November 24, 2010

Your Vote Needed In Plant A Tree Contest. Through the Odwalla fruit juice Plant a Tree campaign, Pennsylvania has earned nearly $27,000 this year to pay for planting 28,372 trees State Parks. But that’s not the end of the story.
There are $16,000 still up for grabs for certain states, and Pennsylvania is one of them. Visit the Odwalla website and enter PA7000 for the Pennsylvania code. If you have already voted, you can vote for up to 5 more trees.
The number of votes a state receives will equal the number of dollars it earns to plant trees within its parks.

November 10, 2010

Holiday Gifts - Clean Creek Pottery. Looking for a holiday gift that will please the most discriminating taste and help the environment? Consider pottery products from Clean Creek.
Clean Creek Products, a division of Stream Restoration Inc. (nonprofit), was formed to market the metals recovered in treating abandoned mine drainage. One of the uses for these metals is in ceramic pottery glazing.
Every product you purchase from Clean Creek will not only support the artists that create them, but also helps support watershed groups doing local projects to help restore Pennsylvania's 19,000 miles of polluted waterways.

November 5, 2010

What Do Poultry, Paper Abandoned Mine Lands Have In Common? Aside from the fact that each produces pollution and waste, combined they may be able to solve one another's problems while providing energy. How is this possible?
The Pennsylvania Environmental Council has organized some unique partnerships do deal with the waste from poultry farms in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. When combined with excess paper mill sludge, barren Abandoned Mine Lands could produce biomass in the form of warm seasonal grasses to support the increase of energy consumption.
The Western Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation recently joined several other interested groups for a tour of PEC's pilot project in Clearfield County to see how this is possible.

(Story By Anne Daymut, Watershed Coordinator, Western Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation, published in Abandoned Mine Posts)

November 3, 2010

Schuylkill Action Network Launches Student Video, Education Contests. The Schuylkill Action Network has launched two contests for students of all ages, and the theme of both is the Schuylkill River.
For the first time, students can enter the Schuylkill Stories Contest by submitting videos up to three minutes long by March 1. The theme of the inaugural competition is “This is My Watershed.”
The Schuylkill Action Network is seeking videos from students explaining how and why they enjoy the Schuylkill River, as well as the many waterways flowing into it.
Click here to watch a video on the Contest.
For the fifth year, students can also vie for a Drinking Water Scholastic Award with nominations due on March 1.
These are given to select classes and youth groups who carry out educational programs or restoration projects that help to keep the Schuylkill River clean.
Previous winners have planted trees along streams, created a campus rain garden, given presentations in their community and more.