Watershed Restoration as Stewardship

Watershed restoration strives to repair the damage done to our environment and natural systems (like rivers and streams) by poor development choices and human activities. Restoration projects:

  • Help manage stormwater to improve water quality in streams, rivers, and bodies of water downstream.

  • Reconnect and restore floodplains to reduce flooding and protect people and property.

  • Improve habitat in and around a stream to create healthy, biodiverse habitats for plants, frogs, pollinators, and other animals.

  • Build community resiliency, which will make our community better prepared to deal with wet winters and hot, dry summers.

The Stream at St. Martin’s

The Episcopal Church’s Covenant for the Care of Creation is a commitment to practice loving formation, liberating advocacy and life-giving conservation as individuals, congregations, ministries and dioceses. St. Martin’s is committed to adopting practical ways of reducing our non-native plant impact and living more humbly and gently on Earth.

You are invited to visit Phase I of our stream restoration, where we have added approximately 600 native plants on either side of the culvert in the parking area. The purpose is to create three zones where plants and animals can thrive. The zone closest to the stream is the “wet” area. Next, moving up the banks, is a riparian buffer. At the top, immediately on either side of the stream is a naturalized area. The children in the neighborhood are involved, too! They are helping to make it possible for small creatures, like frogs, to thrive.

PARTNERING ORGANIZATIONS

  • Radnor Conservancy

  • LandHealth Institute Inc.

  • St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Phoenixville

  • St. David’s Episcopal Church, Wayne

  • Pennsylvania Interfaith Power and Light (PA IPL)

  • Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania