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Education & Outreach
An educated public can be the most valuable resource tool in restoring the health of an entire watershed. Ideally, education efforts foster an appreciation and awareness of local water resources, inspiring stewardship and meaningful changes in daily actions.
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Fairmount Dam Fish Passage Restoration
The Fairmount Dam was created in 1820 to provide a source of drinking water for the City of Philadelphia. This dam eliminated the ability for fish to migrate upstream. In 1979 a fish ladder was constructed, but it had poor flow conditions at the fishway entrance, impeding entry by fish, as well as inappropriate internal flows, impeding passage of fish that do manage to enter the structure. These factors limit the successful migration of anadromous fish, including shad and river herring. Restoration of the fish passage to correct these issues was just completed. The future success of several upstream fish ladders was dependent on improving the operation of this ladder.
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StormwaterPA
StormwaterPA is a collaborative effort that highlights storm water management innovations – and provides developers, municipal officials, and engineers with the tools to transform local runoff problems from unwanted nuisance into beneficial resource.
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RiverBASE
RiverBASE is a project of the Environmental Program of Reading Area Community College. Its goal is to provide educators in the Schuylkill River watershed with resources covering science, natural history, history and culture of the river watershed.
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Philly RiverCast
Created in response to the growing role of the Schuylkill river as a recreational resource, RiverCast provides users with a water quality forecast based upon flow, rainfall, and turbidity levels. Once a prediction is made, a color-coded system is associated with recommended recreational activities. www.phillyrivercast.org
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Guide to Stormwater Management on School Campuses
Distributed to schools, colleges and universities throughout the region, the full-color Guide instructs campuses in the watershed to better manage stormwater on their properties by implementing Best Management Practices such as rain gardens, rain barrels, tree planting and meadow installation, and environmentally-friendly maintenance practices.
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Perkiomen Outreach Pilot
Focusing on 362 square miles, a multi-year conservation, education and cleanup program addressed the specific needs of the Perkiomen Watershed. The POP renewed public interest and sparked stewardship in the watershed they call home.
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Riverbend Environmental Education Center
A pervious parking lot and bio-infiltration areas were installed to slow and filter stormwater runoff to Saw Mill Run, a direct tributary to the Schuylkill River. Now the first stop on the REEC tour, visitors learn how stormwater sinks through the new surface and into areas where ground infiltration can occur, reducing stormwater velocity and pollution in the creek.
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Environmental Advisory Councils
EAC’s are volulnteer groups recruited by townships to advocate and participate in environmental initiatives in their local communities. Townships with active EAC’s generally have more environmentally-friendly approaches to land management.
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Springside School Rain Garden
Students transformed a paved traffic circle into a working rain garden, calming trqaffic problems and preventing heated parking lot runoff pollution from entering the Wissahickon Creek. Other rain gardens and student-created sculptural installations addressed runoff from the school roofs.