Thanks to the Allegheny Land Trust and Environmental Stewardship Fund funding, discharge from abandoned mine drainage (AMD) from Bridgeville Mine, which closed in the early 1950s, can now be treated. The project restored the health of the water and created a pedestrian area for residents to learn about the areas natural resources. The treatment center […]
Frank W. Kocher Memorial Park
Frank W. Kocher Memorial Park provides a variety of recreational opportunities for Columbia County and the surrounding area. An Environmental Stewardship Fund grant helped develop the park, with an emphasis on accessibility so that young children and individuals with disabilities can fish, play, and enjoy nature. There are few, if any, similar opportunities within the […]
Miller Run AMD Treatment
When the Shoup’s Run Watershed Association was founded in 1998, Shoup’s Run and its major tributary, Miller Run, were on the list of Pennsylvania’s impaired waters. They had problems with flooding and erosion, were polluted from acid mine drainage, and contained very little aquatic life. But hidden in this impacted watershed was an ecological gem. […]
Montour Environmental Education Center
The Montour Environmental Education Center sits on a 965-acre preserve owned by Pennsylvania Power and Light (PPL), one of the largest utilities in Pennsylvania. The education center is a busy place, attracting more than 200,000 visitors to the Montour County preserve each year. It also serves 25 school districts in the surrounding area on a […]
Expanding the White Clay Greenway
Franklin Township in Chester County has become a key player in the preservation efforts within the White Clay Creek watershed. In 2008 and 2009, a Growing Greener II grant allowed Franklin Township to acquire three properties along the creek, for a total of 233 acres preserved. The two properties purchased in 2008 are a part […]
Protecting Rock Point
In 2007, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) awarded the Wild Waterways Conservancy (WWC) a Growing Greener II grant to use towards acquiring 86 acres of land at the confluence of Connoquenessing Creek and the Beaver River in Lawrence and Beaver counties. Other partners— including Lawrence County, Wild Waterways Conservancy, and the […]
Resica Falls Conservation Easement
Monroe County is one of the fastest growing counties in Pennsylvania. The county has experienced explosive growth, and the corresponding need for additional recreation and housing units often results in the loss of open space. Situated in Middle Smithfield Township, Resica Falls Scout Reservation is prime land in the eyes of developers hoping to meet […]
Restoring the Fish Habitat of Wallace Run
Wallace Run in Centre County required an investment in its restoration. The stream begins in the Allegheny Front in State Game Land 103 and flows northwest for eight miles, gathering water from small tributaries. There, where the watershed is mostly forested, Wallace Run is a pristine trout stream. But as it turns to flow along […]
Planting Trees Along Ridley Creek
Ridley Creek State Park is one of the largest contiguous areas of tree cover in Delaware County and makes significant contributions to improved air quality and reduced pollution. The five-county region, which includes Philadelphia and Delaware counties, has suffered an 8% (34,000 acres) loss of heavy tree cover since 2000. This reduction in tree canopy […]
Sandy Run Wetland Restoration
Growing Greener II investments allowed the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association (WVWA) to complete Phase II of its Sandy Run Wetland Restoration and Enlargement project in Montgomery County. The expansion and restoration of wetlands in this section of Sandy Run, a tributary of Wissahickon Creek, ensured significant stormwater storage for an area with a history of […]