Community Day Offers Activities to Celebrate and Learn How to Protect Marsh Creek in Howard

The public is invited to a free, fun-filled Community Day on Saturday to connect with Marsh Creek and learn what they can do to improve its health.

Marsh Creek Community Day, at the Romola Bible Church, 2280 Marsh Creek Road in Howard, will be held from noon to 4 p.m., rain or shine.

The day will include guided stream tours at 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m., an electro-fishing demonstration at about 1:30 p.m., fly-casting lessons, bird banding demonstrations, and making a native seed bomb that can be taken home. Food will also be available.

“We want to demonstrate the importance of conservation and water quality to the community as we are developing a restoration plan for the Marsh Creek Watershed,” said Caitlin Glagola, Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s (CBF) Pennsylvania watershed coordinator, who is orchestrating the plan with a diverse partnership.

“We hope to demonstrate what opportunities people have to participate in the process and how they can implement conservation practices at their own home to improve the health of Marsh Creek, the Susquehanna River, and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay,” Glagola added.

The day’s main feature will be guided stream tours of the Romola Branch of Marsh Creek, where a series of stream restoration and fish habitat enhancement projects have been added. On the tours, there will also be information on the stream structures, riparian buffers, citizen science, wildlife and more. Landowners will also be part of the tour to give their perspective on what they value about the stream projects and how it benefits their property and the community downstream.

Those who plan to attend can register at www.cbf.org/marshcreek.

The event is sponsored by the Marsh Creek Conservation Coalition that includes CBF, the Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, Centre County Conservation District, USAngling and the U.S. Youth Fly Fishing Team, Penn State University, Penn State Extension, Trout Unlimited, Bald Eagle Watershed Association, licensed bird bander Nick Kerlin, and Herbert, Rowland & Grubic Inc.