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native plant sale
Geranium maculatum.    Photo by Ryan Beltz
Cross Currents
May 2017
Message from the Director

I would like to introduce you to the Conservancy's newest venture...
The Perkiomen  Native Plant Project.

This is a multi-faceted project designed to get more of the community involved in growing and  planting native plants at home and throughout the 362 square miles of the Perkiomen  Watershed. We have teamed up with Behmerwald Nursery,  Peter Wentz Farmstead,  and Pennypacker Mills to develop a thrilling schedule of events. 

This line-up kicks off on May 13, 2017 with our first ever Native Plant Sale! The   Perkiomen Native Plant Sale  will  be held at the Peter Wentz Farmstead and will feature over 130 different species of native trees, shrubs, vines and perennials. Come and pick up your spring plants and learn how you can transform your yard into a  wildlife paradise.

Don't stop there!

Want to learn more about natives? Tired of trying to pick up planting tips off of the Internet? We need your help in our greenhouse growing facility! Consider an experiential education by volunteering during our Wednesday afternoon and Friday evening sessions.

Want more?

We're teaming up with your townships and boroughs to host a plant-a-thon this fall. Our goal is to plant THOUSANDS of NATIVE SPECIES throughout the watershed, and we'll need you to make it happen! It's time to step up to the plate... and plant!


Thanks and see you OUTSIDE!!

Ryan Beltz

wildflower walk
The Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy offers  wildflower walks  from April through October at different locations  throughout the area.

Come out and  enjoy a fun Saturday morning learning about your local wildflowers! It is easy to follow along and make notes on the wildflower list supplied to all participants. 

Wildflower walks start at 9:30 am.

Thanks in part to our members, the walk is free.
N o advance registration is required.



Join the Conservancy team on Saturday, June 3 for a relaxing 7-mile paddling adventure down the Perkiomen Creek. Discover the secluded wilderness of the creek  as  it winds its way through hidden forests. Laze along  in tranquil pools. Make some friends and learn about 
the natural history of the valley.
 
Don't have a boat?  Rent one from us... we have canoes and kayaks available!
 
Registration is filling fast. Sign up today!


Nature Play Survey

The Conservancy is aiming to gather some information on whether or not you would be interested in enrolling your child in an after-school nature play program. 

Nature play is unstructured (but monitored) childhood play in
informal 
outdoor settings.

Our idea is to create a space or spaces where your child can play using the raw material that nature provides. This could include log balance beams, crawling tunnels, sand boxes, fort building areas, challenge games, and nature art centers. It has been proven that unstructured nature play powerfully boost the cognitive, creative, physical, social and emotional development of children. It also engenders deep conservation values - more so than any other factor. 

Need more information?  Check out ConservationTools at: 
http://conservationtools.org/guides/135-nature-play   then  fill out our survey below. 

As always, thank you for taking the time to share your input on this potentially new project at the Conservancy!  

frog

Fabulous Frogs

Spring is in the air and so are the sounds of frogs!
Bull frogs, leopard frogs, green frogs... all find their way into our lesson as we listen to a variety of frog sounds, play frog games and learn about all things...  frog

Bring your kids to the Schwenksville Community Day on May 6 for this free lesson. You'll have a frog-tastic time!

corporate SCU
Thank you to all of our sponsors and hundreds of volunteers who helped to make this year's Stream Clean-up a success! We removed 540 bags of trash, 40 bags of recyclables, 100 tires and 2,820 pounds of scrap metal from 50 sites throughout the entire watershed!  
Thank You to our Stream Clean-up Sponsors!

Aqua PA logo
highway materials
Colorcon logo

Stauffer logo

ADMarble logo
sws logo


QNB,  Harlesville Savings Bank
LSC 2017 winners

Congratulations to Overall Winners -  Stuart Heisey and Bobby Longenecker  who completed the new course in 1:03:18!

Thanks so much to all fans, volunteers, participants and sponsors for making the 
25th Lenape Survival Challenge
a huge success!


Thank You to our Lenape Survival Challenge Sponsors!










And In-kind Donors
Giant Food Stores, Hatfield Quality Meats, Henning's Market, Landis Supermarket,
North Penn Water Authority, Redner's Warehouse Markets, Road ID, Wegman's

Daryl

Consider donating your kayak to the Conservancy. 

We need the boat, and you can use the tax break!  A true win-win. 

Please no boats that won't float!

For more information email:
rain barrel

Come out to the Conservancy on  May 20th at 9 am to learn how to build a rain barrel  and leave with a fully functional rain barrel.

Thank you to our
Protectors of the Perkiomen









Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy I 610.287.9383 I perkiomenwatershed.org
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