Upcoming Projects

Watershed Stakeholders To Make Garden and Landscaping Designs At Workshop: April 23 

Arranged by Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), home owners at creek headwaters, Paxton Creek stakeholders, and others will develop conceptual plans for beautifying yards and grounds, while using conservation practices at a workshop in Lower Paxton Township Municipal Building on April 23, from approximately 6:30-8:30 pm. At the evening workshop participants will learn principles (e.g., role of gardens in infiltrating stormwater runoff, and in removing pollutants; design aesthetics involving odd numbers of plants, and coior masses), and environmental considerations in gardening decisions. Workshop participants will receive vegetation discounts, chances at a rain barrels raffle, membership in PCWEA, vegetation and vendor lists, sources of additional information, and implementation assistance for the raffled rain barrels. Although no registration is required, participants should at least make RSVPs to SRBC, so that spaces will be reserved for them. Additional workshop background is at http://www.srbc.net/programs/paxton/index.asp .

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Grant Announcement

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced the following among 2006 projects selected for its Chesapeake Bay Targeted Watersheds Grant Program (TWG): This project in Paxton Creek is now into its second year.

Paxton Creek Watershed: Stormwater Management for Pennsylvania Communities
Susquehanna River Basin Commission and Paxton Creek Watershed and Education Association
Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Targeted Watersheds Grant: $725,000
Partner Contributions: $735,800

Using the Paxton Creek Watershed as a model, this project will develop a multi-jurisdictional stormwater management structure spanning several municipalities in the greater Harrisburg area. To test the management structure and address water quality impacts, the initiative also will implement five stormwater demonstration projects that are supported by and funded through public-private partnerships. The demonstration projects include: 1) restoring a wetland corridor and establishing a wetland complex in a residential neighborhood; 2) establishing a recreational “greenspace” with bioretention measures and a riparian corridor on a former brownfield site; 3) implement biorention measures for a large parking lot and restore a degraded stream channel at the Pennsylvania State Police headquarters; 4) bioretention associated with runoff from the Farm Show Complex; and 5) restore a riparian wetland corridor and establish bioretention measures to capture drainage from hardened elements of a city park. The demonstration projects combined will treat runoff from over 30 acres, and will restore and stabilize over 4,000 feet of stream corridor. This effort represents a diverse partnership including the Susquehanna River Basin Commission(SRBC), the Paxton Creek Watershed and Education Association, the Harrisburg Area Community College, the Dauphin County Conservation District, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, a local water authority, several local governments, and a local developer. Information sheets on the five projects and the monitoring program are available at the SRBC website .

Exerpted from NFWF website .

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