|
|
|
 |
Watch these videos online with Real Player. If you do
not have Real Player, click
here to download it for free.
Additional information on this topic provided below.
|
|
Kohler Park Restoration
By Kelly Meinhart
ow often can we say that something has gone ‘right’
for the environment? These days it seems tough, with so many
pressures, so many people, and many obstacles to overcome. But
within the past three years, there has been a growing initiative
in Pennsylvania for local folks to take charge of their environment,
to protect their water, to safeguard precious natural areas,
and to understand our role in the natural world. The restoration
of Park Creek in Horsham Township could be used as a positive
model for community efforts throughout the country. Here’s
their story:
|
|
 riginally
opening to the public in the 1960’s, Kohler Park is the
oldest and most-used community park in Horsham Township, located
in South Eastern PA. Spanning over 70-acres, the park was built
to accommodate the desires of the time. It offered manicured
lawns with ornamental grasses and trees, and provided the growing
communities of suburban Philadelphia with a quiet place to recreate
with family and friends. Since then, Horsham Township and other
areas of Montgomery County have seen a huge expansion in residential,
commercial and industrial growth, all adding to the use of community
parks, as well as increasing the negative effects on the local
waterways.
 he
park itself is home to several headwater streams, and most noticeably
Park Creek, which traverses through the main areas of the park.
It is along Park Creek that the restoration story of Kohler
Park takes place. Heavily manicured lawns, mowing to the very
edge of the stream, influxes of Canadian Geese and heavy storm
events had, over time, washed the banks of Park Creek downstream.
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Click on the photo
to enlarge it. |
|
|
hese
days the best way to combat the losses of sediment is to reslope
the banks, hold the ground in place with a few environmentally-friendly
techniques, and finish by planting a variety of native grasses
and woody trees and bushes to hold it firm.
 ut
this certainly wasn’t the method being used just a few
years ago. Before the days of natural restoration projects,
folks tried a variety of methods, including lining the banks
with concrete slabs to keep the ground from washing downstream.
This was the original restoration work done along the banks
of Park Creek, and by the 1990’s it was clear that it
was in need of a more natural, stable, solution.
 n
July 1999, Horsham Township received their first grant to start
the work on Park Creek. With it they restored 250 feet of the
bank, utilizing newer and more environmentally friendly techniques
like bio logs and coconut fiber materials as well as erosion
protection fabrics to keep the newly stabilized banks from washing
downstream.
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Click on the photo
to enlarge it. |
|
|
ut
that was just the start! Since then the Township has received
several grants to implement successful phases of the restoration
work along the creek. They’ve been working closely with
partnerships throughout the area to invoke community support
and to spread awareness. They’ve engaged everyone from
the local middle school classrooms to the local Cub Scout troops,
and even the Willow Grove Naval Air Station personnel have pitched
in to improve the creek.
ne
unique aspect of their restoration work has been the implementation
of an outreach/education program for community members visiting
the park. The program offers public workshops that encourage
landowners to protect the streams on their own property, as
well as providing informative brochures on things they can do
to protect the health of their local stream. Clearly one of
the most visible community outreach tools has been the development
of an innovative interpretive signage program that welcomes
visitors to the park, and explains why protecting the natural
environments is vital to health of Park Creek.
t
is the unique and varied partnerships and the support of the
entire community that has made this program not only a success,
but also an award-winning success. Celebrated with both a Governor’s
Award for Watershed Stewardship as well as an EAC Achievement
Award from the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, the Kohler
Park Restoration project proves that it takes an entire community
to create success.
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Click on the photo
to enlarge it. |
|
|
o
date, the Horsham Township staff and community volunteers have
renewed and protected over 1,000 feet of streambank along Park
Creek and have logged well over 1,000 volunteer hours since
their work first began. This April they’ll be back at
work to restore another 200 feet of the stream to a more natural
state, and once again, the entire community will be pitching
in to remove more concrete slabs and plant native vegetation
to keep things in place.
 long
with the success of the actual restoration work, the community
is also in the process of forming a new watershed association
to care for the future of Park Creek. Being called ‘The
Park Creek Watershed Association,’ the group will be there
to protect this special waterway and to continue to improve
the health of the water flowing through their own back yards.
his
project was made possible through many volunteer efforts and
hours, as well as through the Growing Greener grant program
with the help of the South East Regional Office of the Pa Department
of Environmental Protection (Pa DEP).
 ood
luck to the Park Creek Watershed Association, and Congratulations
to all involved in this project.
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
| Click on the photo
to enlarge it. |
|
|
For More
information:
Horsham
Township Park Information
Listen
to Watershed Radio’s Presentation on Storm Water Runoff
|
|
|
|
