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pigs fly! That’s when Jose Taracido will stop working
with Pennsylvania farmers to implement environmental best
management practices. A dedicated conservationist, Jose
works tirelessly to construct streambank fencing and restore
wildlife habitats and wetlands on farms across western
Pennsylvania.
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Under Jose’s direction, the Partners for Fish and
Wildlife, part of the Foundation for California University
of Pennsylvania, have secured several state and federal
grants for partnering with farmers. Growing Greener contributed
to the cause with four grants totaling more than $1 million.
Reaping the benefits of Jose’s dedication, farmers
have cleaner drinking water for their animals, drought
tolerant grasses for their feed and increased erosion
control.
Jose’s efforts also have extended to building partnerships,
enabling him to have far-reaching effects on our watersheds.
With his partners, Jose has been recognized at national,
state and local levels for his work on Pike Run in Washington
County.
Jose has built a foundation of trust with Pennsylvania
farmers that has proved to be the cornerstone of his success
in protecting not only our natural resources, but also
our agricultural heritage. Learn More: Visit
www.GreenWorks.tv (GreenWords “Healthy Farming”).
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director of the Rivers Program at the Wildlands Conservancy,
Chris Kocher has made it his mission to protect, preserve
and restore the physical and biological health of
our rivers and streams.
.jpg) Tackling
the entire Lehigh River watershed, Chris is leading the
way through a Rivers Conservation Plan — his most
recent in a chain of plans that are helping identify the
physical, biological and
cultural features in a watershed.
Chris also spearheaded a mine drainage assessment of the
Lehigh River watershed, which has since lead to a restoration
project on the largest mine drainage discharge in the
watershed.
This will no doubt have an incredible influence on the
health of the watershed.
With Chris’ help, Wildlands Conservancy has successfully
completed a number of other stream restoration and improvement
projects in northeastern Pennsylvania, securing numerous
grants
from several state and federal programs, including Growing
Greener.
Developing successful partnerships to preserve our watersheds,
Chris knows what it means to be a watershed steward, and
he knows how to make it look easy. “Mission impossible”
is not a phrase in Chris Kocher’s vocabulary. Learn
More:
Visit www.GreenWorks.tv (GreenWords
“Lehigh Sojourn”)
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hat
do the environment and being a banker have in common?
You may be thinking “not much,” but for those
who know Bill Worobec, the list is endless. In real life,
Bill is a banker, and, in his free time, he spearheads
an incredible partnership that has resulted in the restoration
— some would say “rebuilding” — of
Big Bear Creek using natural stream design principles.
“This project demonstrates viable solutions to a
host of problems representative of those experienced by
almost every stream in Pennsylvania,” Bill said.
Using the stream channel as a road to haul heavy equipment and rocks in and out
of the work area, Bill and a host of partners scraped
off several feet of streambed to restore the gradient
and reconstruct
banks and channels. All this in just one week’s time!
.jpg) Being
a banker came in handy, as Bill managed to raise more
than $400,000 in matching money and secured a $376,741
Growing Greener grant
from the Lycoming County Conservation District. Bill has
proved that partnerships and perseverance are powerful
tools in restoring and protecting our watersheds. His
innovative approach to watershed restoration has paid
off, especially now that Big Bear Creek is seeing new
signs of life as mayflies and wild trout return to the
area. Learn More: Visit
www.GreenWorks.tv
(GreenWords “Stream Design”).
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Carole Williams-Green was a child, her mother shared her
contagious love of nature with Carole and her friends,
taking neighborhood children on five-mile walks to look
at the fields and trees. Today, Carole shares her love
of nature with the children, parents and teachers of Southwest
Philadelphia.
Over the next 21 months, Carole and her 10 year-old nonprofit
organization, the Cobbs Creek Community Environmental
Education Center, will be able to reach 1,240 students
with the help of a Growing Greener grant from DEP. A major
goal of the Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Education
Center is to engage children and adults as community stewards.
Together, they will tackle the restoration of the Cobbs
Creek watershed, removing debris and
invasive vegetation, controlling erosion, planting native
trees and wildflowers and repairing trails.
Carole is a successful visionary. Just last October, Carole
succeeded in opening the doors to what is believed to
be the first African American-founded urban environmental
education center with a creek and riparian forest at its
doorstep. As with her vision for retrofitting the historic
stables at 63rd and Catharine Streets to serve as the
new headquarters for the center, Carole sees the Cobbs
Creek watershed growing greener through community involvement.
Learn More: Visit
www.GreenWorks.tv (GreenWords “Communities”).
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| Everyone’s heard
the saying “think globally, act locally.” GreenWorks
helps turn that slogan into reality by focusing on the
environmental issues in your own backyard. Through television,
Internet, radio and printed publications, GreenWorks |
brings you the stories
of everyday people making a positive impact on the environment.
If you have an environmental problem that needs a solution,
or if you’re just ready to get |
involved, check out the
resources GreenWorks has to offer. Learn More: Write
to GreenWorks, 1420 Walnut St., Suite 1304, Philadelphia,
PA 19102 or email talktous@greenworks.tv. |
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