UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — As a lifelong nature enthusiast, Erin Crump, of Montgomery County, has spent the past few years volunteering with Penn State Extension’s Master Watershed Steward program, working to establish a native garden at Wissahickon High School in Montgomery County, winning an award in the process.
Crump has spent most of her career working in environmental sciences, having a strong passion for water resources and nature. She joined the Master Watershed Steward Program’s Montgomery County class in 2015 and has since put in more than 1,000 hours of service, working on various projects, including a vegetable garden at Shady Grove Elementary School in Montgomery County.
Crump explained that Wissahickon High School, where her children attended, had a garden that she believed could be improved. With her previous experience with school garden projects, she saw an opportunity to transform a neglected garden area at the school and took it upon herself to begin maintaining it.
“Whenever I’d be around the school for my kids, I’d take some time to weed the garden,” she said. “It was all on my own, but I realized fast I was going to need help with how overgrown it was.”
She approached the Whitpain Environmental Advisory Council in 2024 to pitch the project. At the time, the council was looking to partner with other environmental councils and programs, Crump explained. Since the high school served multiple townships, she believed the native garden project would not only help fulfill that goal but also serve as an educational resource for the school community.
The project began later the same year with the assistance of the high school’s outdoor education and garden clubs, Lower Gwynedd and Ambler Environmental Advisory Councils, and funding from programs such as the Master Watershed Steward program. The students selected and planted more than 250 native pollinator plants within the garden. Plants are marked with signage to serve as an educational garden, helping students and visitors learn about the importance of native plants in the environment and the pollinators they support.
Additionally, native gardens help watersheds by reducing stormwater runoff, filtering pollutants, and preventing erosion through deep root systems that enhance water infiltration into the soil, another important lesson for the students involved in the project.
For their work on the native garden, Lower Gwynedd Township presented its Going Green Award to Crump and the Wissahickon High School Outdoor Education Club.
Kathleen Connally, Master Watershed Steward coordinator for Penn State Extension in Montgomery and Bucks County, praised Crump for the effort and commitment she put into organizing volunteers and students in her community, and for the garden’s impact on the school.
“It’s a great educational resource and a lovely space for everyone at the school,” she said. “Erin is a very environmentally conscious person and has helped make the environment and education come together for this project, which is what our mission is.”
Crump and Connally encourage those passionate about nature to join the Master Watershed Steward program. Crump noted that while the time commitment to the program might sound overwhelming, it is well worth it when it comes to making a positive impact on the environment.
The Penn State Master Watershed Steward program provides extensive training in watershed management to volunteers who, in return, educate the community about watershed stewardship based on university research and recommendations. The program was established to strengthen local capacity for management and protection of watersheds, streams and rivers by educating and empowering volunteers across the commonwealth.
Anyone interested in becoming a Master Watershed Steward can learn more about the program on the Penn State Extension website.
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