The Master Watershed Steward program in Allegheny County’s class of 19 candidates are quickly nearing the end of their 40+ hours of training that began in September.
The Allegheny County Master Watershed Steward class includes several individuals who are already active in watershed stewardship through local watershed associations or professional positions, so they see this program as an opportunity to enhance and expand their ability to conserve and restore watersheds through education and hands-on service.
Other trainees are starting from a more basic knowledge to learn the nuances of watershed function and related topics while building skills in outreach and education as well as watershed assessment and protection techniques.
The training has drawn on the enormous wealth of expertise in the Pittsburgh region with presenters from Penn State Extension, Duquesne University, PWSA, Trout Unlimited, Hedin Environmental, Lower Chartiers Watershed Association, Allegheny County Park Rangers, Creek Connections, The WHM Group, Allegheny Land Trust, Allegheny County Conservation District, McCandless Township Sewer Authority, and the PA Fish and Boat Commission.
Trainees are required to complete 50 hours of volunteer service in their first year.
Toward that goal, this cohort will be tackling a variety of tasks including restoring a riparian buffer, developing educational resources about Japanese knotweed while working with a local shade tree commission to address it in a local park, developing educational resources about the impact of illegal dumping on watersheds, and developing educational resources for elected municipal officials about watershed function.
Several continuing education opportunities related to these topics and many others will help hone their talents.
Rather than dreaming of sugarplums during the holiday season these stewards-to-be will be dreaming of healthy riparian buffers.
Next Training Class
Another training class will begin Tuesday, March 17, 2020 with classes held from 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. Tuesday evenings through July 14.
If you are interested in being part of the next training class, or know someone who is, please go to the Allegheny County Master Watershed Steward Program website or contact Mary W. Wilson, program coordinator, at mpw5625@psu.edu or 412-482-3464 for details.
Several slots are already filled by folks by overflow from in the current class, so early application is strongly recommended.
[For more information, visit the Allegheny County Master Watershed Stewards webpage.
[Learn more about Penn State Extension’s Master Watershed Stewards Program across the state by visiting the Master Watershed Steward webpage.]
(Reprinted from the latest Penn State Extension Watershed Winds newsletter. Click Here to sign up for your own copy.)
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[Posted: December 21, 2019] www.PaEnvironmentDigest.com
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