Rockymarsh Run Watershed Initiative

Organization Information:

Organization Name

Conservation Fund - Freshwater Institute

Organization's Mission Statement

The Freshwater Institute, a program of the Conservation Fund, works to develop and validate sustainable, environmentally responsible solutions to water resource management.

Organization Website

www.rockymarshrun.org

Submission Information

Impact Essay

Through the Freshwater Institute, the Rockymarsh Run Network is working to connect people to their watershed and their environment. Using Adobe’s Creative Suite, our organization has stepped the effort up a notch to creatively engage the local community. For the past 3 years we have been able to design and print a 12-month calendar for distribution in our watershed located in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. Passing out the calendars to local school children, community leaders, businesses, and residents in the watershed allows our cause to be known and the community to become engaged.

Rockymarsh Run is a small stream that once supported diverse and abundant life. Now, with fewer species to support, it meanders through lands—once dominated by agriculture, as it makes its way to the Potomac River, and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay. Our goal is to help foster the idea of stewardship in the community by highlighting special places that remain in the watershed and by identifying species that one should expect to see in this unique landscape. To this end, the group is attempting, through various partnerships, to reintroduce the native Brook Trout and improve the overall quality of the habitat through restoration activities. This particular stream has microhabitats that make it an ideal candidate for such efforts. But in order to claim success, our group first wants to invoke a passion for sense of place for those in the area who contribute to activities that may influence the quality of our local water resources—which means all of us!

Only through the combined use of Adobe products like Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe Photoshop could our organization produce such a stunning printed calendar to draw people in and stir their feelings for the landscape and all that it holds. The calendars are created with purpose and meant to inspire community members to act as advocates for the environment around them by identifying topics and actions in the pages to help a homeowner make better choices when it comes to our environment, specifically our freshwater resources. This initial outreach work lays the foundation for future networking and communication with the local landowners and community members for upcoming stages of restoration work.

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application/pdf icon2008_Rockymarsh_Calendar.pdfSubmitted by Rockymarsh on April 15, 2009 - 7:03am