Stream cleanups, nature-themed festivals, educational animated fish and outreach to local Jeep owners are among the strategies Community Conservation Grant winners proposed to engage the community in efforts to improve Lancaster County’s water quality.
Five projects will share nearly $65,000 in grants from the Lancaster Clean Water Fund, a countywide funding source for nonprofits and municipalities proposing water quality improvement projects. The fund also administers large-scale implementation grants for projects such as streamside tree plantings, but the grants announced Tuesday are designed to support education and outreach.
Funded projects are designed to help Lancaster County meet its share of the nutrient and sediment pollution reduction goals the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency mandated for Chesapeake Bay watershed states.
Here’s more information on each grant winner:
SoWe Project Clean Stream: Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, $12,000
This project focuses on the southwest quadrant of Lancaster city. The Alliance will lead two cleanups and organize smaller monthly cleanups led by community members who will receive a grant-funded stipend for their time.
Cleanup organizers aim to build public awareness around litter’s impact on local waterways.
Expanding the One Water Partnership in Lancaster County: Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake, $14,837
The Lancaster One Water Partnership plans to hold quarterly events to connect faith-based communities in Lancaster County who have an interest in working toward goals such as reducing stormwater pollution and increasing the tree canopy.
The Partnership seeks to support three to five congregations in Lancaster County as they develop a green action plan, organize volunteers, and expand educational outreach on water-related issues.
Southeast Growing Greener & Sowing Seeds of Change: Let’s Go 1-2-3, $15,000
Let’s Go 1-2-3 started as a nonprofit effort to expand outdoor recreation opportunities for students of color. Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology and the Lancaster City Housing Authority will collaborate on this project to apply the Let’s Go 1-2-3 model to the southeast neighborhoods of Lancaster city.
Project goals include establishing a Community Green Team, using neighborhood surveys to expand knowledge of sustainable ways to safeguard land and water health, and organizing a celebratory Nature Fest.
River Connections: City of Lancaster, $15,000
River Connections launched in 2022, and its website defines the art initiative’s goal as “elevating the stories of Black and Brown people’s connection to the Conestoga River.”
This project expands River Connections’ storytelling and community-building work through storm drain murals and performance art. A local artist will be hired to create an animated ambassador, named Rosie the Fish, who will educate students about their local river.
Engagement and Education of our Watershed Community: Friends of Fishing Creek, $8,000
The Friends of Fishing Creek will use this grant to encourage the public to protect the watershed’s sensitive ecosystem. They will distribute educational materials and recycling bags at the 2024 Annual Solanco Fair.
The group will also reach out to 15 local Jeep clubs to promote responsible recreation in the Fishing Creek area. A planned “educational drive” will feature volunteers with environmental education materials at stations along the public dirt road that runs beside Fishing Creek.
