The PA Resources Council has been awarded a $244,475 Growing Greener Grant from DEP to support watershed restoration and protection projects in southeastern Pennsylvania.

PRC will work in partnership with the Eastern Delaware County Stormwater Collaborative, Darby Creek Valley Association, the Friends of the Heinz Refuge, the Hav-A-Rain Garden Program and the Upper Darby Rain Garden Program to implement the Growing Greener Communities program in the Darby Creek Watershed.

Project plans include constructing 75 new rain gardens and bioswales, planting 200 trees and installing 20 flow-through planters to capture more than 6 million gallons of stormwater annually.

“These projects are strategically located to impact both upstream and downstream in the watershed and involve areas that are typically underserved and disproportionately suffer from flooding and stormwater runoff,” explained PRC Eastern Program Director Diana Andrejczak. “The grant funding will enable us to launch an apprenticeship program to expand programs into new communities and to create a guidance-based website to enable other organizations to access a replicable model for use in starting their own watershed programs.”

“Growing Greener is the single largest investment of state funds that goes directly towards addressing critical environmental concerns of the 21st century,” said DEP Southeast Regional Director Pat Patterson. “As we continue to see the impacts of climate change, it is imperative that we use funds to invest in, protect, and restore our watersheds.”

The Growing Greener Communities program is one of 14 projects in Southeast Pennsylvania to receive a 2022 Growing Greener grant.  [Read more here.]

DEP’s Growing Greener Grant Program provides funding for environmental projects that work to improve the natural beauty of the Commonwealth. The program remains the largest single investment of state funds in Pennsylvania's history to address critical environmental concerns of the 21st century.

For more information on programs, initiatives and special events, visit the PA Resources Council website.  Click Here to sign up for regular updates, follow PRC on Twitter or Like them on Facebook.  Click Here for PRC’s Events Calendar.  Click Here to support their work.

PRC is Pennsylvania’s oldest grassroots environmental organization founded in 1939.  PRC has worked to protect resources for future generations through environmental education, recycling, waste diversion programs, anti-litter campaigns and other initiatives.

Upcoming Grant Opportunities

-- January 28:  PA Lake Management Society Project Mini-Grants

-- January 31:  Dept. Of Agriculture REAP Farm Conservation Tax Credits

-- January 31:  Turkey Hill Partnership/NRCS Farm Conservation Grants

-- Commonwealth Financing Authority Act 13 Drilling Impact Fee Funded Grants Typically Open February 1

-- February 1: Foundation For PA Watersheds Grants

-- February 14: Applications Now Being Accepted For 2022 Schuylkill River Restoration Fund; Land Transaction Assistance Grants

-- February 18: Lancaster Clean Water Partners Grant Deadline Reminder

-- March 4: Coldwater Heritage Partnership Conservation Grants

-- April 6: DCNR Community Conservation Partnership Grants

-- April 6: DCNR Riparian Forest Buffer Grants

-- April 13: NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Grants

-- April 15:  Fish & Boat Commission Lancaster, York Habitat Grants

-- WeConservePA: Conservation Easement Transaction Assistance Grants Now Available

-- August 12--  Foundation For PA Watersheds Grants

Visit the PA Environment Digest Grants & Awards webpage for more environmental and energy grant opportunities.

Related Articles This Week:

-- PA Resources Council Hosts 2 Backyard Composting Webinars In February

-- PA Resources Council, Southwest PA Air Quality Partnership Invite Students In SW PA To Take Part In Let's Clear The Air Poster Challenge

-- DEP Announces More Than $1.7 Million In Growing Greener Grants To Fund Local Water Clean Up Projects In Northwest PA

-- DEP Awards Borough Of Jim Thorpe $200,000 Growing Greener Grant For Stream Restoration Work In Carbon County

-- DEP Announces $245,000 Growing Greener Grant For Kinney Run Watershed Improvements, Columbia County

-- DEP Announces $3.5 Million In Watershed Restoration Project Funding For Southeast PA

-- Witnesses Unanimously Support Allocating American Rescue Plan Funding For On-Farm Conservation Projects At House Committee Meeting; Rep. Metcalfe Calls It ‘Welfare’

-- PA State Government Has Refused To Pay Stormwater Management Fees To Local Authorities Designed To Meet Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Obligations

Related Articles:

-- Chesapeake Bay Foundation Calls For Greater Investments To Reduce Pollution As Number Of Impaired Streams Increases In PA

-- Two Bipartisan Bills Just Sitting In Senate Waiting To Address Record Number Of Water Quality Impaired Streams Reported In 2022  [PaEN]

-- DEP 2022 Water Quality Report Shows 27,886 Miles Of Streams With Impaired Water Quality In PA (33%) - An Increase From 25,468 In 2020 

[Posted: January 26, 2022]

1/31/2022