World Wildlife Day: Celebrate (and Protect) Philly Watersheds

A member of the PWD team took advantage of last month's warm spell to mark storm drains in his watershed. You can find your watershed critter and get a free kit too!

Happy World Wildlife Day Philly!

We are celebrating Philadelphia's rivers and creeks—which are healthier today than they were even a generation ago—and what that means for the incredible diversity of aquatic wildlife found within them.

The investments we're making in Philly neighborhoods through Green City, Clean Waters will make places like the Delaware River and Cobbs Creek even better, but here's a few ways you can help too:

• Install a free/discounted Rain Check stormwater tool at your home




• Host a volunteer storm drain marking event in your neighborhood.

Just sign up for a free kit, and we'll set you up with markers featuring wildlife that lives in your local watershed + everything you need to the installation. It's a great way to educate your neighbors about keeping trash and harmful chemicals out of storm drains and off our streets ... who wouldn't love seeing a cute otter or bog turtle marker on their sidewalks?

• Sign up to participate in our first volunteer river cleanup with United By Blue. We'll kick off a series of these events with a March 7 gathering at Bartram's Garden. Last year, PWD and volunteers removed nearly 33 tons of trash from waterfront green spaces.




• Check out the amazing 2016 Greenworks guide put together by our friends at the Office of Sustainability. They took the time to identify actions individuals can take to help Philly become greener and more sustainable, and there are a number of water-related tips to check out.

You can also take a look at their Greenworks on the Ground checklists, which show individuals, communities, and institutions (including businesses, schools, and houses of worship) how they can help make the Greenworks visions a reality.

This spring, we hope you’ll find ways to not only protect our watersheds, but to explore all they have to offer and witness the abundance of wildlife than can be found living in these important habitats.

Good luck!