The Elk Creeks Watershed Association

Home
Up
Meetings
Newsletter
Our Partners
Coming Up
Contact Us

In November, 2000, members of the ECWA, in partnership with the Octoraro Watershed Association, Lincoln University, and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay completed the first phase of a project at Lincoln University.  The goal of the project was the restoration of a small section of woodlands on University property, through which a small tributary of the Big Elk flows.  After designing the project with the input of a group of earth science students, the hearty volunteers braved cool and cloudy conditions to remove invasive plant material (multiflora rose, Norway maples, etc.), constructed a walking path and planted native trees and shrubs.  The project was designed to allow for additional phases of work to be done in the future.  Funding for this work was provided by a grant from the William Penn Foundation, through the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay.

On April 16 and 17 a section of a Lincoln University residential quadrangle was refurbished with new gravel walkways and native plants, thanks to the combined efforts of ECWA, the Octoraro Watershed Association, Lincoln University, and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay with support from the US EPA.  Most of the plants were installed by Lincoln University students.  Soil, compost, and important site preparation was donated by Lincoln University.

The project was planned by representatives of each group, including a contingent of L.U. students representing campus fraternities and sororities.  The design was made more challenging by the fact that the area was shady and dry because of large American Elm trees and was heavily trafficked by students leaving and returning to the dormitories.  In addition, memorial areas and fraternity displays needed to be respected, retained, and expanded.  In conjunction with the planting project, a curriculum introducing the students, who are mostly urban, to the concept of local ecology and "bayscaping" - landscaping with native materials to produce both aesthetic and environmentally sensitive results - is being developed.

For problems or questions regarding this web contact [ecwa@elkwatershed.org].
Last updated: July 11, 2002.