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Message from the Director
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce the Conservancy's latest project... The Perki-Bay Expedition! The goal of the Perki-Bay Expedition is to generate support for the creation of the Perkiomen Creek Water Trail. Currently, there
are over 20 designated Pennsylvania State Water Trails, and we want to add the Perkiomen Creek to the list.
To kick-off this new venture we have devised an epic AD-venture.
On June 26, 2017, our youth conservation team will launch into the Perkiomen Creek and paddle its course to where it meets the sea. The journey begins at our headquarters building in Schwenksville, and then follows the Perkiomen Creek to its confluence with the Schuylkill River near Oaks, PA. From Oaks, our conservation team will paddle down the Schuylkill River, then down the Delaware River to the head of the Delaware Bay. In effect, the team will paddle the proposed Perkiomen Creek Water Trail, part of the Schuylkill River Water Trail, and then traverse part of the Inter-Tidal Delaware Water Trail.
The addition of the Perkiomen Creek to the Pennsylvania Water Trail system will open up an entirely new avenue for the conservation of this precious resource. Please consider supporting our 20-person team as they lead us in this new and exciting adventure.
Anyone can become a member of the "60 Mile Club" and membership is easy. Simply sponsor the Perki-Bay Expedition for $1 per mile (the trip is 60 miles long) and BAM! You're In! Plus you get a great Perki-Bay 60-Mile Club t-shirt to show off.
Have a business? Want to see your logo flying from one of our ten canoes?
We have four flag sponsorships left. The other six flags have been claimed by
St. Luke's University Health Network, Aqua America, SEI Investments, Koaxis, Superior Tube, and Barry Isett and Associates. Reserve your flag today!
All proceeds from this trip will benefit the creation of the
Perkiomen Creek Water Trail.
Thanks and see you OUTSIDE!!
Ryan Beltz
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European water chestnut season is upon us once again! Water chestnut is a non-native invasive aquatic plant that appears in early June through August and threatens to take over our waterways if left untreated.
Currently, there are seven known infestations within the Perkiomen watershed that we manage each summer. This is done primarily through hand-pulling with the help of many volunteers. This summer, we will be holding several volunteer workdays at two infestation sites.
Dates, times and locations listed below:
Ruth Pond in Sellersville:
Saturday, June 17
- 10am to 2pm
Friday, July 7
- 12pm to 4pm
Saturday, July 15
- 10am to 2pm
Lake Delmont in Marlborough Township:
Friday, July 28
- 12pm to 4pm
Interested in joining us out on the water as we combat this invasive aquatic weed? Contact our Conservation Coordinator, Jessie Kemper (jkemper@perkiomenwatershed.org
)
for more information and to sign-up!
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Greenhouse and Native Plant Nursery Work Days
The Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy's native plant project is off to a great start! On Saturday, May 13
th
we held our first native plant sale at our greenhouse located at the Peter Wentz Farmstead in Worcester. In spite of the rainy weather, the plant sale was a huge success!
Thank you to all of our volunteers and to all of the community members who attended the sale. We are so happy hundreds of native plants have been planted throughout the watershed!
Interested in learning more about native plants or getting involved in the project? Join us on Wednesday afternoons from 1 pm - 4pm to help us continue to care for and grow our native plants! We strive to provide our greenhouse volunteers with a fun and rewarding experience.
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Career Study and Schwenksville Rain Garden Revamp
The Conservancy was privileged to have six Perkiomen Valley High School students join our conservation team for three weeks to complete their career study project!
With the help of these students and our three interns, we transformed two unmanaged rain gardens in Schwenksville's Meadow Park into native plant paradises! Stormwater flowing from sections of Main Street in Schwenksville
runs into these two rain gardens. Strategically placed boulders and rock in
the gardens direct and slow the stormwater. Native shrubs and herbaceous perennials uptake excess nutrients, sediments and other pollutants from this stormwater before it enters our beloved Perkiomen Creek! Thank you to our career study students, our interns, and to Schwenksville Authority for helping
us move our riprap with their backhoe!
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Another Busy Spring Winding Down...
Our team of environmental educators were kept very busy in April and May hosting local schools and taking
programs out to schools. Students from our surrounding school districts of Perkiomen Valley, Methacton, Souderton, Upper Merion, North Penn,
Norristown and Quakertown arrived by the busload ready and excited for their adventures.
Our youngest students became detectives, using their senses to discover what the spring season looks, feels, smells and sounds like! The East Branch of the Perkiomen Creek was an important stop for many of our elementary age visitors. They learned about watersheds, habitats, communities, macroinvertebrates, riparian buffers, adaptations and so much more!
We are honored that these schools have chosen the PWC as a partner in the education of their students. Through their experiences with us we hope that the students not only gain new knowledge, but gain an appreciation and respect for the natural world that will foster a desire to protect and conserve the natural resources we all depend on.
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Thanks to all of the paddlers and volunteers
who made our Perkiomen Creek Sojourn a grand success! We had beautiful weather and our largest crowd ever!
Thank You to our 2017 Perkiomen Creek Sojourn Sponsors!
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Saturday, June 17
Time: 9:30 am.
Thanks in part to our members, the walk is free.
N
o advance registration is required.
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Saturday, August 26
Celebrate the Perkiomen Watershed with a bicycle ride on the Perkiomen Trail enjoying views of the Perkiomen Creek and surroundings.
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Protectors of the Perkiomen
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