Free Stormwater Education Workshop For Local Officials, Educators Sept. 19 In Dauphin County

The departments of Environmental Protection and Conservation and Natural Resources are teaming up with Penn State Extension and Dauphin County Conservation District to offer a free, educational workshop called "Weathering The Storm" on the challenges of managing stormwater runoff pollution on September 19.

As streets, parking lots, roofs, and other impervious surfaces become an increasing part of our communities, rainwater that naturally would be absorbed by the ground is instead flooding our neighborhoods, creating safety hazards and carrying pollutants such as lawn fertilizers and pesticides through storm drains directly into local streams and rivers, where they harm aquatic life.

Teachers, municipal personnel, non-formal educators, homeschoolers, and youth group, and scout leaders are encouraged to attend “Weathering The Storm” on September 19, to learn about stormwater runoff and its management, through hands-on activities such as:

-- Whose Problem Is It? Participants analyze a variety of water-related issues to understand the relationship between local and global impacts.

-- Urban Waterway Checkup. Participants learn the characteristics used to gauge the health of streams and rivers, and apply their knowledge to analyze the health of an urban waterway.

-- Exploration of stormwater best management practices in place on site.

The workshop will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Dauphin County Agriculture and Natural Resources Center, 1451 Peter’s Mountain Rd., Dauphin, PA 17018. The day will begin in the auditorium, but some activities will be outdoors.

Participants will receive copies of Project WILD’s “WET in the City” urban water education curriculum and Penn State Extension’s “Rain to Drain: Slow the Flow” experiment-style curriculum on the movement of stormwater in natural and developed communities, green infrastructure, and stormwater BMPs.

Teachers are eligible for 6.5 Act 48 credit hours.

Registration is required. To register, please contact Bert Myers at the Department of Environmental Protection at 717-705-3767 or send email to: gimyers@pa.gov by September 15. Space is limited, so early registration is recommended.

For more information on stormwater, visit DEP’s Municipal Stormwater webpage.