PEC Helps Plant 150 trees in the Poquessing Watershed

Cindy Ferguson Director of Development

Saturday, October 26th was a glorious fall day for tree planting, as PEC — with project partners — brought to fruition the final phase of the Cornwells Elementary School Basin and Constructed Wetland project in Bensalem Township.

PEC’s Philadelphia-based watersheds team gets their hands dirty

This project helps resolve historic flooding, improves the quality of the Ogden and Poquessing creeks, provides a beautiful new area of environmental education and nature viewing for children of all ages, and its trail is already being utilized and enjoyed by area residents.

This project is a “years-in-the-making” collaborative effort of Bensalem Township, the Township’s consulting engineering firm Gilmore & Associates, Bensalem School District, PEC, and Friends of Poquessing Watershed. PEC helped secure some of the funding via a Growing Greener grant. This is one of several projects—along with monitoring and education activities—that PEC is supporting under the Delaware River Watershed Initiative, funded by the William Penn Foundation.

Cornwells Elementary’s new constructed wetland

Mayor Joseph DiGirolamo led off the planting of 150 six to eight-foot trees. The well-organized platoon of shovel-wielding volunteers from PEC, Bensalem Township, Gilmore & Associates, Inc., Friends of Poquessing Watershed, families from Cornwells Elementary School, and other neighborhood residents accomplished the tree planting in under four hours and set the stage for a beautiful community amenity that provides clean water and storm-water management benefits.