The Penn State Extension Master Watershed Stewards are seeking individuals who enjoy learning, have the desire and time to volunteer, and value working with others.

No previous experience is needed - our program empowers you to make a difference in your community and beyond!

The Master Watershed Steward Program provides training, resources, and ongoing support to volunteers looking to engage in environmental restoration projects and educational programs. 

Next spring, the program is offering training classes across 38 counties.

The program provides broad water science and natural resources coursework with ongoing volunteer and educational opportunities that equip participants with the tools to make a difference in their communities.

We seek individuals who enjoy learning, have the desire and time to volunteer, and value working with others. No previous experience is needed - our program empowers you to make a difference in your community and beyond!

This spring's training will be held virtually via Zoom on Thursday evenings starting February 20th, 2025, and will run through May 29th.

Some county programs may begin on February 13th, offering an initial in-person meeting.  In-person, outdoor field experiences will also be scheduled locally, and online "enrichment" sessions on various niche topics will also be offered.

In exchange for 40 hours of instruction, candidates must agree to contribute 20 hours of volunteer service in their first year, followed by 20 hours of volunteer efforts and 10 hours of continuing education per year after that.

Volunteer activities available to Master Watershed Stewards include organizing educational events, designing demonstration rain gardens, organizing stream cleanups, planting riparian forest buffers, working with municipal officials to plant native meadows, monitoring streams for bacteria, and more.

Info Session Schedule

To learn more about the Master Watershed Steward program, you can attend one of our county information sessions.  Links will be added when registration is available.

-- Adams: Tuesday, December 10th at 6:30 p.m.

-- Allegheny: Tuesday, January 14, 2025 at 7:00 PM Contact Laurie Magliettat 412-336-2038 or llm5621@psu.edu.

-- Berks/Schuylkill: Thursday, January 9th at 7:00 pm

-- Bucks/Montgomery: No information session. Contact Coordinator Kathleen Connally at kxc30@psu.edu  for details.

-- Cumberland Valley: Thursday, December 12th from 6:00-7:30 PM in-person and Monday, December 16 from 4:00-5:00 PM virtually.

-- Chester/Delaware: Tuesday, December 17th at 7:00 PM

-- Dauphin/Lancaster/Lebanon: Thursday, January 9th at 6:30 PM

-- Endless Mountains (Susquehanna, Sullivan, Wyoming, Wayne, Lycoming, Tioga and Bradford): No information session. Contact Coordinator Jeremy Leaidicker at jxl6817@psu.edu  for details.

-- Lackawanna/Luzerne: Thursday, January 16th at 6:30 PM

-- Lehigh/Northampton: Thursday, January 9th at 6:30 PM

-- Monroe: Thursday, December 19th at 7:00 PM

-- Pennsylvania Wilds (Cameron, Elk, McKean, Potter, Clinton, Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson, Forest, and Clarion): December 5th at 6PM; December 10th at 12PM

-- Westmoreland/Indiana/Armstrong: Monday, December 9th at 7:00 PM

-- York: Monday, December 16 at 7pm, Monday, January 6, at 7pm Contact Jodi Sulpizio at jrb143@psu.edu/

            Click Here for all Master Watershed Stewards County Programs.

            Visit the Penn State Extension Master Watershed Stewards website to learn more about this program.

            Upcoming Extension Events

-- November 24: In-Person: Meadow Seeding For A Hands-On Stormwater Solution. Rose Tree county Park, Media, Delaware County 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.  https://tinyurl.com/36m2yc4x

-- November 26: Webinar: Do On-Lot Septic Systems Impact Water Quality?  Noon

-- December 10: Webinar: On-Lot Septic System Questions And Answers. Noon

-- Penn State Extension Water Online Courses

            Other Extension Articles

-- Master Watershed Steward Jane Cook Leads By Example In Lehigh Valley

-- Master Watershed Stewards Naturalize Stormwater Basin In York County

-- Master Watershed Stewards In York Introduce Urban Youth To Fishing

-- Private Water Supply Education, Water Testing In 2024

-- Managing Your Well During A Drought

-- Septic System Basics

-- Celebrating World Toilet Day [November 19]

-- Novel Stream Restoration Method For Wild Trout, Ecosystem Health: Replenishing Dead Wood

-- Algae In Pennsylvania Ponds

-- Why Are You Thankful For Water?

-- Discovering Your Local Watershed, A Guide To Available Resources

(Reprinted from the latest issue of the Watershed Winds Newsletter from Penn State Extension.  Click Here to sign up for your own copy.)

Related Articles This Week - Watersheds:

-- DEP Awards $2.55 Million In Federal Funding To Support 5 Local Abandoned Mine Reclamation Projects   [PaEN]

-- Fish & Boat Commission Accepting Application For Stream Habitat Improvement Projects In Lancaster, York Counties  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Center For Agricultural Conservation Assistance Training Seeks Input On Shaping Agenda For ACAP Ag Conservation Con 2025 In April  [PaEN]

-- DEP Briefs Water Resources Committee On Proposed Changes To PAG-13 General Permit For Small Municipal Stormwater Dischargers; Latest Emerging Contaminants Sampling Results; Microplastics Study  [PaEN]

-- DEP Publishes Updated Non-Regulatory Agenda Showing Technical Guidance Documents In Development  [PaEN] 

-- Berks Nature: New Data On The Annual Economic Value Of Nature Documents $853 Million In Savings, $938 Million In Outdoor Recreation Benefits To Citizens of Berks County  [PaEN]

-- Delaware River Basin Commission Meets Dec. 5 To Consider Resolution To Preserve And Protect Water Supplies During Persistent Dry Conditions  [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Meets Dec. 12 On New Fee Schedule; Water Withdrawals, Including 4 Shale Gas; New General Permit For Into-Basin Diversions  [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approved 42 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use General Permits In October; 274 General Permits So Far In 2024  [PaEN]

-- PA Emergency Management Agency, Delaware River Basin Commission: Nov. 26 Hazard Mitigation Grant Funding Webinar, 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.

-- PUC Highlights National Critical Infrastructure Security And Resilience Month With A Focus On Utility Resilience And Security

-- Chesapeake Bay Foundation Will Fight Preliminary FERC Permit Granted For Proposed Susquehanna River Hydroelectric Project In York County  [PaEN]

-- EPA Accepting Comments On New Draft Framework To Advance Consideration of Cumulative Impacts On Communities  [PaEN]

NewsClips:

-- National Review: Northeast Pennsylvania Needs Natural Gas - New Congress, New Federal Administration Should Overturn Delaware River Basin Commission Moratorium On Shale Gas Fracking - By Jason Adams  [PDF of Article]

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Karl Blankenship: Chesapeake Bay Water Quality Improved In Latest Assessment

-- Chesapeake Bay Program: Chesapeake Bay Dead Zone ‘Near Average’ In 2024

-- Penn State Extension Master Watershed Stewards Accepting Volunteer Applications For Spring 2025 Training  [PaEN]

-- Master Watershed Stewards Naturalize Stormwater Basin In York County  [PaEN]

-- Master Watershed Stewards In York Introduce Urban Youth To Fishing [PaEN]

-- Lancaster Clean Water Partners Newsletter: Our Values In Action; News Around The Watershed; Recreation Access For All; Opportunities For All; New Podcast; Upcoming Events 

-- WTAJ: ClearWater Conservancy Receives $99,000 Grant To Install Forested Riparian Stream Buffers In Centre County

-- The Allegheny Front: New ClearWater Conservancy Conservation Education Center In Centre County Lands Federal, State Funding

-- Reading Eagle: Berks Nature Emphasizes Community Planning During State Of The Environment Breakfast

-- Delaware RiverKeeper Nov. 22 RiverWatch Video Report

-- Penn State Extension:  Private Water Supply Education, Water Testing Accomplishments In 2024  [PaEN]

-- Spotlight PA: Flood Damage That Destroyed Antietam Middle School Reveals Deep Divisions Between Berks County Communities Over How And Where To Continue Schooling Students

-- WHYY: Philly Launches Flood Alerts For Eastwick Neighborhood: ‘A Long Time Coming’

-- Appalachian Voices: Statement On Request For $98 Billion In Federal Disaster Funding

-- Citizens Voice: Cemetery Headstones Washed Away In 1972 Flood Found In Forty Fort

-- Post-Gazette/AP: Climate Change Increased Hurricane Wind Strength By 18 MPH Since 2019, Study Says

-- WHYY - Sophia Schmidt: Delaware River Basin Managers Could Take Conservation Efforts If Drought Worsens

-- Inquirer - Frank Kummer: Delaware River Water Levels At 60% As Salt Front Increases Amid Drought

-- MCall: How Recent Rains Impacted Lehigh Valley’s River, Drought Status

-- KYW: Officials Eyeing Delaware River Salt Levels As Philly-Area Drought Worsens

-- Courier Times: Part Of Bucks County Enters ‘Extreme Drought’ This Week Amid Worst Dry Spell In 22 Years

-- WNEP: Aqua Pennsylvania Issues Mandatory Water Conservation Notice In Northumberland, Columbia, Schuylkill Counties

-- Inquirer - Frank Kummer: Drought Conditions Have Caused Aqua PA Water To Suddenly Stink, But Safe To Drink In Abington, Montgomery County; Using Different Source Of Water

-- Managing Your Well During A Drought, Tips From Penn State Extension  [PaEN]

-- TribLive: Youghiogheny River Level Remains Low After Relatively Dry Summer, Fall In Westmoreland, Fayette Counties

-- New York Governor Declares 15 Counties In Drought Warning, Drought Watch Statewide

-- MCall: Plans For Route 512 Warehouses, Landfill Expansion Raise Traffic, Environmental Concerns

-- Spotlight PA: Local Leaders Want To Help State College Borough Water Authority Take Over Small, Troubled Rock Spring Water Company

-- The Derrick: Aqua Pennsylvania Lifts Boil-Water Advisory For Fryburg Water Customers In Place For Six Days [One Of The Companies Involved In Venango County Conventional Well Spill Incident]

-- WNEP: PA American Water Finishes Dredging Silt Released From Dam Rehab Project Into Roaring Brook

-- Scranton Times: PA American Water Dredges Silt Released From Dam Rehab Project Into Roaring Brook

-- Penn State Extension: In-Person Workshop Nov. 24 Meadow Seeding For A Hands-On Stormwater Solution. Rose Tree County Park, Media, Delaware County 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. 

[Posted: November 21, 2024]

11/25/2024