Ever wonder what kinds of fish are fishin’ around in the Schuylkill River? Take a peek into the underwater world at the Fairmount Water Works’ lab to learn how fish can be biological indicators of the health of the river. Participants will discover that understanding the river’s ecosystem can help us provide safe and high quality tap water. After the lesson, participants can practice the traditional Japanese art form of Gyotaku (fish printing).

Science Saturday events will be held at the Fairmount Water Works every Saturday this March from 2pm-4pm every half hour.

To learn more about this Science Saturday and other exciting things going on at the Fairmount Water Works, read their latest newsletter.

GreenTreks is sharing stories that change the world! GreenTreks, a Philadelphia based non-profit communications firm, created some recent shorts focusing on the exciting neighborhood greening programs that are changing the face of the City and improving the quality of our waterways. To usher in an early spring, they will be showing their clips today on February, 26 at Temple University (On the 3rd Floor of Gladfelter Hall, 11th and Berks Streets, at 4pm)

There will be additional showings of GreenTreks clips as part of their Greening Philadelphia series as the months go on. Be sure to follow their social media channels so you don’t miss out.

You can also catch some of their short clips and films on their Vimeo channel.

Image: 11 grade winner from last year's competition, Partnership for the Delaware Estuary

The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary is now accepting entries on behalf of the Philadelphia Water Department for its Green City, Clean Waters Art Contest! Students in grades K-12 can participate by creating a drawing and/or video showing others how to stop polluted water from entering local storm drains.

The first place winner of each grade group will see their artwork digitally enhanced and enlarged to be placed in the streets of Philadelphia to act as a visual reminder that only rain should go down the storm drain. Winning drawings will also be made into advertisements and used on SEPTA buses. Winning videos will be featured on the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, Philadelphia Water Department Office of Watersheds, and Fairmount Water Works websites. Additionally, winning individuals and teams will have the chance to win gift cards of up to $100 in value, a variety of art supplies for their schools, framed certificates, and a contest calendar featuring their artwork. Teachers of winning students will each receive $50 gift cards.

But hurry! The deadline for submissions is fast approaching! All drawings and videos must be received by February 28, 2014.

Click here to learn more about the art contest and to see last year’s winners.

Image: CDC

Members from the Community Design Collaborative (CDC), Philadelphia Water Department (PWD), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gathered together on January 21st to share their expertise around plans for the implementation of green stormwater infrastructure in Philadelphia and other cities across the country.

Amongst the variety of interesting conversations, one question that was raised – how do we get citizens involved? Bob Perciasepe, the U.S. EPA Deputy Administrator, had some thoughts on the topic. “When you look at a broader area, look at the things that will happen regardless of planning and ask, ‘what can we do differently’?” A connection to green stormwater infrastructure could be made every time anything goes in the ground, whether it’s a road repair, roof replacement or even a new faucet! Thinking through this lens gets both the public sector and private property owner on board.

Shawn Garvin, Administrator of EPA’s Mid-Atlantic Region, also added that, “A big selling point of green stormwater infrastructure is quality of life. There’s the water quality piece, but there’s also how neighborhoods will look. The beauty of this partnership is getting people thinking this way.”

The session wrapped up with green stormwater infrastructure questions of interest including how to push the design of the green stormwater tools neighborhood-wide and how to help people think differently about these tools as they go into the ground.

Read more about the meeting here.