From Upstream to Downstream

Students at the House of Mercy participated in a grant program sponsored by PA Watershed Foundation in the late winter and early spring months of 2008. Their project focused on the watershed in their neighborhood: McDannell Run Watershed. Over the span of a few months students explored the McDannell Run headwaters region, learned about watersheds, learned about non-point source pollution, did cleanups in their neighborhood, investigated the role of the riparian zone, made assessments of the headwater region of the stream, and made recommendations of improvements to be made. After they gained a broad understanding of the components of a healthy watershed, the students from the House of Mercy Neighborhood Program joined other students from Perseus House Charter School of Excellence, John E. Horan Garden Apartments, and Edison Elementary School on a bus tour to explore McDannell Run from headwaters to its mouth at Lake Erie and participated in a planting to improve the riparian zone of McDannell Run. Throughout the project the students learned the importance of a healthy watershed and helped to protect the watershed in their neighborhood.