Lebanon County residents will have an opportunity to learn the intricacies of water resources, stream health, and water quality during an informative event Saturday, March 29, in Mount Gretna.
The Lebanon County Community Water Day will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Mount Gretna Firehall, 41 Boulevard Ave., Mount Gretna.
“We all live in a watershed,” said event organizer and master watershed steward Margaret Hopkins. “We all live downstream. … What happens upstream affects downstream.”
The schedule includes a rain barrel workshop, discussions with scientists from Penn State, the U.S. Geological Survey and elsewhere about their work with local watersheds and the Chesapeake Bay, connections with local watershed and conservation groups, tips on conserving water resources at home and in the community, and other hands-on activities. There will also be demonstrations on how surface waters are tested to assess stream health, investigating the impact of stormwater runoff, and testing the benefits of riparian buffers to reduce erosion and protect streams.
Hopkins said she hopes people attending the event will come away with “an appreciation for our water resources and some ways that they can help protect those resources — whether by setting up rain barrels, planting trees along streams to curb erosion or joining a watershed association.” She also hopes people will “want to learn more” about water issues in the area, share what they learn with others, and “explore opportunities to become involved with Lebanon County’s watersheds.”
Also, she added, “I’d like people to have fun.”
Bethany Canner, also a master watershed steward and president of the Swatara Watershed Association, said this is a first-time event created in order to bring national, state and local government agencies together with watershed stewards and local nonprofit organizations for a common purpose.
“All of these organizations have a different role to play in conserving and protecting our water resources,” Canner explained.
“We would like participants to take away the answers to a few questions,” she added. “Where does the water in our taps come from? What is involved with protecting our water and what can I do to help? What makes a stream healthy?”
Besides educating members of the public at the event, Canner said she hopes to include educators in the mix “and provide them with ideas of activities and topics that they can teach to their students about our water.”
Sponsored by the Tri-County Conewago Creek Association and the Swatara Watershed Association, event organizers have partnered for the day with the Chiques Creek Watershed Alliance, the Doc Fritchey Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Lebanon County Conservation District, Lebanon Valley Conservancy, Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, Penn State Extension Master Watershed Steward Program, state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and the U.S. Geological Survey.
Canner lauded the cooperation among agencies that made the event possible.
“Although roles differ, all of the organizations share a common goal, conserving our water resources,” she said. Canner noted that the local nonprofits “are small and rely extensively or entirely on volunteers. A volunteer organization is a passionate organization. We all have the desire to protect our water as a way of protecting our communities and would not volunteer to do the work if it was not something we thought was essential.”
She encouraged interested residents to consider lending their support as volunteers with some of the local groups.
More information on the event is available online at swatarawatershed.org and conewagocreek.net, or by sending an email to Margaret Hopkins at hopkins242@gmail.com.
Note: Margaret Hopkins is a LebTown writer but was not involved in writing or editing this article.
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