- Details
Penn State Extension and the Lebanon, Lancaster, and Dauphin County conservation districts are excited to launch the Master Watershed Steward Extension for the Lower Susquehanna.
Similar to the Master Gardener program, the Master Watershed Steward program is a collaborative effort designed to train people in a formal way about the basics of water resource stewardship, creating an energized and educated group of citizens.
Currently, the MWS program is in 18 counties across the state and has 302 volunteers.
The program is recruiting 20-25 interested people for the class of 2020, which will be a joint program between Dauphin, Lancaster, and Lebanon counties.
The class will consist of 40 hours of training on various topics, including water quality, stream health, groundwater, native plants, and recreational resources.
Once this part of the training is complete, trainees perform 50 hours of volunteer service on selected projects such as:
• Organizing and executing stream cleanups
• Designing and installing demonstration rain gardens
• Assisting in stream restorations
• Organizing educational workshops addressing topics such as rain barrels, pollution prevention, invasive plant control, and storm-water management
Applicants are welcome from people of all backgrounds. Those under 18 must be accompanied by a guardian or adult.
The program will start Tuesday, March 3, 6-8:30 p.m., and will continue every Tuesday through May. There will be several Saturday field trips as well.
Informational sessions will be held at these locations on the following dates:
Jan. 8, 7 p.m., Lebanon County Extension Office, 2120 Cornwall Road, Lebanon
Jan. 14, 7 p.m., Dauphin County Extension Office, 1451 Peters Mountain Road, Dauphin
Jan. 21, 7 p.m., Lancaster County Extension Office, 1383 Arcadia Road, Lancaster
Registration for these meetings can be found at: https://extension.psu.edu/master-watershed-steward-information-meeting.
If interested, please contact Casey Clauser at (717) 639-3589 or cmc7444@psu.edu.