PHILADELPHIA, PA, May 6, 2011 -- The EPA has recognized three schools and an individual in the Schuylkill River Watershed for developing educational environmental projects that help protect drinking water.
Those receiving the Schuylkill Action Network Drinking Water Scholastic awards included:
• Miquon School, Philadelphia School District - The Schuylkill Stories Video Contest Award
• Hereford Elementary School, Upper Perkiomen School District
• Upper Perkiomen High School
• Amy Goldfischer, Havertown (home schooled)
"Education plays an enormous part in protecting and restoring the Schuylkill Watershed," said EPA Deputy Regional Administrator William C. Early. "Schools in the Watershed are not only educating students about pollution sources and environmental protection, they are leading by example."
The Awards were presented in celebration of National Drinking Water Week, May 1-7, 2011. The students initiated innovative approaches to educating other students and the community about source water protection, such as creating a campus rain garden and monitoring water chemistry in streams. All of the winning projects contribute to protecting the Schuylkill River.
The Schuylkill River and its tributaries provide drinking water to 1.5 million people who live in the 11 counties and 232 municipalities included in the watershed.
The awards are presented on behalf of the Schuylkill Action Network, which was formed in 2003 to create a team approach to cleaning up and protecting the Schuylkill River and its tributaries. Members include EPA, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Philadelphia Water Department, Delaware River Basin Commission, the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary; conservation districts, local, state and federal agencies, watershed organizations and other non-governmental organizations.
For more information visit: http://www.schuylkillwaters.org/index.cfm
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