A longtime nature enthusiast, Stephen Hinds, of Delaware County, has spent the past few years volunteering with Penn State Extension’s Master Watershed Steward Program, working hands-on to restore and stabilize streambanks at Smedley Park, a county park near his hometown, using a technique known as “live staking.”
Hinds is no stranger to this type of conservation work — he has worked on various projects and tended the park’s gardens for 25 years as a Master Gardener volunteer.
It was only in the past few years that he learned about the Master Watershed Steward Program and joined it in 2019.
Hinds explained that what drew him to the Master Watershed Steward Program was his familiarity with some of the program's topics and projects from his involvement with the Master Gardeners, as well as his knowledge of nature.
“The Master Watershed Steward Program is interesting because it's not only connected to the watershed but the whole area around the water,” Hinds said. “You need to know trees and shrubs — the different types, the conditions they like and what to plant in different areas.”
The live-stake nursery began in 2022 as a project by a member of the 2019 Master Watershed Steward class.
Members of the program took over and continued the project to maintain and expand the nursery in the floodplain of Crum Creek in Smedley Park.
Hinds, as a Master Gardener and team member, has continued to support and maintain this nursery.
Hinds explained that live staking is a stream repair technique in which branch cuttings from shrubs and trees are harvested and inserted into eroded streambanks to stabilize the banks and control soil erosion.
The branch cuttings, called live stakes, grow roots into the soil, helping to prevent further erosion into the stream or river. Once stakes mature into healthy shrubs and trees, additional live stakes can be harvested to restore other streamside areas.
“We have pussywillow, elderberry, buttonbush, ninebark, silky dogwood and red osier dogwood in the nursery,” Hinds said. “There are 17 cages with about five plants per cage, which is a lot to manage when invasive species are trying to overwhelm them.”
This spring, the nursery’s first harvest produced branches that were then used in live-staking projects at several locations. Additional harvests are scheduled for the future.
“Stephen is a great volunteer and somebody who both programs depend on,” said Meagan Hopkins-Doerr, Master Watershed Steward coordinator for Delaware County. “He’s a jack of all trades who is a very hands-on person for the program and especially the live-stake nursery.”
Hinds and Hopkins-Doerr encourage those with a passion for nature and the desire to learn to join the Master Watershed Steward Program.
Hopkins-Doerr noted that the key quality of a volunteer is an interest in enhancing their community, whether through hands-on work such as repair and restoration projects or by sharing research-based information through presentations.
The Penn State Master Watershed Steward program provides extensive training in watershed management to volunteers who, in return, educate the community about watershed stewardship based on university research and recommendations.
The program was established to strengthen local capacity for management and protection of watersheds, streams and rivers by educating and empowering volunteers across the Commonwealth.
Register For Spring Training
Anyone interested in becoming a Master Watershed Steward can learn more about the program on the Penn State Extension website.
(Reprinted from Penn State News.)
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[Posted: February 18, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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