Environmental Advisory Council Events
Native Plant Sale
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Saturday, October 9, 2010
10 am to 2 pm at the Duportail House at Chesterbrook Event sponsored by the Duportail House Board of Directors and the Tredyffrin Township EAC A compost workshop is also scheduled during the plant sale! (read below) Learn about the importance of native plants to our community. |
Composting Workshops
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Noon at the Duportail House at Chesterbrook
Composting is the decomposition of plant remains and other once-living materials to make an earthy, dark, crumbly substance that is excellent for adding to houseplants or enriching garden soil. It is the way to recycle your yard and kitchen wastes, and is a critical step in reducing the volume of garbage needlessly sent to landfills for disposal. It's easy to learn how to compost.
Composting is not a new idea. In the natural world, composting is what happens as leaves pile up on the forest floor and begin to decay. Eventually, the rotting leaves are returned to the soil, where living roots can finish the recycling process by reclaiming the nutrients from the decomposed leaves. Composting may be at the root of agriculture as well.
Today, the use of composting to turn organic wastes into a valuable resource is expanding rapidly in the United States and in other countries, as landfill space becomes scarce and expensive, and as people become more aware of the impacts they have on the environment. In ten years, composting will probably be as commonplace as recycling aluminum cans is today, both in the backyard and on an industrial scale
You can contribute to the 'composting revolution' by composting your own yard and kitchen wastes at home.
Rain Barrel Workshop
There are no workshops scheduled at this time.
Rain Barrel Construction, Installation, and Guides:
- Reasons to Have a Rain Barrel at Home (PDF)
- Noah's Rain Barrel
- How to Build and Install a Rain Barrel
- Safety of Rooftop/Rain Barrel Collected Water
- Online Rainwater Harvesting Community:
Rain Barrel Checklist (PDF)
Eco-Tours
Tredyffrin Township residents count on having clean water to drink and seamless disposal of solid and liquid wastes–in other words, a working environmental infrastructure that allows us to forget about these necessities. Looking behind the scenes at how our community supplies these fundamental requirements can be interesting and even illuminating. Several of the facilities in our neighborhood and region that keep our community functioning offer tours to business and community groups, students, scouts, and other interested people. This webpage is devoted to listing contact information for some of these tours. Included also is information about tours of "green buildings," structures designed to reduce our "footprint" on our environment.
We will add to this list as we learn of additional tours. Please e-mail us at eac@tredyffrin.org with your suggestions and comments.
Valley Forge Sewer Authority
333 Pawling Road
Phoenixville, Pa. 19460
(610) 935-1553
The VFSA offers a one-hour walking tour; call them to arrange a date and time.
Background: The Township is divided into four major drainage areas into which sewage is conveyed for treatment:
- The Matsunk Sewage Treatment Plant, Upper Merion Township, treats waste for a small portion of the eastern area of the Township, known as the Panhandle section.
- Trout Run Sewage Treatment Plant, Upper Merion Township, treats sewage for parts of the central and eastern sections of the Township.
- Delcora Sewage Treatment Plant, Chester, treats sewage for the Strafford area.
- Valley Forge Sewer Authority's Sewer Treatment Plant, Phoenixville, treats sewage via the Wilson Road Pump Station for the rest of the Township.
For more extensive background information, click on to Tredyffrin Township Sewer and Utility Department, where you will find further links to "sewer operations," "sanitary sewer drainage areas," and other items of possible interest.
Lanchester Landfill
Rt. 322
Honey Brook
(location: two miles west of Honey Brook, just over the county line on Rt. 322. Approximate drive time from Tredyffrin, about 1 hour)
(610) 273-3771
Guided bus tours are available at the landfill's spring and fall open houses. Otherwise, call to arrange a tour. Tours are 1½ to 2 hours long; groups are transported around the facility by van or bus.
Link to www.chestercountyswa.org for further information and background on Lanchester Landfill, including a virtual tour of the facility.
DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) Southeast Regional Office
2 East Main Street
Norristown, PA 19401
(484) 250-5900
The DEP Southeast Regional Office moved into its Norristown "green" building in February, 2004. Tours of the building include such features as a demonstration green roof, a four-story atrium that provides daylight to the building interior, and a cistern rainwater collecting system.
The length of a tour typically is one hour, but this can be tailored to a group's interest and needs. To arrange a tour, call Heather Cowley, manager, Office of Energy and Technology Development, (484) 250-5816 or (484) 250-5940.
For directions to the facility link to: www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/fieldops/se/drivingdirections.htm
