The Schuylkill Action Network will recognize students from Perkiomen High School, Montgomery County on May 3 for their efforts to protect the Schuylkill River and its drinking water; one of three schools recognized under the SAN’s Schuylkill Scholastic Drinking Water Awards. 

The other two schools are--

-- Phoenixville Area Middle School, Chester County: About 16-20 students from the Envirothon and Environmental Awareness Club worked with the Green Valleys Watershed Association to install a 860 square foot bioswale on the campus. The project provided a service opportunity for the students and a continued environmental education resource for the school.

The award ceremony for this school will be held on May 4.

-- Green Woods Charter School, Philadelphia: The entire 4th grade class has integrated watershed education into each of their subjects. The 4th grade class has participated in 5 field trips to Lower Merion Conservancy to conduct stream studies. Students are also raising and releasing trout through the Trout in the Classroom Program. Green Woods Charter School has also participated in storm drain marking with the Philadelphia Water Department.

The award ceremony for this school will be held on May 10.

The students at Perkiomen High School planned and installed a rain garden to serve as an outdoor classroom.  The rain garden is located across the street at the Perkiomen Township Building.

A rain garden is a dug-out, shallow area containing specially selected, native plants.  These capture and cleanse rainwater running off hard surfaces, like driveways, parking lots, and roofs. 

These plants not only remove pollutants from the water, but also they allow for absorption, storage, and the slow release of water back into the atmosphere and groundwater.

This project was possible thanks to the support of the SAN’s members.  These include the Montgomery County Conservation District, Perkiomen Township, and the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary.

The purpose of the Schuylkill Scholastic Drinking Water Awards is to reward students for reducing their community’s impact on the Schuylkill River Valley.  They also recognize teachers and volunteers who make schools more environmentally friendly. 

This is important because the Schuylkill River and its tributaries provide drinking water for more than 2 million people living in over 200 communities in 11 counties.  It is also the largest influence on the tidal Delaware River and Bay, otherwise known as the Delaware River estuary.

The Perkiomen event will be held May 3 from 2:40 to 3:15 p.m. Perkiomen Valley High School, 509 Gravel Pike, Collegeville, PA.

Participants in the Perkiomen event will include: eight members of Perkiomen Valley High School’s Key Club, Rick Rogers, associate director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Mid-Atlantic Office of Drinking Water and Source Water Protection and Virginia Vassalotti of the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary on behalf of the Schuylkill Action Network’s many members.

For more information on these upcoming events, contact Shaun Bailey, Communications Coordinator, Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, by calling 302-655-4990, ext. 113 or send email to: sbailey@delawareestuary.org.

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