On May 26, Allegheny College’s Creek Connections program held its annual cross-curricular activities trip at Gibson Park in Conneaut Lake, Crawford County, with financial assistance from DEP’s Environmental Education Grants Program.

Forty seventh graders from Conneaut Lake Middle School participated in several stations, including the collection of macroinvertebrates – tremendous indicators of stream quality – which allowed students to rate the quality of the stream.

“This is an excellent opportunity for these students to get outside and experience the importance of conservation and protection of our local waterways firsthand,” said DEP Northwest Regional Director Erin Wells. “The Creek Connections program at Allegheny College has received a number of DEP Environmental Education Grants and rightfully so. They do an amazing job educating these students and the DEP couldn’t be prouder to be a partner in helping make these opportunities possible.”

Students also saw an electrofishing demonstration by DEP aquatic biologists. Electrofishing uses an electric field, emitted from a pulser, to temporarily stun fish. The fish can then be collected via dip net for identification and further study.

DEP uses data collected from electrofishing to determine abundance, density, species composition, and health of fish populations.

The DEP Environmental Education Grants Program was established by the Environmental Education Act of 1993, which mandates setting aside five percent of the pollution fines and penalties DEP collects annually for environmental education in Pennsylvania.

Since its inception, the DEP has awarded $12.3 million in environmental education grant funding to support 2,134 projects.

Creek Connections, formerly the French Creek Environmental Education Project (FCEEP), forged a partnership between Allegheny College and regional K-12 schools to turn the French Creek Watershed into outdoor environmental laboratories.

Emphasizing an investigation of local waterways, this project involves a hands-on, inquiry-based, natural science education for 49 different schools and 60 teachers.

In recognition of this exemplary program, Creek Connections received the Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience Partner of the Year Award at the 2022 Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Educators Conference.

For more information on environmental programs in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s website, Click Here to sign up for DEP’s newsletter, sign up for DEP Connects events, sign up for DEP’s eNotice, visit DEP’s Blog,  Like DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.

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[Posted: May 26, 2022]

5/30/2022