2007 Environmental Grant Winners

• Berks County Conservation District received a $10,000 grant that will be used toward creating a Stormwater Best Management Practice (BMP) Interpretive Trail, which will showcase traditional and innovative stormwater BMPs and demonstrate successful infiltration, reduction of peak volume, quality of stormwater reduction and elimination of stormwater run-off.
  
• Clean Up Our American Lands and Streams (COALS) Program was awarded $9,000 to address illegal dumping by funding several cleanups in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties this fall.
  
• Hallstead Park/Bank Stabilization Project received a $2,240 for a stream bank stabilization project. The group planted native wildflowers and plants and mature trees and shrubs, along the bank and onto the property of Hallstead Park, which was damaged by erosion following the June 2006 flood.
  
• South Park Township was awarded $375 to help supply tools for its Piney Fork Creek and Peters Creek biannual watershed cleanups of community creek beds and banks.
  
• Western Pennsylvania Conservancy used its $10,000 grant to support the Riparian Restoration and Protection Initiative.  The project involved constructing four miles of stream bank fencing and building four stabilized stream crossings in the Neshannock Creek and Big Run watersheds. Both projects are designed to improve drinking water by preventing livestock access to streams.