For the fourth consecutive year, May will be celebrated as Watershed Awareness Month to encourage Pennsylvanians to learn more about their local watersheds and participate in environmental activities to enhance their natural surroundings and communities.

The theme this year, "Protect our Watersheds, Protect our Future" highlights the importance of caring for our watersheds in order to ensure a healthy environment for future generations.

Throughout the month of May, volunteer community organizations, educators, and other groups are encouraged to promote the importance of watersheds at the grassroots and community levels by organizing and conducting watershed awareness activities.

To celebrate Watershed Awareness Month, participants can take part in watershed walks, water quality monitoring, streamside cleanups, and other activities already taking place in their watersheds, or they can organize an event of their own.

To find out what activities are planned in a community, or to network with others interested in planning an event, an online webpage, hosted by the Pennsylvania Organization for Watershed and Rivers, offers easy access to an event calendar, watershed news and stories, and more relating to Watershed Awareness Month.

Visit the Watershed Awareness Month webpage for the latest updates.

If you already have an event planned, be sure to register it with the online calendar to publicize your activity. Also, the online available information sheets provide some helpful hints to get you thinking about your watershed activities.

A committee of several organizations representing watershed partners - including the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, the Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation, the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Canaan Valley Institute, and the Resource Conservation and Development Council - have been working in partnership to make Watershed Awareness Month a unique opportunity for every Pennsylvanian to expand their awareness and appreciation for water resources.

For more information contact Beth Brennan of the Watershed Awareness Month Planning Committee: Pennsylvania Environmental Council, 412.481.9400 or info@pecwest.org.

NewsClip: Green Valleys 5K Run for Watershed Awareness Month

3/25/2005