The recipients will receive a share of grant funds totaling more than $75,000 for their community-based projects that improve, restore, or protect watersheds.
A panel of judges selected the grant recipients from 50 applications, which were evaluated on environmental need, innovation, community engagement and sustainability.
“Each year, we are so impressed by the commitment of organizations in our communities to restore and protect our watersheds,” said Justin Ladner, president of Pennsylvania American Water. “It is inspiring to see so many opportunities to bring our diverse communities together to work toward creating a better environment, and we are very proud to support these worthy projects.”
The 2023 grant recipients are:
-- Allegheny Cleanways, Allegheny County – Monongahela River Cleanup Series: With the funding, community volunteers will conduct cleanups of riverbanks along the Monongahela River from Donora to Point State Park.
-- Annville Free Library, Lebanon County – Annville Free Library Rain Garden: Funding will support an educational rain garden to help manage runoff and educate the public on the benefits of rain gardens.
-- Borough of Camp Hill, Cumberland County – Clock Courtyard Pollinator Garden: Partnering with local watershed groups, the borough will plant a pollinator garden with native plants and shrubs, educating the public on gardening with native plants and preserving pollinators.
-- Borough of Steelton, Dauphin County – Watershed Education Programming and Clairton Community Garden Improvements: With the grant, the borough plans to construct several rain gardens and community food gardens to reduce stormwater runoff and address limited access to affordable and healthy food.
-- Coatesville Youth Initiative, Chester County – Camp Quiet Thunder: Coatesville Youth Initiative will hold a summer camp for underserved youth to learn about their watershed while developing critical life and leadership skills. The campers will also hold a watershed cleanup and install rain gardens in Coatesville.
-- Foundation for Ohio River Education (FORE) – Ohio River Sweep 2023: Funding will support the annual volunteer cleanup along the Ohio, Allegheny, and Monongahela Rivers.
-- Indiana County Conservation District – First Waves Indiana: First Waves Indiana plans to engage underserved youth in meaningful outdoor experiences, including tree planting, stream biology, paddleboarding, and fly fishing, with a resulting video of the program.
-- Lower Allen Township, Cumberland County – Pollinator Garden Installation and Turf Grass Conversion: With the grant, the township will convert two community areas from turf grass to native pollinator meadows to promote reduction of non-point source pollution runoff to Yellow Breeches Creek and Cedar Run.
-- Marywood University, Lackawanna County – Environmental Stewardship Camp: Funding will support a camp for students ages 10-14 in the Scranton School District, exposing students to water quality topics while exploring the Lackawanna River.
-- Pennsbury School District, Bucks County – Rain Garden & Outdoor Educational Classroom: The grant will fund the construction of a rain garden in the courtyard of the William Penn Middle School. Students will learn about stormwater and watershed management, as well as pollinators.
-- Pike County Conservation District – Pike County Guide to Clean Drinking Water: The grant will support the development of an educational brochure and web page educating the public on local drinking water sources and how to protect those sources from non-point source pollution from their properties.
-- Stroud Water Research Center, Chester County – Providing Meaningful and Accessible Watershed Education to Underserved Audiences: Stroud Water will utilize its Watershed Education Mobile Lab to visit schools, communities, and summer camps to provide watershed education and skills for watershed protection.
-- Three Rivers Waterkeeper, Allegheny County – Community-Based Water Stewardship: The project will expand watershed and source water protection along the Monongahela River, as well as train community stewards to detect and report pollution along the waterways.
-- Watersheds of South Pittsburgh, Allegheny County – Watershed Education Programming and Clairton Community Garden Improvements: The organization plans to revitalize a community garden and conduct watershed educational workshops to highlight the importance of land use and green space on water quality.
Pennsylvania American Water initiated its Environmental Grant Program in 2005 to support projects that protect or restore drinking water sources and surrounding watersheds.
Since then, American Water has expanded the annual program to many of its state subsidiaries across the nation.
To date, Pennsylvania American Water has donated more than $725,000 to fund nearly 150 projects.
[Posted: May 10, 2023] PA Environment Digest
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