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Slippery Rock Watershed by Margaret Dunn
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 Favorite
Water Activity: Planting wetlands
Favorite
Water Animal or Plant: The bat. "Even though it's
not considered a water animal, water is needed, because they
live off of insects." Margaret also loves all of the wetland
plants, because "each has a different role in the ecosystem."
Watershed
Public Service Message:
"Make it happen." "You can do it. Just get out
there and get things done." |
 or the first time in 25 years, Margaret Dunn can see how her work can really make a difference. Margaret is a geologist and the current president of Stream Restoration Incorporated (SRI), a non-profit organization in Western Pennsylvania whose focus is restoring streams impacted by abandoned coal mine drainage.
 tream Restoration Incorporated (SRI)
administers grants to other organizations — such as the Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition — that in turn work to restore watersheds. SRI works with a number of partners, both public and private, to get the job done. Margaret says that it's this public-private partnership that gets projects done quickly and efficiently.
 argaret
says — "It's exciting to just get things done. We've
been involved in projects that would normally take years to
complete, and by working in the public-private partnership,
we've been able to complete these projects in just six weeks."
 orking in such an economical, efficient and effective manner is what motivates Margaret to work to improve watersheds every day. Margaret says a normal workweek for her and the folks she works with can range from 50 to 90 hours total. But she doesn't mind the longs hours at all. "You're actually contributing,"
Margaret said. "You're helping not only the environment,
but you're working with people and helping people. You're helping
to sustain and promote watershed restoration, and that just
makes everything worthwhile to me."
argaret, who works in a career community that is typically dominated by men, didn't think twice about being a woman in the watershed world. Although there were few women such as herself when she started out as a geologist 25 years ago, Margaret said she never saw her gender as a help or hindrance.
workshop in 1992 that focused on mine drainage issues was the
springboard for Margaret's current job. She said after the workshop,
with very little funding, she began working with mining companies
and state agencies to get small systems installed.
tream
Restoration Inc., works with Girl Scouts and other youth groups
on a regular basis. Her method of motivating others, particularly
young boys and girls, to become interested in watershed restoration
is to get them involved in hands-on projects. She believes that
actions speak louder than words and that when young people get
involved early on, they will make room for environmental awareness
for the rest of their lives. "No matter what field they
take, there's always room for watershed restoration,"
Margaret said. "The important thing is to get people
involved in real-life projects and get hands-on experience."
 ne of the efforts that SRI supports is a program where juvenile offenders fulfill a public service sentence by restoring watersheds. Margaret said one of the gratifying things about that program has been the return of some of the youth after their public service requirement has been fulfilled.
argaret said she couldn't pinpoint any one particular project over her career that has been her biggest accomplishment. She said that restoring watersheds in general has been the most gratifying experience of her life. "It's not like we're going and
taking care of one site and then leaving," Margaret
said. "All of our projects tie together into a larger
plan as far as the watershed restoration. That's what's really
exciting."
Phone interview with Margaret Dunn.
Written by Lori Litchman
More information:Those interested in learning more about
the history, cause and solutions to abandoned mine drainage
can check out a new book published by the Slippery Rock Watershed
Coalition called Accepting the Challenge. Find out about
the book at www.srwc.org.
To learn more about SRI, check out www.streamrestorationinc.org.
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