04/15/24 - 66 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA: http://tinyurl.com/msuwtctm
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Success Stories Mark 10th Anniversary Of Growing Greener Program
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This year we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the award-winning Growing Greener Program which was signed into law on December 15, 1999. Gov. Tom Ridge and the General Assembly created the original five year, nearly $645 million Growing Greener Program which continues to be the largest single investment in cleaning up and restoring the environment in Pennsylvania's history.
Thanks to the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds, an anonymous benefactor and other partners, a special grant program was developed to give two $250 grants to watershed groups with the best article and photo or video submitted to a special Growing Greener website. The groups partnering to sponsor the celebration include: the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds,Stream Restoration, Inc., the Western Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, the Eastern Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, the PA Association of Conservation Districts,LandStudies, Inc. and PA Environment Digest. Serious watershed restoration efforts continue in Pennsylvania, in spite of the decreased support from the Department of Environmental Protection and the Growing Greener Program over the last seven years. During 2009 alone over 1,500 people attended watershed conferences or other environmental events dedicated to watershed restoration and protection, a core mission of Pennsylvania's environmental efforts. This is the largest number of people dedicated to any environmental program in the Commonwealth. In June the House adopted House Resolution 17 (Harper-R-Montgomery) directing the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to review the Growing Greener Program and the Community Conservation Partnerships Program. The Committee's report is due no later than this June. Here is a compilation of those success stories-- By Robert B. Adams - Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association
Those who drive by the end of Morris Road on Bethlehem Pike in Fort Washington in Montgomery County have probably asked that question time and time again. The answer is fairly simple.
By Michael Peterson, Executive Director, Lacawac Sanctuary Foundation
Ever wonder what our native bodies of water would be like if we could turn back the clock 500 years?
By Jo Ellen Litz, Swatara Creek Watershed Association and Lebanon County Commissioner
On May 2-3 the Swatara Creek Watershed Association and many its partners held the 21st Annual Swatara Creek Sojourn and Cleanup starting in Pine Grove, Schuylkill County where Route 645 meets Route 443.
By Kathy Bergmann
In early 2006, to address the problem of impaired streams in the Brandywine Creek, the Brandywine Valley Association (BVA) initiated a program entitled Red Streams Blue.
By Jennifer Shuey, Executive Director ClearWater Conservancy
In August 2009, the final instream restoration work began on Spring Creek at the former site of McCoy-Linn Dam. The site is located between the towns of Bellefonte and Milesburg about one mile upstream of the confluence with Bald Eagle Creek.
By Jim Wilson Watershed Specialist/Agricultural Technician
When attempts to create an Environmental Advisory Council were contentiously opposed and ultimately defeated in a local municipality in Northampton County at the start of the new year, some proponents of the EAC, including a couple local officials, decided to redirect their energy and create the next best thing for addressing local environmental issues and concerns—a community watershed organization.
By Matthew W. Kofroth, Watershed Specialist
The Lititz Run Watershed Alliance has used the Growing Greener Program as a catalyst for bigger and brighter ideas throughout their community.
By Melissa Reckner, Director Kiski-Conemaugh Stream Team
The Kiski-Conemaugh Stream Team was formed in 1998 to address concerns brought to light in the Kiski-Conemaugh River Basin Conservation Plan.
By Jack Fleckenstein, Watershed Specialist
The Genesee Headwaters Watershed Association was started with Growing Greener Funds five years ago and hasn't looked back. We applied for and received a GG Grant to do an assessment of our 86 square. mile headwaters of the Genesee River.
By Frank Weeks, President, UAWA
There is nothing like the satisfaction one receives from doing volunteer work to help the environment.
By Celina Seftas - Watershed Specialist
The Shoup’s Run Watershed Association has created a true success story from the Growing Greener Program. When the group started in 1998, both Shoup’s Run and its major tributary, Miller Run, were a mess.
By Kristin Sewak - Director, Natural Biodiversity
Three years before Governor Rendell signed Executive Order 2004-1, creating the Pennsylvania Invasive Species Council, the Department of Environmental Protection recognized the devastating impacts of invasive plants in riparian areas.
By Susan Harris, Watershed Specialist
In 2005, Montgomery County Conservation District was awarded Growing Greener funding to implement a stormwater best management practices demonstration site on the headwaters to the Little Neshaminy Creek in Montgomery Township.
County Conservation District Watershed Specialists have been a vital force in Pennsylvania’s watershed movement for nearly 10 years, providing much needed environmental services in their counties and saving the state millions of dollars in project costs, in part by locating matching funding and in-kind contributions for environmental projects.
Blackleggs Creek Watershed Association and Trout Nursery
In August 2009, nestled into the rolling hills of southern Indiana County, a Memorial Park was dedicated to all the past volunteers and members of the Blackleggs Creek Watershed.
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1/4/2010 |
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