Did you know that our watershed mascot is the awesome Great Blue Heron! That’s the critter on our TTF storm drains!
Why are we all about marking storm drains? Because we know that people care about nature and their creeks — but they don’t know that what goes down the drain ends up in a stream… then a river…and then the ocean!
In the last year, community members and partner organizations have marked almost 400 storm drains in our watershed. We’ve hosted three hands-on Storm Drain Marking training sessions in Philadelphia and Montgomery County so far in 2017, and will host another this fall. We’re proud to be part of the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary and Philadelphia Water Department program.
We hosted a Storm Drain Marking with the Friends of High School Park at the Creekside Coop in Elkins Park. We gave out over 15 Storm Drain Marking kits, and so far community members have marked close to 60 drains.
In Philly, we’ve led four Storm Drain Marking events in Oak Lane, Olney and Germantown, partnering with Philadelphia Parks & Recreation youth camps. In July, we led a session with campers from the Olney and Lonnie Young Recreation Centers. In August, we led sessions with Simons and Zeihler Recreation Center campers.
We began these events with our Watershed Heroes presentation, sharing the definition of a watershed, how many watersheds are in the city of Philadelphia, what the city is doing to protect our waterways, as well as how we can do our part through Storm Drain Marking. After the presentations, TTF staff provided a hands-on storm drain marking demonstration and campers then marked all the drains around the Recreation Centers.
These efforts show neighbors that curbside storm drains are one way that trash and harmful chemicals can enter Tacony Creek in our city and Tookany Creek upstream, whether it’s washed in by the rain or intentionally dumped there. Marking storm drains reminds people that only rain should go down the drain! It’s an effective way to protect our creek.
We had a lot of fun marking the storm drains! Community members were happy to see TTF and young people out in the neighborhood, making an effort to keep our environment safe and clean. This is the only planet we have, right?
Interested in leading a storm drain marking event or picking up some markers for the drains in your neighborhood? If you’re in Philly, contact Marcus at marcus@ttfwatershed.org or 215.744.1853. If you’re in Abington, Cheltenham, Jenkintown, Rockledge, or Springfield — contact Frankie at Frankie@ttfwatershed.org or 215.744.1853.
