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Who We Are Our Goals Education Resources Mission and History What We've Done Membership Contact Us	Paxton Creek Watershed Education Page PCWEA TRAINING SCHEDULE FOR WINTER 2010 For Paxton Creek Watershed and Education Association (PCWEA), the winter months are a principal time for training and grant writing. The training will be of both the in-house, and community varieties. During January to mid-March PCWEA will conduct background sessions on the Big 5 actions for watershed rehabilitation, and puppet training. The big 5 actions are: 1) creation of a common watershed image (goal) among stakeholders; 2) reduction of impervious surfaces, and retrofit of existing stormwater facilities; 3) local infiltration of stormwater precipitation as soon as it occurs; 4) adoption of new land development ordinances based upon Better Site Design and Low Impact Development principles; 5) for watershed stakeholders education and enforcement of regulations on pollution prevention. All this free training will be available to college students, PCWEA members, and others. Space is limited. The tentative dates and venue for the training, except for ÒMidwinter Macros,Ó are Mondays at Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC), Wildwood Campus in Blocker Hall, room 129 during the hours 7-9 pm.   The schedule for Big 5 training actions is: January   25 – watershed goals and image identification; education and ordinance enforcement February   1 – puppetry I February   8 – infiltration practices; reduction & retrofit of impervious surfaces; retrofit of stormwater facilities February 15 – puppetry II February 22 – aspects of land development and retrofit ordinances Midwinter Macros, introductory training concerning aquatic macroinvertebrates (water bugs) for college students, PCWEAers, and others will be at Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC), Wildwood Campus in Blocker Hall, room 214 beginning at 7 pm on Wednesday, February 24. The PCWEA web site will provide more information on the training. RSVPs to 717-545-1336 are necessary for the Midwinter Macros, and would be appreciated for the other training sessions.   Puppetry sessions will feature puppet practices, and brief discussions of puppet types, scripts, theatres, props, lighting-sound effects, and related items. The puppetry sessions will occur on February 1 & 15, with a possible performance on March 19. Interested people can call 717-545-1336 to begin their puppet adventures. Workshops are sponsored by Paxton Creek Watershed and Education Association, with cooperation from partners. Quick Links: Healthy Creek Project Are You Loving Paxton Creek to Death? Brochure and Fact Sheets from NFWF Launch Projects The  3 projects launching the Paxton Creek Rivers Conservation Plan are about done. Grant closure papers were filed with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation in January, 2008. A little work remains, including repairs to the rain garden (damaged by contractors) located behind the Linglestown Middle School. A brochure and fact sheets for these projects are at the links above. Rivers Conservation Plan (RCP) Education Section Section 3 of the RCP, entitled Watershed Basics 101, is a short education primer written to enhance readers' understanding of the plan. Topics addressed with illustrations iclude water cycle, watershed, stormwater runoff, pollution, and best management practices for runoff control. The section is downloadable from this website on the Plan Page . Fact Sheets & Slide Shows on Paxton Creek A booklet of fact sheets on Paxton Creek Are You Loving Paxton Creek to Death? provides information about the watershed, PCWEA, creek subwatersheds, problems, sources of information, and details on protection and restoration. Fact sheets on lawns and landscaping, downspout disconnection, stream buffer management, outdoor storage, dumpster management, better site design, and erosion and seditment control are included. Paxton Creek problems are addressed through conditions and concerns evident in 11 subwatersheds. Several slide shows have been developed about best management practices: Intro to the Paxton Creek Watershed; What Homeowners Can Do....; What Business Owners Can Do ....; What Developers Can Do....; What Local Governments Can Do..... These materials, together with a watershed retrofit assessment report, and subwatershed plan, may be downloaded from Center for Watershed Protection. The South Central Assembly to Distribute NCR Collection  Early in 2008 PCWEA will transfer its New Century Resources (NCR) collection to The South Central Assembly for Effective Governance. The collection will be made available by the Assembly to interested parties in the eight county region of South Central PA. The NCR materials provide guidance in conservation planning, low impact development, impervious surfaces retrofit, stormwater management, and related topics. More details .. . Data Base for Teaching to PA Environment and Ecology Standards Under a grant from the PA Dept. of Education, followed by small funding from Canaan Valley Institute, a database of teaching units was developed for the implementation of the PA Environment and Ecology Standards. This database was compiled with input from a group of experienced educators at all levels. It consists of over 150 examples of learning units keyed to the nine categories of the standards. It is searchable by category standards, grade level, and other criteria. Each activity is described, resources are given, recommended grade level is indicated, and assessment methods are included. Go to the data base. Healthy Paxton Creek Project Nonpoint source pollution, stormwater management and low impact development (LID) are among the issues covered in materials prepared for this project. The information packets are designed for multiple age groups, and were distributed to medical waiting rooms throughout the Paxton Creek watershed in 2003. The aim is to promote watershed health, while taking advantage of periods when people are likely to read.  Go to the Healthy Creek Project. This project was partially funded by a grant from Canaan Valley Institute. Related Education Links Internet Scout Project (U-WI) http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/nsdl-reports/ National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) http://www.cnie.org/nle/ Advanced Technology Environmental Education Center (ATEEC) http://www.ateec.org and http://www.ateel.ateec.org/
PCWEA PO Box 61674 Harrisburg, PA 17106   Last update January, 2009	The NCR collection includes CD-ROMs, videos, manuals, booklets, and ordinances. The materials assist PCWEA service to local municipalities in dealing with issues of sprawl, and new regulations involving stormwater management and nonpoint source pollution. These materials also serve as outreach to participants in the recently completed Paxton Creek Roundtable, where builders, municipal staff, and others interacted for months in developing a set of 23 principles for new developments and rehabilitated sites in the watershed.
Back to Top	Goals To deal with watershed problems such as erosion and flooding, to protect and enhance watershed resources, and to facilitate practical, hands-on education. This last aim applies to watershed stake holders, students in private and public secondary schools, students at Harrisburg Area Community College Environmental Programs , and patrons of Olewine Nature Center at Wildwood Lake Sanctuary.