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Your support at work:
Top Ten ClearWater Highlights for May
(and a few events you won't want to miss)
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You can get involved with our work and make a big difference in our small community. Keep reading for details about our latest projects and events.
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1. Centre Gives runs until 8 pm this evening. THANKS to everyone who has donated!
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We'd like to say
"THANK YOU!" to the 200+ donors (and counting) who have made generous donations to ClearWater during Centre Gives. Your contributions get a 'boost' from Centre Foundation and make it possible for the Conservancy to continue its work to conserve more land, restore more streams, and connect even more people to their natural world through various programs.
We invite you to stop by Barrel 21 tonight (Wednesday) from 5-7:30 pm for our final 'stop in and give' event. Pop in to say 'hello,' enjoy some appetizers, and catch some live music as we celebrate Centre County's biggest giving day of the year alongside friends.
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2. Stream and Farm
Restoration Update: Radzwich Farm
Work began early this spring to restore a section of a tributary to the Beaver Branch of Spruce Creek on the Radzwich Farm. Jim Haney, stream restoration project manager with
The WHM Group
, and
Bud Snyder Excavating
restored the streambanks by grading, rebuilding, and finally restoring them with toewood, rock, soil, willow cuttings, coconut mats, and native grasses. These components stabilize a streambank and protect it from erosion.
Live stakes were planted into the new streambanks by ClearWater volunteers to add additional roots and plants, which stabilize the banks further.
Streambank fencing, built by R&R Fencing, and livestock crossings, built by Bud Snyder Excavating with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, were installed to allow access to all the different pasture areas, while keeping the farm animals out of the stream. Removing livestock from streams is good for both the stream and herd health and
prevents sediment and nutrients from flowing downstream through the Beaver Branch and then into Spruce Creek. A water trough and feeder were installed uphill, away from the stream, to replace the stream as a water source and improve the pasture management for the farmer.
After all the Agricultural Best Management Practices are installed, the final step is to naturalize the stream buffer area by planting native trees and shrubs. Planted by Native Creations Landscape Services, the plants will shade the stream and maintain the cool water temperatures needed in trout streams and provide necessary leaf litter and woody debris for aquatic life to thrive. As the native plants mature, they create habitat for a host of species that live in the streamside riparian zone and benefit from a healthy stream.
Funding for streambank projects come from grants from many government agencies and private foundations as well as from private donations made to ClearWater’s Riparian Conservation Program. ClearWater wants to extend our thanks to all the contributors who make stream and farm restoration projects possible.
And last but not least, the biggest thanks goes to the Radzwich family for their dedication and commitment to the health of their stream and their respect for the agricultural operation on their property. The Radzwich’s have been working side by side with ClearWater staff and the farmer to bring everyone together to steward both the natural and agricultural resources on their land. The Radzwich's expressed, "We are just so happy to see the property in a healthy state....like it's come back to life ! Wonderful to see how many groups of people can come together to improve our environment, community & for us...our sanctuary."
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3. Watershed CleanUp Day: 6.16 million pounds cleared (and counting!)
A record breaking 601 volunteers pitched in to clean up over 38 tons of trash across 59 sites during the 21st Annual Watershed CleanUp Day on April 22, 2017. This day was made possible by generous volunteers and sponsors all across Centre County.
Read the full story here .
Please visit our
THANK YOU PAGE
to help us thank our many event sponsors.
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5. May's Adventure in Conservation: Wildflower Walk through Spring Creek Canyon
We invite you to join us for May's Adventures in Conservation will be Sunday, May 14 from 2-4 pm at the Spring Creek Canyon Trail.
Sarah Chamberlain, Curator of the PAC Herbarium at Penn State will lead a walk through the Spring Creek Canyon and identify wildflowers along the way.
Please register for the event here. There is no charge and no registration limit. We hope to see you, and your friends and family on Sunday!
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4. It's a bird, it's a plane, it's...a giant milk bottle!
You can now check the fundraising progress for the Slab Cabin Run Initiative just by driving by the property along University Drive/Whitehall Road!
The milk bottle is filled to $2.1 million and the sky indicates the remaining $650,000 needed to complete the fundraising project by September 30, 2017.
Visit
www.slabcabinrun.org for details on the project and to learn how to contribute to this positive and proactive approach to conserving historic agricultural land and protecting the region's drinking water.
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6. Spring Creek Canyon Trail construction update
Construction will begin later in May on the first phase of the Spring Creek Canyon Trail, a 1.2 mile and 8-foot wide aggregate trail surface along Spring Creek running from Rock Road to Shiloh Road.
Starting with a new parking area and trailhead on Rock Road just north of the historic Blue Bridge, the trail will extend downstream to its connection with Shiloh Road just northeast of the Benner Fish Hatchery.
ClearWater Conservancy joins the PA Game Commission and PA Fish and Boat Commission as project partners to assist Benner Township in making this multi-use trail a reality. For further information, contact Kevin Abbey at the Conservancy, 237-0400.
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7. Centred Outdoors: Official Launch on June 11
We'd invite you to t
he Family Fishing Picnic at Tussey Mountain. The event marks the OFFICIAL LAUNCH of Centred Outdoors, an invitation for everyone to get outside and explore the outdoors all summer long. Plan to come out with your friends and family from 12-4 pm for a day of free activities, fishing and food. All attendees will receive the complete summer adventure guide so we can all stress less and discover more with Centred Outdoors! Click the logo to sign up for email updates.
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8. Have you met the Senior Environmental Corps?
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The Centre County PA Senior Environmental Corps is a partner of ClearWater. They have 12 teams of seniors who monitor streams in Centre County on a monthly basis. From the Marcellus Shale region of Beech Creek to Spring Creek right near State College, there’s a place for you. To get involved, visit their website: www.ccpasec.org. Meet new friends while doing some good for the area streams.
You can also donate to CCPaSEC through ClearWater, especially during Centre Gives (ends today at 8 pm) to help with their equipment needs.
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9. Keystone Fund Highlight: Musser Gap
Musser Gap offers recreation activities for all types of people. The bike trail and wide gravel road are excellent for road bikers and mountain bikers alike, and the old farm fields are frequently used by dog walkers. Musser Gap offers abundant wildlife like deer and turkey, and is used by small game hunters. Many local birdwatchers are also aware of the Gap’s important conservation value: it provides habitat for a variety of declining grassland birds including Barn Owls, Short-eared Owls, and Bobolinks. Every spring, the Gap is inundated with an impressive diversity of singing warblers including the Louisiana Waterthrush and Nashville Warbler. In the fall, many rare migratory sparrows pass through. And each winter, it provides hunting grounds for rare raptors such as Peregrine Falcons and Great-Horned Owls. Read the full story...
Keystone Investment:
$806,000
Total Project Cost:
$1.2 million
Project Leader:
ClearWater Conservancy
Key Local Partners:
State College Water Authority
County:
Centre
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10. Upcoming Partner Event:
MUDDY PAWS FROG FEST 2017
You're invited to the Penn State Extension Frog Fest 2017 at Muddy Paws Marsh on Saturday, May 13, from 3 to 6:30 p.m. There is no charge, and the program will occur rain or shine.
Muddy Paws Marsh is in the wetlands next to the Cooke Tavern near Spring Mills at 4158 Penns Valley Road, home of Greg and Mary Kay Williams. This will be a fun day for the kids (as well as their adults), in boots and old clothes, to learn about wetland conservation and enjoy nature through hands-on learning stations that feature art and science.
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