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he fall sun warms your face as though you were a reptile, and the sounds of the chickadees, nuthatches and sparrows are all around you. Across the stream you can see a chipmunk busily filling his cheeks, and two squirrels chasing each other about as the leaves beneath them crinkle and crack. The rippling water is flowing swiftly after last night's rain, and looking straight to the bottom you can touch at least 2 different types of muscle shells, with bluegills, and small mouth bass swimming about looking for a bite. Just off to the left, a Great Blue Heron glides into the tall grass while egrets and green herons step purposefully in search of dinner.

eanwhile, down the path running along the creek, you run into a young snapping turtle walking through some clover, and a handful of painted turtles piled atop one another on a log. There's one lone bullfrog the size of your palm hiding in the chickweed, waiting for a bug or two, and his only plan for the day is to soak up the same rays you feel on your own forehead.

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ithout telling you where it is, I have just shared with you my favorite water spot. And the reason I asked you to do this exercise is because I wanted to remind everyone "It's the simple things that mean something special — to those who want to see it." A quote I tend to live by, shared with me by Ralph Kinter, remembered fondly in our upcoming Watershed Hero feature.

he critters I spoke of, and those you see on your own, are all a part of an intricate system.. pieces of a puzzle if you will. If you start removing those pieces, one by one, what you are left with is a planet that can't support itself, including your own private favorite place. Diversity is the answer. How we protect that diversity is the question.

here are many ways to preserve diversity, and one way is by getting involved. By joining efforts with like-minded people, we can accomplish great things, and hopefully preserve as much of the natural world as possible. This week we'd like to celebrate the accomplishments of the hundreds of individuals who see the 'simple things' and who want to see diversity returned to the natural world.


Video and Audio Clips

Ed Wytovich Growing Greener Motivating People Hands on Secretary

Margaret Dunn Phone Interview

lthough Pennsylvania's waterways have been listed as some of the most polluted in the country — Pennsylvanians have taken it upon themselves to change that fate. Working together with state government, volunteers have shown that when given the helping hand of funding resources, they will get things done!

ver the past two years, the Growing Greener grant program has helped return over 400 miles of streams back to life, supporting healthy fish and plant populations, created new wetlands, and worked with farmers, homeowners, businesses and builders, all to return diversity and healthy habitats to our streams and rivers.

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ecretary Hess has made it his mission to visit all 67 counties in the state in the past year in order to make a hands-on connection to motivate, inspire, and instill in every volunteer who is working to protect their environment, that they can work together with government to change their own world. It's a journey that has taken him from identifying fish in the Tookany Creek in Montgomery County all the way to Erie County to plant trees along the Cascade Creek with students from the Strong Vincent high School.

hile many of us are working hard to protect our backyard streams, or the watershed in which we live, Secretary Hess is one man fighting for all watersheds. It's not an easy task to take on the problems of an entire state, nor is it easy to understand the uniqueness of each of the problems. Pennsylvania has a host of issues from sprawl to mine drainage, yet the positive side of it all is that someone, Secretary Hess, is working hands-on with volunteers to insure that the Growing Greener program goes down in history as one of the most effective environmental policies put into action.

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his month marks a new momentum for Growing Greener, as the funding which has been so vital to so many projects is now secure for new projects to begin. That means that more projects will be completed, more streams restored, and more pieces of the giant puzzle put back into place. Diversity starts with each of us, just be sure to take a look at the small things first.