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Feature- Lehigh Valley Sustainable Landscapes Bus Tour A Great Success
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By Jessica Sprajcar, Conservation Program Manager, DCNR Office of Conservation Science Over 100 municipal officials, planners, educators and conservation professionals toured “sustainable landscapes” in Northampton County on June 22 as part of the Lehigh Valley Sustainable Lands Partnership’s first bus tour.
The Sustainable Lands Partnership was formed in 2007 through the efforts of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Office of Conservation Science and includes a unique collection of agency employees, educators, regulators and municipal stakeholders from Lehigh and Northampton counties, all of whom are interested in educating about sustainable landscape practices. Efforts of the Partnership are part of the larger Lehigh Valley Greenways.
(Photo: wetlands stormwater filtration pond.)
The first stop on the tour was Silver Creek Country Club in Hellertown. This golf course is working with Lehigh and Northampton County conservation districts to restore part of Silver Creek. Native plants will be planted in the riparian buffer to help prevent erosion, provide wildlife habitat and minimize downstream flooding.
From there the participants split into two groups, loaded onto buses, and headed for other sites. One was Polk Valley Park in Lower Saucon Township. This 59-acre community park was originally slated for heavy development but the township decided to reduce turf and increase the natural elements along with active recreation fields.
The park highlights a porous pavement parking lot and trails that saved the township considerable money over using traditional macadam. The porous concrete, installed by the park’s staff, allows stormwater to filter through, and the light color keeps the area cooler, as it absorbs much less heat from the sun than traditional pavement.
Newlins Mill Road Park in Palmer Township was another stop on the tour. The Bushkill Stream Conservancy worked with the township to construct a wetland stormwater filtration pond, complete with many native plants.
This vegetated pond will collect stormwater runoff from the parking lot and nearby residential development, rather than allowing it to run into, and potentially contaminate, Bushkill Stream. Neighbors from the development frequently use this park, and the Conservancy has created signage and educational events to engage these visitors and connect them to natural elements of the park.
PPL provided lunch at their Martins Creek Environmental Preserve. This 215-acre tract of land borders their Martins Creek and Lower Mount Bethel power plants. The preserve is open to the public and provides miles of hiking trails, a picnic pavilion, a boat launch area and wildlife watching opportunities, like osprey nests on the electric towers.
Just down the road is the Lower Mount Bethel Township Welcome Center. Funded in part by PPL and the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, this environmental education center features a green roof, solar panels, native landscaping and rain gardens along the parking lot.
By installing the rain gardens, a wetland and sloped pavement, rather than piping their stormwater run-off to the Delaware River, the township saved over $60,000!
The tour buses did a drive-by of the Green Pond Wetland, a privately-owned site in Bethlehem Township. This agricultural site includes several “temporary” pools that fill up after storms and snow melt. The ponds host numerous species of shore birds like the American avocet and the Least sandpiper, along with dozens of migratory water fowl species like Barnacle goose and Northern pintail ducks.
The site faces some development pressure; there has been talk of building a residential neighborhood on-site. However, concerned citizens and local organizations are working with the land owners to protect this special site.
Last on the tour, but certainly not least, was Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center in Bushkill Township. This state park boasts over 20 miles of multi-use trails, native warm season grass and wildflower meadows, old growth forest and a multitude of environmental education programs.
Educators Bill Sweeney and Rick Wiltraut discussed invasive plant management and bird habitat projects with tour participants.
The popularity of this event shows that there is a lot of interest in sustainable, green landscape practices nowadays. Plans are already underway for additional tours in 2011 for Lehigh and Lancaster counties.
To stay informed on these and other sustainable lands projects, Click Here. Publications, resources and event notices are posted there on a regular basis, so check back often.
Reprinted from DCNR's online newsletter Resource. |
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7/26/2010 |
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