Brandywine Conservancy Awards $40,000 In Mini-Grants To 7 Municipal Partners To Support Brandywine Creek Greenway

On December 10, the Brandywine Conservancy announced the award of $40,000 in grants to seven municipal partners through the Brandywine Creek Greenway’s new Mini-Grant Program for 2020-2021. 

Funded by a recent grant from DCNR’s Community Conservation Partnership Program Environmental Stewardship Fund, administered by the Bureau of Recreation and Conservation (BRC), the granted funds will be used to implement park, open space and trail projects within the Greenway. 

All projects support and advance the goals and objectives of the BCG’s Strategic Action Plan (2014). 

“The Mini-Grant Program reinforces the work of the strong and collaborative partnerships that have been created through the Brandywine Creek Greenway over the past decade,” said Ellen Ferretti, Director of the Brandywine Conservancy. "We are thrilled to offer these grants to smaller, yet critical, projects that may otherwise be overlooked for traditional sources of funding.”

Grants were awarded to the following municipal partners in Chester and Delaware counties:

-- Chadds Ford Township’s Brandywine Creek Emergency Locator/ Educational Signage Project — $5,000;

-- East Bradford Township’s Strode's Barn Restoration Design Project — $5,000;

-- East Fallowfield Township’s Outdoor Exercise ‘Park’ and Park Bench Installation Project — $3,600;

-- Kennett Area Park Authority’s Project to Convert Former Paved Entrance to Pedestrian Trail — $8,000;

-- Borough of Modena’s Mode House Park Project — $9,988;

-- Pocopson Township’s Restoration of Locust Grove Schoolhouse — $6,000; and

-- Wallace Township’s Burgess Park Rain Garden Restoration Project — $2,400.

Working with private landowners, Chadds Ford Township will use their funds to install 12 new signs along the Brandywine Creek within the Township to provide educational and safety information and facilitate location efforts for emergency responders. 

With support from the Friends of Strode’s Mill, East Bradford Township will engage and work with a licensed architect—specializing in historic preservation—to prepare formal design plans for the preservation and restoration of the historic Strode’s Barn at the Plum Run Preserve. 

East Fallowfield Township will purchase outdoor fitness equipment and benches for the Township’s Community Park, following resident feedback from an online survey that will be developed by its Park and Recreation Board. 

The Kennett Area Park Authority will transition the existing blacktop of its pedestrian trail entrance to a sustainable pervious surface. 

The Borough of Modena will use their funds to help restore the historic Mode House property and create a small pocket park for passive recreation. 

The Pocopson Township's Historical Committee will complete restoration work on the Locust Grove Schoolhouse historic site. 

Wallace Township will complete a restoration of its existing rain garden at the entrance to Burgess Park to ensure that it can thrive and serve as an example of sustainable water quality practices to park visitors.

For more information on programs, initiatives and upcoming events, visit the Brandywine Conservancy website.  Click Here to sign up for regular updates from the Conservancy (middle of the webpage.)  Visit the Conservancy’s Blog, Like the Conservancy on Facebook and Follow them on Instagram.

The Conservancy currently holds over 485 conservation and agricultural easements and has facilitated the permanent preservation of more than 66,000 acres of land.

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[Posted: December 10, 2020]  PA Environment Digest