Watershed Summit Attracts Over 125 Promoting The Renewal Of Growing Greener Program

More than 125 people attended the day-long 2010 Watershed Summit to sharpen their skills at watershed restoration and protection and to see how they can become involved in renewing a retargeted, refocused Growing Greener Program.
More than 60 organizations have already signed on to support the renewal of Growing Greener asking for--
-- A state investment of $200 million annually;
-- Establish a dedicated and sustainable source or sources of revenue to support the renewal of Growing Greener;
-- Ending the diversion of money from the state's Environmental Stewardship Fund (Growing Greener) to pay the debt on Growing Greener II bonds -- a diversion that is contrary to the Commonwealth's normal practice of paying bond debt service out of general funds.
-- Refocus Growing Greener on:
-- Restoring Our Water and Land - bringing streams back to life and protecting drinking water
Conserving Our Working Farms and Forests - securing our food and timber supplies
-- Saving Our Special Places - protecting and enhancing wildlife habitat, greenways, trails, hunting grounds, fishing areas and community open space, including local, county and state parks and forests.
-- Greening Our Built Communities - revitalizing waterfronts and parks, planting trees, creating neighborhood gardens, working with nature to reduce flooding and preserving history
-- Creating Outdoor Recreation Opportunities - walking, biking, hunting, fishing, playing sports, picnicking and enjoying the quiet and peace of nature.
Click here to download the renew Growing Greener presentation.
So far those organizations supporting the renewal of Growing Greener include: 10,000 Friends of PA, Appalachian Mountain Club, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, ClearWater Conservancy, Delaware River Greenway Partnership, East Nantmeal Land Trust, Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation, Eastern MontCo Action, Forest Hills Regional Alliance, Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds, Green Space Alliance, Highlands Coalition, Lackawanna County Agricultural Land Preservation Program, Lake Erie Region Conservancy, Lancaster County Conservancy, Lancaster Farmland Trust, Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor, Merrill Linn Land & Waterways Conservancy, Montgomery County Lands Trust, Moraine Preservation Fund, Natural Lands Trust, PA Recreation & Park Society, PennEnvironment, Pennsylvania Chapter of the Sierra Club, Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Pennsylvania Forest Coalition, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Pennsylvania Land Trust Association, Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers, Pennsylvania Parks & Forest Foundation, Pregmon Law Offices, Preservation Pennsylvania, River Alert Information Network, Riverside Center for Innovation, Shermans Creek Conservation, Association of Perry County, Spring Creek Watershed Association, The Conservancy of Montgomery County, The Conservation Fund, The Ecolibrium Group, LLC, The Keystone Trails Association ,The PEAK Center's Montgomery County Senior Environment Corps, The Trust for Public Land, The Wallace Trust, The Westmoreland Land Trust, Tinicum Conservancy, Upper St. Clair Citizens for Land Stewardship, Wildlands Conservancy and Willistown Conservation Trust.
Send an email to Andrew Health at: aheath@RenewGrowingGreener.org to sign up your group.
Presentations and other information from the event will be posted on the Watershed Summit website.
Check out the new Renew Growing Greener website now under construction. Also visit the 10th Anniversary of Growing Greener website for great success stories supported by the program.

Link: Watersheds Rising - The Power Of Partnerships