Philadelphia Watershed Stewardship Program 2018: Applications Open!
PWS stewards at 2017’s Coast Day on the Delaware.
LandHealth Institute is partnering with the Philadelphia Water Department to deliver another year of our outstanding Philadelphia Watershed Stewardship program (PWS).
This program provides High-School age youth from Philadelphia a unique opportunity to engage in experiential outdoor learning with LandHealth’s Founder, Scott Quitel. Scott will spend 11 weeks in the green spaces of the city along Cobbs Creek with students from the program, visiting Morris Park, Haddington Woods, the Naylor’s Run wetland, Darby Creek, and even the tidal wetland at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge. A number of these training sessions will be based at Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center. Parks and Recreation’s Tony Croasdale and LHI Program Manager Dan Kobza will lead more educational experiences for the youth. The participants will learn about the plants and animals of our city, our urban and natural water cycles, our geology and history, and the ecological cycles that bind all of these together. In addition, they’ll participate in public speaking workshops and keep field journals.
Along with this immersive learning experience, program participants will attend a number of educational and community events throughout the rest of the program. These will include cleanups, bike rides, community meetings, a kayak trip, a visit to Fairmount Water Works interpretive center, and time at LHI’s own PhilaFlora native plant nursery. Participants even receive a stipend totaling $850 contingent upon completion of the program.
The Philadelphia Water Department works with LHI to bring Philadelphia this program as part of the educational end of its Green Cities, Clean Waters initiative: a nationally recognized program that implements green infrastructure to reduce stormwater runoff into our city's storm drains, reducing combined sewer outflow events and thereby protecting the health of our watersheds. PWS stewards learn about these issues and help educate others, passing on the knowledge they’ve gained.
Last year’s program was a great success, with 11 graduates, and this year’s addition of collaboration with Parks and Recreation and Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center promises to make the 2018 program even better!
The best news is that we are accepting applicants until April 6th. Interested High School students in Philadelphia should visit www.landhealth.org/enroll to download an Enrollment packet and submit a Statement of Purpose. A mandatory Letter of Recommendation and optional Resume can be uploaded to the same page.
Participants in last year’s program posing while exploring Haddington Woods near Milbourne.
Please direct inquiries regarding this program to Program Manager Dan Kobza at daniel@landhealthinsititute.org.