The Year of Water

2023: The Year of Water

In January of 2023 Asbury Woods announced a new initiative to help us achieve our vision that Northwestern Pennsylvania be a region where protection of and appreciation for natural places is a deeply held personal and community value. As a way to delve deeper into important environmental and conservation topics, we began a year-long theme that allowed us to explore subjects in a robust and multi-disciplinary way.

We kicked off this new approach to programming with The Year of Water. Water is one of the world’s most vital natural resources and our region’s strategic location adjacent to Lake Erie makes the topic of clean water and sustainable use of fresh water a matter of local, regional, national, and global significance. Whether we are drinking it, recreating in and on it, living on its shores, or using it for industry, Lake Erie and its watershed surrounds us and is an inescapable part of the fabric of our community. With Walnut Creek, a major tributary of Lake Erie, passing through Asbury Woods' property, water was a natural choice to kick off our yearly themes.

• Throughout the year, we were able to offer over 16 water-themed programs, from hikes to lectures to field visits!

• We raised and released 100 fingerling trout into a local waterway as part of our Trout in the Classroom project.

• During our World Water Day event we had over 100 people commit to ways they could "Be the Change" to improve water quality in their own lives.

• Over 200 people attended our Fish Field Day to learn about water quality testing and aquatic invasive species.