design for almost 300 acres
Around 1,400 acres in Soil Carbon Enhancement with Nutrient Management
Over 3,000 acres in Nutrient Management
Almost 800 acres in Irrigation Enhancement including wells, pumps and irrigation management

Matthew’s peers have described him as“ always being dedicated to farming and the stewardship of the land, paying attention to every detail and always trying to do what’s best." His adaptation to changes in the environment, adopting sustainable practices, and welcoming cooperation with the agricultural sector has made Matthew a role model and point of difference for new and beginning farmers.

Governor's Conservation Awards

Each year, awards are given in the categories of agricultural and urban conservation within each of Delaware's three counties. These honorees are chosen for their "ongoing commitment to improving the environment." Learn more about our 2025 awardees down below.

2025 Agricultural Conservation Awardee:

Michael G. Kitts and Family

Michael Kitts signed up for the USDA-FSA Beginning Farmer Loan Program in 2018 to purchase his home farm at Alley Mill with his wife Rachel and two children, Gracie and Little Mike. Since then, Mike has incorporated best management practices and participated in New Castle Conservation District and NRCS programs for his beef cattle operation and expanded his operation to over 1800 acres of owned and rented cropland.

Mike has been aggressively planting cover crops to improve soil health and reduce losses of surplus nitrogen and phosphorus due to groundwater leaching or excess soil erosion. Mike has also implemented nutrient management plans on the cropland he tills as required by the Delaware Nutrient Management Program. Cover crop planting in combination with nutrient management and yield mapping provides Mike with the best available information to fine tune the application of increasingly expensive fertilizers and soil amendments.

Kitts family receiving their 2025 Agricultural Conservation Award standing with from left to right USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service Acting State Conservationist Shantel King, Governor Meyers’ Deputy Chief of Staff Nikko Brady, Michael and Rachel Kitts Agricultural Awardees, DNREC Deputy Secretary Dayna Cobb, Delaware Association of Conservation Districts President Gwen Pierce, and District Coordinator Kevin Donnelly.

(L to R) USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service Acting State Conservationist Shantel King, Governor Meyers’ Deputy Chief of Staff Nikko Brady, Michael and Rachel Kitts Agricultural Awardees, DNREC Deputy Secretary Dayna Cobb, Delaware Association of Conservation Districts President Gwen Pierce, and District Coordinator Kevin Donnelly.

2025 Urban Conservation Awardee:

The Independence School Stream Stabilization Project

The Independence School Stream Stabilization Project consisted of 360 feet of restoration of an unnamed tributary of Pike Creek, which is part of the Wild and Scenic White Clay Creek watershed. The tributary stream was eroding towards one of the School’s main access roads and the bank erosion had exposed an electric cable-line posing a safety hazard. High stream flows during storm events resulted in frequent out-of-bank flooding and was also cutting into the stream bed.

The project included an imbricated rock seat wall and a boulder path through the tributary stream so that it can also be used as an outdoor classroom. Also, the project used large rocks, log sills, log vanes, and recycled tree-root wads to reconfigure a more resilient, reshaped stream banks. The centerline of the stream was stabilized with cobble and scattered boulders. The stream channel was relocated away from the shoreline. The stream channel was also relocated on the opposite side of an existing Sycamore tree in order to save the tree.

The Independence School receiving their 2025 Urban Conservation Award standing from left to right The Independence School Director of Finance and Operations Patrick Burns, The Independence School Head of School Timothy Costello, and District Coordinator Kevin Donnelly.

(L to R) The Independence School Director of Finance and Operations Patrick Burns, The Independence School Head of School Timothy Costello, and District Coordinator Kevin Donnelly