$38M in funds for nature trail at FDR Park, Camden ‘waterfront schoolyard,’ invasive mud snails, other projects
The money is a record round of annual funding for conservation and education programs focused on the watershed, which spans Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.
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The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have announced $17 million in new grants for Delaware River watershed-related projects that include establishing a “waterfront schoolyard” at a Camden school, initiating a youth program at Bartram’s Garden, and expanding trails at FDR Park in Philadelphia
The grants are supplemented by $20.7 million in contributions from environmental and conservation nonprofits, upping the total to $38 million available for dozens of projects.
Together, the money represents a record round of annual funding for conservation and education programs focused on the watershed, which spans parts of Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.
“We’re funding 45 projects. That’s the most we’ve ever funded through this program,” said Erin Lewis, Delaware River program director for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. “We’re really excited about that.”
The grants are distributed annually through the federally administered Delaware Watershed Conservation and Delaware River Restoration funds. The William Penn Foundation is a contributor, along with AstraZeneca and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
“President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is helping improve the lives of people and habitats for wildlife,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service director Martha Williams said in a statement. “Across Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, these investments convert blacktop into rain gardens, reconnect rivers and streams and use nature-based approaches to address community needs, including responding to the impacts of climate change.”
How the money will be used
The Delaware River watershed covers 13,539 square miles of land and water. It spans the Catskills in New York through Pennsylvania and New Jersey, ending in the Delaware Bay. Projects across the vast watershed include dam removal, park enhancements, wildlife habitat restoration, new recreation areas, projects to foster brook trout, and flood mitigation.
For example, $1.6 million in federal and matching grants will go toward the first phase of a project by the Trust for Public Land to create a waterfront schoolyard at Mastery High School, which is just off the banks of the Delaware River in Camden, Lewis said. The first phase includes 11 of 20 acres of land along the waterfront. The project would provide public access, and improve wildlife habitat, water quality, and climate resiliency.
Lewis said the project will transform the land, which is currently fenced off and inaccessible.
“It’s really not a green space that the students are able to access,” Lewis said, adding that the fence will be removed, and pavers and a pedestrian walkway will be installed “so that the students have areas to sit in this new clean urban space.”
Another project totaling $795,000 would go to Stroud Water Research Center in Avondale, Chester County, to study the invasive New Zealand mud snail, which disrupts trout diet and population in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The grant amount is for $397,500, with $397,500 in matching funds.
A list of all projects:
Sample of Philly-area projects:
$1.5 million grant and $1.5 million in matching funds to Fairmount Park Conservancy to expand wildlife diversity and create new public-access areas at FDR Park in South Philadelphia. The project will be part of the master plan for the park and create 800 feet of new stream channel, establish seven acres of pollinator habitat, create 15 acres of upland and lowland forest, and construct a 2,200-foot-long nature trail, a 2,200-foot “excursion trail,” two pedestrian bridges, and educational signs.
$1.06 million grant and $2 million in matching funds to the Nature Conservancy to create green stormwater infrastructure in Philadelphia schoolyards. The project would build green areas designed to improve water quality and aquatic habitat totaling 4.3 acres at four elementary schools, manage 4.7 million gallons of stormwater, plant 264 trees, and engage more than 2,000 people, by providing students and teachers access “to a living classroom.”
$480,000 grant and $527,000 in matching funds toward two separate projects by Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center (CCCEC) and American Rivers for Cobbs Creek Park and the larger Cobbs Creek Watershed. CCCEC will monitor water quality, assess habitat, and hold workshops to develop a plan to revitalize the park in Philadelphia. American Rivers would tap local experts and youth leaders to develop a plan for the watershed to include six to eight restoration projects and educational programs.
$830,400 grant and $1.69 million in matching funds to Natural Lands to restore eroded stream banks and replace a degraded bridge and a boat launch at Stroud Preserve in West Chester. The project calls for maintaining and improving access to the 571-acre preserve and improving water quality for the East Branch Brandywine Creek by adding native plants, and reducing erosion and runoff.
Sample of South Jersey projects:
$1.5 million grant and $1.5 million in matching funds to American Littoral Society to restore crucial horseshoe crab and shorebird habitat, including red knots, at Thompson’s Beach on the Delaware River Bayshore in Cumberland County. Plans call for placement of 45,000 cubic yards of sand to stabilize the shoreline and provide a stopping point for migratory birds, as well as “large-scale” community presentations to increase stewardship within the Bayshore.
$250,000 grant and $250,000 in matching funds to Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey to research and monitor breeding and habitat of the American oystercatcher, a large shorebird with a black head and neck, a dark back, and a white belly, marked by an oversize red bill. Research will focus on oystercatcher activity and nest site preferences to find the best ways of fostering its presence along the Bayshore.
$190,500 grant and $114,100 in matching funds to Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissioners to build green stormwater infrastructure projects in underserved communities in the Rancocas Creek Watershed. The money would include support to nine environmental commissions in the watershed and establish up to seven additional environmental commissions to advance watershed improvement.
This article was updated to reflect both the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grant total for each separately broken out project, as well as the matching funds those projects received.