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| Susan Parry |
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 Favorite
Water Sport: Swimming and kayaking in anything but flat water!
Favorite Waterway in PA: The Conodoguinet and the Yellow Breeches because I live between them.
Favorite Water Plant:
Underwater grasses that wave downstream- they're graceful looking.
Favorite
Water Activity: I love watching people fly fishing, and would like to learn how to do it someday. |
Susan Parry, Watershed Hero
Written by Producer, Kelly Meinhart
ou may know her as the redhead with a great sense of humor or
the girl always in a kayak, or you may know Susan Parry simply
because she's everywhere. That's because she is involved with
so many water and environmentally related projects and programs,
statewide and local, that to go into them all would take several
pages. But what you may not know is how her interest in water
related activities began, or what inspires her to be so involved
in community efforts.
 've
had the personal pleasure of knowing Susan, both professionally
and personally, and am inspired by her enthusiasm, energy, wit
and mostly by her desire to make a difference and achieve 'everything.'
The following is our conversation:
Q: When did you first become
involved in water quality monitoring, and how did that happen?
A: I grew up in Shiremanstown in Cumberland
County, and as a kid in a small town there wasn't much to do.
My friends and I would like to swim in the local public pool,
but even better was to ride our bikes up to the creek and play
around the dam at Lisburn and the Lower Allen Water Works. This
was our beach and outdoor adventure area- we'd spend every day
of the summer in the Yellow Breeches sunning, swimming, tubing,
and looking for critters. Can you tell I was a tomboy?
I was swimming and playing in the Breeches (by Lisburn) with
my nephews one summer about three years ago, and saw an older
gentleman taking samples and writing in a notebook. I asked
what he was doing, and he said he volunteered for ALLARM (Alliance
for Aquatic Resource Monitoring). He suggested that I call Dickinson
College. I thought it would be a fun thing to do, so I called
and signed up for training. I've never seen him again, but I've
been visiting my little piece of the Breeches every week since!
 Q:
How, and when, did you first become involved in water related
projects?
A: When I started back to school in 1998, I
went to any type of workshop or conference that I could having
to do with anything environmental, especially water related
(where my passion lies). At one of the workshops, I picked up
a newsletter from PennFuture and joined. I then joined several
other groups, and started to get to know people and see them
over and over. While pursuing my Master's, I was required to
do an internship because I really had no environmental job experience,
so I used people I knew (and much gentle persuasion) to get
into DCNR Bureau of Recreation and Conservation. It just so
happened that I interviewed with Jim Mays, in the Rivers Conservation
Program, and he took a chance on me (hope he wasn't sorry!).
That's sort of where it all began.
Q: Tell me about your educational
experiences, and whether you would encourage young students
to get involved in environmental studies.
A: I have an undergraduate degree in Environmental
Resources from California University of PA (1983), and a graduate
degree in Public Administration from Penn State Harrisburg (2001).
Essentially, I was always interested in the sciences and nature,
having been a tomboy and growing up where I did. During my childhood,
I was in the Junior Gardener's Club, thought I'd be a florist
or horticulturist, then began landscaping during and after high
school as sort of a "stepping stone." That's when I decided
that manual labor was not the way to go, and if I loved the
outdoors, I had to make a career out of it. I then decided to
go to school, but after graduating, there were no jobs in the
state environmental agencies that I aspired to work for (Reagan
was in office!). I took a long break and worked in restaurant
management until deciding to attempt again to follow my life's
path. Thank goodness I succeeded this time!
To me, being in nature and studying about the world and environment
is humbling- it makes you rise above your day-to-day worries
to think that you are but a speck in this big beautiful world.
Nature doesn't talk back, but gives one a sense of peace that
personal interaction never can. It's uplifting and spiritual
in many ways. I would urge any young person to volunteer for
community or environmental organizations for that reason- it
makes your life seem much easier than you previously thought.
We need more people to go into the environmental disciplines
simply to continue on the positive path that has begun with
our generation. We are on the right track, but still have a
long way to go in keeping our world in shape for decades to
come, and active youth are the key. Quote: "Learn about the
world and you learn about life!"
Q: Tell me a little bit about
what you did at the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds
and Rivers (POWR), and what you are doing now in your new position
with the NRCS?
A: I became Watershed Programs Coordinator
for the PA Organization for Watersheds and Rivers (POWR) after
graduating and ending my internship with DCNR. It was rather
exciting to work for this statewide non-profit, after learning
about what the agencies expected of those non-profit grantee
organizations. I am thankful for the experience I gained both
at the agency level and as one who has to raise the funds to
support worthy projects. With POWR, I was responsible for developing
and implementing statewide watershed projects, as well as general
outreach and education in the form of workshops, conferences
and presentations. We (POWR) filled a niche that needed to be
filled- creating a communication link between watershed groups,
agencies and citizens.
I am now working for the Natural Resources Conservation Service
(NRCS) as Capital Area Resource Conservation and Development
(RC&D) Coordinator, which allows me to help to create and
guide this non-profit group that is a locally led conservation
organization. I have the benefit of years of knowledge in the
people on the Council (County Conservation Districts, County
Commissioners and community members) and the opportunity to
assist in the development of regional goals for the area of
the state that I know the best. I look forward to finding unique
program opportunities that compliment the environmental, cultural
and historical elements that exist here in the South Central
region of PA.
 Q:
You've been involved in so many water related activities and
projects; tell me about a few that stand out in your mind the
most, and tell me what you learned from those experiences -
both technically and also about people or other volunteers.
A: The projects I've enjoyed the most
put me in direct contact with people- and I always learn from
those I come in contact with. Helping to set up the Keystone
Watershed Monitoring Network was fun because I was a monitor
myself, so could relate to the needs of other volunteers and
see with their eyes. Also, studying about different types of
watershed planning efforts and learning what watershed groups
can accomplish (only with the efforts and time of volunteers)
taught me a lot. I guess you could say I really did not work
with "on the ground" projects, but supported those that did.
I think a project coordinator is a very essential and interesting
position, and that one who does outreach to the community is
just as important as the technician stabilizing a streambank
or designing a treatment system. If the overall project successes
in PA are not promoted, the public funding will be directed
elsewhere, unfortunately.
Of course, the Sojourn Program stands out in my mind because
this type of outdoor activity (paddling and camping) has such
a profound and lasting impact on everyone who does it. It's
the camaraderie felt within the group of people, all there to
learn about the waterway they're traveling that touches you-
what an experience! And to have the privilege to paddle on 6-7
different rivers around the state for two-three years every
summer- how cool is that! Getting to talk to folks and find
out that they were professional people, or retired, or have
brought their children on Sojourns for years would just blow
me away- you meet some truly great individuals on Sojourns.
I also loved it when people would ask me about myself, and I
would be able to say, "This is my job!"
Q: Tell me about the sojourn program and your
experiences with it; the people, the struggles, the fun, the
food. And then also share with me why the sojourn program, in
general, is so important to PA - and how you think it may or
may not be replicated in other states.
A: The Pennsylvania River Sojourn
Program seeks to increase public awareness and appreciation
for rivers and streams throughout the state by bringing local
communities into direct contact with the waterways that flow
by them daily. The idea of connecting people to their water
resources through an "on the water" experience is a novel approach.
No other state agency-supported program makes that kind of lasting
educational impact, in my opinion. It's a difficult thing to
organize- 50 or more boats on a river, all paddling downstream
at the same time. You have to provide river access, feed them
breakfast, lunch and dinner normally, provide interesting and
environmentally accurate programs along the trip, as well as
provide camping and shuttle service. I respect all of the groups
who take on this type of event. A Sojourn's fun-filled, enlightening
activities may be based on methods that best address that river's
specific issues, attract the attention and concern of local
and regional public officials to the health of the watershed,
or simply get individuals in the area to recognize the value
of the resource in their own backyard. These recreational float
trips not only build community strength and river awareness,
but also serve as "journeys" through local cities and towns
that connect the participants with the surrounding area's resources.
This is an important program that relies on community involvement
to succeed, and it has.
Q: Tell me about the boards and other volunteer work
you are doing along with the water monitoring.
A: Besides being a member and volunteering
with three watershed groups, I've just begun serving on the
Lower Allen Parks and Recreation Board (more outdoors fun, I
hope!). I always like to help with plantings (still love to
dig in the dirt!) that groups like the Alliance for the Chesapeake
Bay do every year. My past volunteer experiences (and my upbringing-
my Mom and Dad always volunteered, and still do) have taught
me that each of us can make a difference in our own little piece
of the world. We need to give back to the local communities
we live in, not only with community service activities, but
with things like always bending over to pick up the trash you
see, smiling at those you meet (and even saying hello to those
you pass on the street!) and having a positive attitude. You
never know, you might just get a smile back.
See past Watershed Heroes here!
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