Berks County Conservation District developed a stormwater best management practices interpretive trail to educate visitors about stormwater management and nonpoint source pollution. Rain barrels are featured on the sides of the trail to supplement garden needs. Visitors will walk by rain gardens, which attempt to replicate the natural processes in the environment and seek to improve water quality.  Guests learn about the Terre-Kleen, a water quality unit that uses incline planes to trap different forms of sediment. Even the surface under the visitors' feet is a best management practice. Porous concrete and asphalt is utilized to allow water to penetrate the surface and reduce runoff.

Guests of the conservation district can take various brochures with them as they walk the trail to better understand the variety of practices. The brochures explain the basics of nonpoint source pollution as well as the details of each practice. A portion of the brochures is set aside to show how the district can help individuals improve their environmental footprint using these structures. There are also educational signs installed around the property with more additions, like a kiosk that details the path of the tour, planned for installation this spring. 

Kate Keppen, Watershed Specialist/Environmental Educator stressed that the practices and the tour itself are ever changing and evolving as our understanding of stormwater continues to grow. "The showcasing of these various best management practices are not only educational for the public and the design/engineering worlds, they are educational for us at the Conservation District level as we get to see first-hand what they do during storm conditions," she said.

Funding for this trail was provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection through Growing Greener and Environmental Education funds and the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation District's Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention Mini-Grant Program. If you are interested in learning more about the best management practices interpretive trail, please contact Kate Keppen at 610-372-4657 or email her at Kathryn.Keppen@berkscd.com. 

Before Porous Paver   Installation

After Porous Paver   Installation

PA GLCI Offers Educational Mini-Grants

Pennsylvania Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (PA GLCI) is presently accepting applications for the organization's ongoing educational mini-grants program. The grants are offered to non-profit organizations and producer associations that provide grazing-focused education and trainings throughout the commonwealth.

Grants through PA GLCI are available for field days and pasture walks, trainings, conferences, and other activities that include grazing or forage management as a main topic to reach producers interested in improving their pastures and grazing operations.

There is no deadline to apply. Grant applications are reviewed quarterly. Click here for more details about the mini-grant program criteria with downloadable application instructions or contact Susan Parry susan.parry@pa.usda.gov, USDA-NRCS State Grassland Conservationist at (717) 237-2253. 

Pennsylvania Conservation Professionals Invited to CRP Workshops June 20-21