Adopt-a-Highway

It is unfortunate that some individuals make the careless choice to dispose of trash along Pennsylvania’s roadsides. Not only does the refuse make our roadways unsightly to state residents and tourists, it can also pose a danger to motorists when trash is on the road and can threaten area wildlife. To help combat this problem, the SRWC is proud to be a participant in the Adopt-a-Highway program. Through the PA Department of Transportation, this program increases and energizes litter pick-up efforts by involving citizens from all across the Commonwealth. Anti-litter efforts are focused on Pennsylvania's collective "front yard", its 150,000 acres of roadside. The program serves to provide clean, well cared-for highways for Pennsylvania's citizens, highway users and the millions of tourists who visit the state each year. The program allows groups or individuals to become special "caretakers" or portions of state highways. Four times per year, SRWC participants hit the highway and work to clean up trash along a 2-mile stretch of road on Interstate 79. The SRWC strives to keep the area between mile markers 100 and 101 (between the Slippery Rock and Route 422 exits) clean and green! If you would like to assist us in our next outing to clean up this 1-mile stretch, please call us at 724-776-0161. We provide a free lunch, gloves, and orange vest.

Annual Student Symposium

Every spring for the last several years, the SRWC has sponsored and organized a symposium for local college students to present their research findings in areas such as soil science, watershed restoration, local environmental education issues, and others. Students are provided the unique opportunity to showcase their work in front of their peers, professors, and potential employers, as area professionals in environmental science fields typically attend the symposiums. Students are given time to network and make new contacts, as well as develop new friendships with students from other colleges and universities who share similar studies.

The goals of the Student Symposium are:

1. to provide an opportunity for community groups and students to present findings and activities to their peers, the public, and environmental professionals
2. to promote interaction across all interested in the restoration effort, including public and private entities and the community
3. to document the degree of success of completed projects by identifying terrestrial and aquatic improvements
4. to discuss the development of new technology relating to land restoration and discharge abatement
5. to observe restoration efforts in the field

Local colleges and universities which have participated in Student Symposiums include: Grove City College, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, Thiel College, Westminster College, Gannon University, and Slippery Rock University. The event is held at a local college or university which varies each year, and is organized by volunteers from the Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition, Jennings Environmental Education Center, and Stream Restoration Incorporated.

Annual Get-Together

Every spring or summer, a crowd of about 50 folks gathers together for food, fun, and some watershed activities! The Annual SRWC Get-Together is held every spring or summer, and includes dinner, door prizes, a speaker or two highlighting some restoration efforts in the watershed, live music, a piñata for the kids, educational poster displays, and more! Anyone is welcome to come!

Ohio River Watershed Celebration

This fun and education annual event is centered around watershed stewardship and highlighting the unique value of Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers in relation to the Ohio Watershed. This one-day event is typically held in September, with festivities taking place at Station Square in Pittsburgh. The event is free to the public, with hundreds of individuals participating every year. The main event of the day is a 3-hour educational riverboat cruise aboard the Gateway Clipper Fleet’s largest vessel, the Majestic. Some years we sail exclusively on one river, other years we explore portions of all three (the Ohio, Allegheny, and Monongahela). Cruise guests are treated to expert guided narration of river sites and landmarks, educational displays and exhibits, networking opportunities with environmental professionals, guide books and other educational watershed materials, educational speakers and presentations, free snacks, live music, fun door prizes, and much more! Participants typically include watershed and other non-profit or restoration groups, environmental professionals, government agencies, educators, private businesses and industry, and interested citizens. Topics typically covered during the event include river history, river ecology, aquatic life, river recovery, energy leadership, river resources, drinking water, pollution and solutions, personal and group water stewardship, and more. Anyone and everyone is welcome to join us for this exciting day of celebrating the Ohio River Watershed!

SRWC Annual Symposium

Held each year at Jennings Environmental Education Center, this symposium is designed with environmental professionals in mind. Speakers provide detailed, technical information and scientific data on the passive treatment systems in the Slippery Rock Watershed. PowerPoint presentations and outdoor field trips to observe and examine passive treatment systems sites in a hands-on way are the focus of the Symposium. Success stories within the watershed are shared, as well as problems and challenges. Discussions of the latest technologies related to land and water restoration take place among professionals, with ample networking opportunities available. More recently a "Build Your Own Passive Treatment System" simulation has provided Symposium participants the chance to take on the roles of environmental consultant, construction team, and watershed professional as they attempt to fix a "fictional" scenario involving an area impacted by AMD.

Stream Clean-Up

Participants in the SRWC enjoy helping out at area Stream Clean-Up Events. Selected sites have been heavily impacted by trash disposal, and adult and youth volunteers typically fill dozens of trash bags with trash from a creek and its banks in just a few hours. It is fun to uncover salamanders and small snakes as layers of refuse are removed and it feels good to know these often-sensitive reptiles now have a cleaner habitat. Not only do cleaner streams and banks help fish, but frogs and toads also benefit from the clean-up efforts, as documentation of their declining numbers has recently made headlines and alarmed many to the dangers of habitat destruction and pollution damage.