Free Rain Barrel* Workshop at Blair Mill Elementary School 4/25/2009

Residents in the headwaters of Pennypack Creek can do their part to conserve water and help minimize the impact of runoff from roofs by installing a rain barrel. This workshop will feature:

• Brief overview of the rainwater cycle
• Green Homes update
• Information on the importance of stormwater management at home
• Instructions on the installation and use of a rain barrel

The first 60 residents that have pre-registered for and attend the
workshop will receive a FREE RAIN BARREL*!

This workshop is sponsored by the Philadelphia Water Department, in partnership with Project Headwaters, Southeastern Montgomery County Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Hatboro-Horsham School District and Blair Mill Elementary School. Sign up today at phillywatersheds.org/rainbarrel

*One free rain barrel per household. This program is limited to residents of Zip Codes 19040, 19044, and 19090 only

Blair Mill Elementary School Watershed Day April 25, 2009

The Program of activities for the April 25th Watershed day at Blair Mill Elementary School has been finalized:

TreeVitalize Planting

Blair Mill families and community members will plant 175 trees along the stream behind our school.

Ground breaking for Clearbrook Park Project

Storm water management and planting of a natural wetland in Clearwater Park will be introduced to the community.

Rain Barrel Program

Sixty rain barrels will be given away to community members after an information session on their importance and use.

Rain Garden Planting

Blair Mill families and community members will plant a rain garden on our school property.

Name the Stream Contest

Winner will be announced at the event.

Various presentations by environmental organizations.

Food and fun activities for kids!

Several organizations have donated their time and money for this project. Look for the sign-up flyer to follow in the near future! You won’t want to miss this event!

for more information contact
Mike Wilson

Project Headwaters to Present at 2009 Delaware Estuary Science Conference

Project Headwaters has been selected to present at the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary's Science and Environmental Summit 2009. This event will be held Jan. 11-14 at The Grand Hotel in Cape May, New Jersey. We're very excited for this opportunity to share the message of Project Headwaters with a wide audience of local scientists and watershed managers.

Download the Project Headwaters Presentation Abstract

More Information about the 2009 Delaware Estuary Science and Environmental Summit 2009

Project Headwaters Video Featured on StormwaterPA

Project Headwaters is a featured video on StormwaterPA.

This video was shot during the first round of planting at the Natural Lands Trust. Mike Wilson and Shandor Szalay were interviewed, talking about the principles and goals of Project Headwaters. The video is about 7 minutes long and can be viewed directly at StormwaterPA Case Studies: Project Headwaters.

You can also request a copy of the StormwaterPA video on DVD by completing the online form on the StormwaterPA website.

Project Headwaters Has a Blog!

Project Headwaters Blog is up and running.  Over the next couple of weeks I'll try to tweak the settings and the website to make them more user friendly.  

Pennypack Watershed Stormwater Basin Inventory Identifies Priority Basins in Headwaters

Dan Fitzgerald has been working on a stormwater basin inventory and he's finished all the basins in the Pennypack. Several of the top priority basins (based on proximity to headwaters and preliminary drainage area/basin area) are ones we've already been looking at in Horsham township! Nice when the facts match your preconceived ideas.

We'd like to survey the Luken's park ones next week if possible. Do you guys have any contacts such as maintenance/parks and rec department/Twp engineer, etc. that we should check with ahead of time? For the HydroCAD model we'll need to know about all pipes, etc. that are not obvious in the field survey.

Blair Mill Elementary School - Watershed Day Event

I just wanted to give everyone a quick update on the planning for the Blair Mill Elementary School - Watershed Day event. We met last week with the Blair Mill Team, and came up with a number a great ideas for this event. the tentative date for the event is April 25th. We picked this date because it ties into some other Earth Day activities. The Project Headwaters team will coordinate the event. This is our first attempt at this type of event, so any and all suggestions are welcome. Attached is an outline of some of the ideas that came out of our meeting last week. Take a look and let me know what you think. The Blair Mill team will be working to integrate the Watershed theme into various school events and activities during the school year. Project Headwaters will help with technical support whenever possible. If you have an idea, let me know. We're hoping to kick off the project with an Assembly early in the school year, to introduce the Watershed theme to the children and the school community. I'll keep you informed as this event shapes up.

thanks,
Mike