About CRC
Creeks
News
Events
Resources
Join Us
ContributeChester-Ridley-Crum Watersheds Association
2011 Selected Accomplishments
CRC is proud to be providing these services to our communities – thank you for making this possible!
Protecting our streams, water quality, and air quality, with more riparian buffers and critical erosion control projects
• With continued funding from Aqua PA’s TreeVitalize program, CRC planted 380 trees with its partners along Ridley Creek in Ridley Creek State Park and in Chester Park, and along Crum Creek in Swarthmore College and Edgmont Township. CRC also assisted Springfield Township with their fall streamside tree planting.
• Funding from Spectra Energy to help restore the Chester Park Nature Trail wetland was secured by CRC.
• A second grant was obtained from the Coldwater Heritage Partnership to implement the Coldwater Conservation Plan for the West Branch of Crum Creek. CRC worked with two Crum Creek landowners to plant 80 trees along the West Branch and another tributary of Crum Creek. Two more restoration projects are scheduled for the West Branch, and eight landowner consultations have been completed to date with Delaware Riverkeeper Network under the grant.
• CRC continued its work with Rose Valley Borough under a grant from the Boeing Community Foundation to save a critical part of the Ridley Creek Streamside Trail at the entrance to the Saul Wildlife Sanctuary. A design and permit have been completed and proposal for funding construction submitted.
• A growing Greener Grant was submitted with Ridley Park Borough to create a constructed wetland along Little Crum Creek to catch unhealthy sediment originating upstream before it enters Ridley Park Lake.
Helping our communities get involved in protecting their watersheds
• 2,560 adults and students from five school districts participated in CRC educational programs or volunteer stream cleanup or tree planting projects.
• 506 volunteers from a large number of civic groups, area businesses, partner nonprofits, CRC members and concerned citizens, from 20 municipalities, partnered with CRC to remove 22 tons of trash in our two annual stream cleanups These cleanup volunteers included teams from corporate sponsors Synygy, Kimberly Clark-Chester Operations, Animas, CH2MHill, Sartomer USA, Wawa, ING, and Aqua.
• For the fifth year in a row, 300 Marple-Newtown High School students conducted its field study of Crum Creek with CRC. 400 students from three other school districts participated in stream studies with CRC instructors.
Addressing flooding and water quality impairment where they start
• With funding from Whole Foods-Devon, Trout and Salmon Foundation, and a private foundation, two stormwater infiltration projects at the headwaters of Crum Creek in Tredyffrin and Easttown are in the design phase, with a spring construction planned.
• CRC organized a naturalized basin workshop for the Delaware County Association of Township Officials, attended by 24 homeowners associations. Work is ongoing with homeowner associations in Concord and Thornbury on naturalizing their basins to reduce flooding and maintenance and to improve water quality.
• CRC partnered with the West Goshen Sewage Treatment plant in submitting a Growing Greener grant application to study ways to address impairment issues in Goose Creek.
Providing valuable educational programs to our members and the community at large
• CRC’s Spring Members’ Meeting featured Wetland Scientist Jane Rowan and the topic of Source Water Protection of the Springton Reservoir. Ten additional educational programs were held throughout the year on the topics of Meadow Creation and Lawn Alternatives, Healthy Yard Care, Maintenance of Stormwater BMPs lecture and site tours, Rain Barrels, Bats, and Naturalized Site Tours.
Check out CRC’s Year in Review photo album including our annual dinner at http://crcwatersheds.org/resources/view/219