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Let's
meet Ms. Joy Lawrence, Delaware Watershed (primarily Bucks,
Berks, Montgomery, Chester, Delaware, Schuylkill and Lehigh
counties), PA:
 Favorite
Water Activity: Paddling flat water (class I or II)
Favorite
Water Animal or Plant: Salamanders
Favorite
Beverage: Water, usually carbonated...
Words
of Wisdom to New Watershed Activists: "Listen, and
acknowledge the concerns of all."
Watershed
Public Service Message:
"Make one change in your day-to-day living, a change
that lessens the pressure on our pool of resources. Cut down
on water usage; use a push mower instead of a gas one; buy a
smaller house; consolidate trips in order to drive less; buy
produce from a local organic farmer; give time and/or money
to a land trust. Consider these as gifts that you give to your
community, and pat yourself on the back!" |
 arning:
Where you play as a child may come back to haunt you some day!
Joy Lawrence, Restoration Program Manager for the Delaware Riverkeeper
Network (eastern PA) since 1999, is a case in point. Joy grew
up in Rocky River, Ohio, "a community blessed with publicly
accessible natural areas." Her childhood proximity to Lake Erie
and an extensive river-based parks system meant that beaches,
cliffs, meadows, creeks and forests were her earliest playgrounds.
Joy, however, did not start out with the goal of a career in
conservation. She earned an undergraduate degree in communications
from Cleveland State University, and a Masters degree in fine
art from the California Institute of the Arts (Los Angeles).
 fter
graduate school she worked in regional theatre in Seattle, Washington,
and in financial communications/public relations in New York
City. In 1989 Joy left the "hyper NYC" lifestyle and
moved to a relatively undeveloped area of the Upper Delaware
River, where she explored some new hobbies: organic gardening
and sustainable woodlot management. Little did she know it,
but her efforts to grow pesticide-free tomatoes would lead her
into an "incredible life adventure," and connect her
again with the playground spirits of her childhood. She soon
moved to Philadelphia and went back to school, intending to
study horticulture. Teachers and mentors along the way, however,
encouraged her to pursue ever-widening interests in natural
history and conservation ecology. From 1994 to1999 she worked
at the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania, first
with the horticulture department, and then as a conservation
projects' coordinator with the Urban Forestry Department. The
move to Riverkeeper in 1999 was the next natural step.
 oy's
core responsibilities as Restoration Program Manager are to
provide technical support for community-based riparian restoration
projects. Restoration Associate Melissa Keeley works with Joy
as part of a two-member team visiting sites and making recommendations
for action. Together with a variety of partners and cooperators
they develop restoration designs, assist with the purchase of
restoration materials, oversee project installations, monitor
and assess the success of project work, and engage in community
outreach and education programs. Joy also manages the books,
administers grants, develops funding, and reads as much as she
can to stay current on scientific and technical developments
in restoration ecology. As part of their public outreach, they
have developed a 20-minute video introduction to stream-restoration
project organization; a free brochure that lists native plants
for riparian plantings and includes tips for property owners
on streamside management: "25 Ways to Protect Your Stream
and Streamside Property;" and a full-color book, Stream
Restoration in Pennsylvania: Ten Case Studies, which presents
techniques and tips for designing and implementing restoration
projects, all available through their website
(click on publications).
hen
asked to discuss one thing that she has learned about watersheds
or watershed activism that has most surprised her, Joy replies
that it has to do with the meaning and purpose of "conservation."
She observes, "The Earth is somewhere around 4 billion years
old, and man's place in it has almost no significance prior
to 20,000 years ago. Whatever impacts we humans have - for better
or for worse — are far more likely to affect our own species,
than to have any lasting impact on the future of the planet.
We need to understand and communicate that 'conservation' is
not about saving the planet, it is about protecting the fragile
set of circumstances that allows for the existence of our species."
 eyond
watershed activities, Joy's personal interests include art,
music, good food, literature, architecture and cultural history.
She cites a great book, flat-water paddling and bike riding
as simple, essential pleasures. If she could so choose, she
would like to be able to sing, paint, and travel abroad more,
too.
Interview by Karen E. H. Atwood
For more information: Contact Joy or her office as follows:
email: drkn@delawareriverkeeper.org;
phone: 215-369-1188; USPS: P.O. Box 326; Washington Crossing,
PA 18977. Visit the Riverkeeper Website: www.delawareriverkeeper.org,
to find more about their work and available publications. |
See past Watershed Heroes here!
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