Our Mission:
To Promote the Health of the Fishing Creek Watershed
To Promote the Health of the Fishing Creek Watershed
****UPCOMING EVENTS****
Third Annual Susquehanna Watershed Festival
Saturday, July 27, 2024, 10:30AM-3:30PM
Weiser State Forest, Roaring Creek Tract, Route 42 Entrance
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FCWA Meeting
Monday, August 12, 2024, 6:30 PM
Kocher Park, Lightstreet PA
Drs Jennifer and Chris Whisner
"Stream Water Quality How-To"
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6th Annual FCWA Container Garden Contest
Saturday, August 24, 2024
at ArtFest in downtown Bloomsburg
Supports Kocher Park!
(see description and flyer below)
****All events will be held in the Lower Level Conference Room in the Ag Services Building
at 702 Sawmill Road, Bloomsburg PA 17815 unless noted otherwise****
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Fishing Creek Watershed Meeting
Monday, August 12, 2024, 6:30 PM
Drs. Jennifer and Chris Whisner
"Stream Quality Monitoring How-To"
Would you like to learn a little more about stream water quality and how it is measured? Join the Drs. Whisner at Kocher Park to learn about some common stream water quality parameters and why they are important. Then put your wading shoes on and do some hands-on feet-wet measuring! Brush off your old titration skills and impress your friends and relations by bragging about your familiarity with
multimeters, intellical pH probes, and Hach method 8203. Suitable for all ages.
Fishing Creek Watershed Meeting
Monday, August 12, 2024, 6:30 PM
Drs. Jennifer and Chris Whisner
"Stream Quality Monitoring How-To"
Would you like to learn a little more about stream water quality and how it is measured? Join the Drs. Whisner at Kocher Park to learn about some common stream water quality parameters and why they are important. Then put your wading shoes on and do some hands-on feet-wet measuring! Brush off your old titration skills and impress your friends and relations by bragging about your familiarity with
multimeters, intellical pH probes, and Hach method 8203. Suitable for all ages.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Prepare now to enter 2024 Container Garden Contest
Garden centers are still well-stocked, so it’s time to plan your entry for the Fishing Creek Watershed Association’s 6th annual Container Garden Contest. Prepare a beautiful, whimsical, silly or serious garden in a container you can bring to display at ArtFest. Passersby will vote for their favorites. (Votes are still very reasonable, just $1.00 each.)
The winning garden will be decided by popular vote and its creator will have a choice of prizes AND get to keep their creation!
All the proceeds from the contest will be used to purchase additional native plants or signage for the rain and pollinator gardens at Kocher Park, located along Fishing Creek north of Lightstreet.
Below are details. If you have questions, please email Linda Dietrichson at [email protected]
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ArtFest: Saturday, August 24, 2024, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm,
located along Market Street in Downtown Bloomsburg between Main and Third Streets
Times of note:
Deliver gardens between 9:30 and 10:00 am
Votes counted 4:30 to 4:45 pm
Winner announced at 4:45 pm
Pick up gardens at 5:00 pm
LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AND YOUR GARDEN AT ARTFEST!
Prepare now to enter 2024 Container Garden Contest
Garden centers are still well-stocked, so it’s time to plan your entry for the Fishing Creek Watershed Association’s 6th annual Container Garden Contest. Prepare a beautiful, whimsical, silly or serious garden in a container you can bring to display at ArtFest. Passersby will vote for their favorites. (Votes are still very reasonable, just $1.00 each.)
The winning garden will be decided by popular vote and its creator will have a choice of prizes AND get to keep their creation!
All the proceeds from the contest will be used to purchase additional native plants or signage for the rain and pollinator gardens at Kocher Park, located along Fishing Creek north of Lightstreet.
Below are details. If you have questions, please email Linda Dietrichson at [email protected]
***************************************************************************************
ArtFest: Saturday, August 24, 2024, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm,
located along Market Street in Downtown Bloomsburg between Main and Third Streets
Times of note:
Deliver gardens between 9:30 and 10:00 am
Votes counted 4:30 to 4:45 pm
Winner announced at 4:45 pm
Pick up gardens at 5:00 pm
LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AND YOUR GARDEN AT ARTFEST!
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Check us out on our Facebook page
for more information and follow our upcoming events!
for more information and follow our upcoming events!
2023 FCWA Letter to Members
Dear Members and Friends of the Fishing Creek Watershed Association,
We enjoyed a good year in 2023, with programming on a wide variety of topics. We benefit greatly from the experts we have in our nearby universities, agencies and organizations.
⁃In February, Dr. George Chamuris shared his research and beautiful photos of the Wetland Plants of Ricketts Glen. Their beauty and diversity are compelling reasons for us to visit the wetland areas of the park to see these plants first-hand.
⁃ Dr. Eric Miller introduced us to the En-Roads Climate Simulator in March. This computer model, created by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, allowed us to see how changes we make in our energy sources and consumption can reduce or increase global warming.
⁃ Our April program looked more closely at one of those energy sources: solar. Chris Lent, from the National Center for Appropriate Technology, presented options and requirements for Agri-Solar installations, which are particularly important to provide energy to farms and businesses.
⁃ Chuck Musitano, Secretary of the Fishing Creek Sportsmen’s Association, brought us up to date with the programs this active local group provides for people who enjoy being outdoors. We have a greater appreciation for the fish caught locally, after learning about the challenges the group faces in raising and stocking fish in our local streams.
⁃ In June we returned to the creek for a very closeup look at the macro invertebrates that comprise the food chain in Fishing Creek. Drs. Steve Rier and Steve Seiler, both from the Commonwealth University system, and their graduate students braved stormy weather to introduce us to the chain of organisms which feed the fish we enjoy catching in Fishing Creek.
⁃ In August, Geologist Aaron Bierly, from the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, took us all the way back in time to the Ice Age. We learned how the course of the Susquehanna River has changed over millennia and how that has impacted other local land features and waterways.
⁃ September brought an update on the Kocher Park Meadow Project. Justin Ulanoski, president of Native Creations, led us on a walk through the beautiful meadow plantings his company designed to discourage the weeds and invasive plants formerly growing in the fields. The improvement was breath-taking!
⁃ Brittney Hartzell, from the American Forest Foundation, led us on a guided hike in early October at Jakey Hollow Natural Area, a protected Old Growth forest. We are fortunate that this 59-acre treasure has remained intact because its steep terrain made cutting the timber too difficult.
⁃ November brought another water-focussed program, this time drinking water. Leigh Ann Urban, Communications and Public Relations Director for Veolia, North America, presented an overview of our local water provider. Veolia has become a strong supporter of FCWA since we share a common goal of protecting water quality.
In other activities, FCWA presented its Fifth Container Garden Contest at Bloomsburg's ArtFest in August, raising money for Kocher Park's gardens. FCWA members participated in cleanups at Kocher Park throughout the year. FCWA continues to partner with the Columbia County Conservation District in helping to fund stream restoration projects throughout the watershed, including at Kocher Park this winter.
The Fishing Creek Watershed Association is a volunteer, non-profit association dedicated to the water, soil, plants and animals of the Fishing Creek Watershed. You can support our work by joining as a member or renewing your membership by using the form located HERE. We look forward to seeing you in this new year. Wishing you a safe and healthy 2024!
Yours sincerely,
Linda Dietrichson, Jennifer Whisner and Susan Webster
Dear Members and Friends of the Fishing Creek Watershed Association,
We enjoyed a good year in 2023, with programming on a wide variety of topics. We benefit greatly from the experts we have in our nearby universities, agencies and organizations.
⁃In February, Dr. George Chamuris shared his research and beautiful photos of the Wetland Plants of Ricketts Glen. Their beauty and diversity are compelling reasons for us to visit the wetland areas of the park to see these plants first-hand.
⁃ Dr. Eric Miller introduced us to the En-Roads Climate Simulator in March. This computer model, created by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, allowed us to see how changes we make in our energy sources and consumption can reduce or increase global warming.
⁃ Our April program looked more closely at one of those energy sources: solar. Chris Lent, from the National Center for Appropriate Technology, presented options and requirements for Agri-Solar installations, which are particularly important to provide energy to farms and businesses.
⁃ Chuck Musitano, Secretary of the Fishing Creek Sportsmen’s Association, brought us up to date with the programs this active local group provides for people who enjoy being outdoors. We have a greater appreciation for the fish caught locally, after learning about the challenges the group faces in raising and stocking fish in our local streams.
⁃ In June we returned to the creek for a very closeup look at the macro invertebrates that comprise the food chain in Fishing Creek. Drs. Steve Rier and Steve Seiler, both from the Commonwealth University system, and their graduate students braved stormy weather to introduce us to the chain of organisms which feed the fish we enjoy catching in Fishing Creek.
⁃ In August, Geologist Aaron Bierly, from the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, took us all the way back in time to the Ice Age. We learned how the course of the Susquehanna River has changed over millennia and how that has impacted other local land features and waterways.
⁃ September brought an update on the Kocher Park Meadow Project. Justin Ulanoski, president of Native Creations, led us on a walk through the beautiful meadow plantings his company designed to discourage the weeds and invasive plants formerly growing in the fields. The improvement was breath-taking!
⁃ Brittney Hartzell, from the American Forest Foundation, led us on a guided hike in early October at Jakey Hollow Natural Area, a protected Old Growth forest. We are fortunate that this 59-acre treasure has remained intact because its steep terrain made cutting the timber too difficult.
⁃ November brought another water-focussed program, this time drinking water. Leigh Ann Urban, Communications and Public Relations Director for Veolia, North America, presented an overview of our local water provider. Veolia has become a strong supporter of FCWA since we share a common goal of protecting water quality.
In other activities, FCWA presented its Fifth Container Garden Contest at Bloomsburg's ArtFest in August, raising money for Kocher Park's gardens. FCWA members participated in cleanups at Kocher Park throughout the year. FCWA continues to partner with the Columbia County Conservation District in helping to fund stream restoration projects throughout the watershed, including at Kocher Park this winter.
The Fishing Creek Watershed Association is a volunteer, non-profit association dedicated to the water, soil, plants and animals of the Fishing Creek Watershed. You can support our work by joining as a member or renewing your membership by using the form located HERE. We look forward to seeing you in this new year. Wishing you a safe and healthy 2024!
Yours sincerely,
Linda Dietrichson, Jennifer Whisner and Susan Webster