Individuals, families, and groups are invited to register for the 28th annual CleanWater Conservancy Watershed Cleanup Day in Centre County.

The event will be held during Earth Day weekend on Saturday, April 20 from 8 a.m. to noon.

Since 1997, event volunteers have removed more than 6 million pounds of waste from local roads, streams, sinkholes, and illegal dumpsites.

Volunteers at this year’s event will have the opportunity to work at a variety of sites across Centre County to remove trash that could otherwise end up in local waterways.

“This is an important and worthwhile opportunity to get people to take care of our local watersheds,” said Donnan Stoicovy, Interim Executive Director at ClearWater Conservancy. “When we can clean up our local roadsides and waterways, we help all those downstream maintain a healthier environment, too.”

Volunteers can sign up as an individual or a group. All are invited to participate in this neighborly event.

There are two volunteer options for Watershed Cleanup Day: site coordinator and general volunteer.

Site coordinators are needed to help organize volunteers before and during cleanup at more than 50 sites across Centre County.

General volunteers work together as a group alongside their site coordinator to clean up each area.

Site assignments are made based on group size, ages, and home municipality as well as need for pickup. Many sites are along roads but not major highways.

Watershed Cleanup Day is supported by local businesses and municipalities; the event is led by ClearWater Conservancy in association with the Centre County Recycling & Refuse Authority and the Spring Creek Watershed Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) partners.

The mission of ClearWater Conservancy is to conserve and restore natural resources through land conservation, water resource stewardship, and environmental outreach across Central Pennsylvania.

For more information and to register, visit the ClearWater Conservancy’s Watershed Cleanup Day webpage. Registration is open until April 12.

For more information on programs, initiatives and upcoming events, visit the ClearWater Conservancy website.  Click Here to sign up for their e-newsletter.  Visit them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter and watch their YouTube Channel.  Click Here to support their work.

Resource Links - Watersheds:

-- Penn State Extension - Special Flooding Resources Watershed Winds Newsletter

-- Penn State Extension Webinar: April 19 Uses And Benefits Of Rain Barrels, 7:00 p.m.

-- Penn State Extension: May 4 Rain Barrel Discovery Workshop, Lancaster; Registration Fee Includes Rain Barrel 

Related Articles - Watersheds:

-- US Dept. Of Interior Announces $244 Million In Abandoned Mine Reclamation Funding For Pennsylvania; Local Grants Available  [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Newsletter Highlights Proposed York County Hydroelectric Project; Filling Water Use Data Gaps; 2023 Annual Report  [PaEN]

-- Request For Presentation Proposals: Delaware River Watershed Forum Sept. 26-27 In Bethlehem, PA  [PaEN]

-- PA Resources Council Launches New What's Up Watershed?  Educational Series  [PaEN]

-- Protecting Clean Water Together: Water In Your Pocket: Why Not Buy Refurbished Tech? - By Carol Hillestad for the Brodhead Watershed Association  [PaEN]

-- Two BioBlitz Events, Earth Day Events In Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster Counties Coming Up!  [PaEN]

NewsClips:

-- TribLive: Work Begins To Stabilize Abandoned Mine Subsidence-Prone Portion Of Westmoreland Village

-- WESA: PA Leads Nation In Abandoned Coal Mines, But Feds See Light At End Of The Tunnel

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Feds Give PA $244 Million For Abandoned Mine Reclamation Problems

-- Tribune-Review: Mucky, Orangish Abandoned Mine Water Flows Out Of Hillside Into Johnstown Due To Heavy Rains

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: Casey Announces $1.35 Million For Nanticoke Creek Restoration Project 

-- WNEP: $1 Million+ Abandoned Coal Mine Land Reclamation Project Announced In Luzerne County

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Ad Crable, Jeremy Cox: As Rain Fell, Sewage Systems Across The Bay Region Buckled

-- LancasterOnline: Manheim Twp. Says City Of Lancaster Trying To Pass The Buck In Stormwater Lawsuit

-- Scranton Times: DEP: Sediment From Dam Repair Project Significantly Impaired Roaring Brook

-- The Allegheny Front: PennEnergy Plan To Withdraw Water From Big Sewickley Creek In Beaver County For Fracking Revives Worry About Threatened  Fish

-- GettysburgConnection.org: Adams County Planting Partnership, Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership, Watershed Alliance of Adams County Offers Free Native Trees For Adams County Residents

-- WGAL: Spreading Awareness While Also Planting Thousands Of Trees In Lancaster

-- Interfaith Partners For The Chesapeake Bay: Check Here For Upcoming Earth Day Activities

-- Two BioBlitz Events, Earth Day Events In Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster Counties Coming Up!

-- Warren Times - Josh Cotton: Felled Trees Used To Improve Allegheny National Forest

-- Inquirer: Water Privatization Is Coming Under Renewed Scrutiny From PA Lawmakers, Regulators As Consumers Sour On Rate Increases

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Files Motion To Intervene In Susquehanna River Hydroelectric Facility Case With FERC

-- Delaware RiverKeeper April 5 RiverWatch Video Report

[Posted: April 2, 2024]

4/8/2024