Brandywine Conservancy's Environmental Management Center
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News
Brandywine Conservancy Receives Grant From PECO
for Reforestation in the Brandywine Watershed
Planting trees will help keep the water clean, balance its climate and restore lost habitat;
Check presented to Conservancy on Thursday, June 10
CHADDS FORD, PA June 10, 2010 -- The Brandywine Conservancy's Environmental Management Center has announced a generous donation of $10,000 from PECO to support the Conservancy's multi-year reforestation project. The funds will be used to plant trees in the Brandywine watershed and for community outreach and educational programs.
The check was presented on June 10 by PECO representative Greg Cary, External Affairs Manager for Chester County.
"Water resource protection and management have been a primary focus of the Brandywine Conservancy since its founding. The simplest and most effective way to protect the region's fresh water and restore lost habitat is to plant trees and re-establish forest. We are grateful to PECO for this grant that will help us continue this vital work," said Sherri Evans-Stanton, director of the Conservancy's Environmental Management Center.
"We're committed to reducing our carbon footprint and preserving the environment. This is one of the many ways we are working with our customers and community partners, to have an even greater environmental impact through grants and educational programs," said Greg Cary, of PECO.
Trees provide food and shelter for life in and around streams, promote absorption of rain into the ground, replenish groundwater supplies, and reduce stormwater runoff and downstream flooding. In addition, tree leaves, branches and roots reduce erosion and prevent excess sediment and nutrients from entering streams during stormwater runoff. Trees also help slow global warming by removing carbon dioxide from the air, storing the carbon and then releasing oxygen into the atmosphere.
Most of the natural forest in the Brandywine watershed was cleared long ago for agriculture. More recently, housing and commercial development have altered the region. The clear-cutting of trees resulted in the loss of many valuable benefits that forests provide to all forms of life. Because much of this cleared land is no longer actively farmed there are numerous opportunities to re-
establish the forests and restore the watershed to health.
The Brandywine Conservancy holds more than 400 conservation easements and has protected over 43,000 acres in Chester and Delaware counties in Pennsylvania, as well as New Castle County in Delaware. The Environmental Management Center provides conservation services to landowners, farmers, municipalities and developers. The staff of professional planners and natural resource managers offers technical assistance and expertise for conservation and comprehensive land use planning. Conservation easements, assistance to local governments and water protection efforts are the key elements of these programs. In 2008, the Conservancy was among the first land trusts in the country to be awarded accreditation by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission.
For more information about the Conservancy's programs and services, call 610-388-2700 or visit the Conservancy's website at www.brandywineconservancy.org.
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