Conservancy, Greenway improve creek access

DOWNINGTOWN » Kayakers at Downingtown’s Kerr Park now have an easier way to access the Brandywine Creek thanks to a partnership between the Brandywine Conservancy, Downingtown Borough’s Park and Recreation Commission, and the Lionville Boy Scout Troop 220. Working together, staff and volunteers installed a canoe and kayak storage rack and an information kiosk along the creek behind Borough Hall, making Downingtown the first municipality on the Brandywine with such public amenities.

The creek access improvements are part of the Conservancy’s

Brandywine Creek Greenway initiative, and will be a valuable recreational asset for the community for years to come. Steven Egnaczyk, a 14-year-old Eagle Scout with the Lionville Boy Scout Troop 220, completed the construction work for both projects. The canoe and kayak storage rack will allow boaters to safely secure their boats while they drop another vehicle downstream or spend time in the borough. The new information kiosk will contain maps of the creek, access points and other recreation opportunities. Both additions were funded by generous grants from the William Penn Foundation and the Miller Fund, and highlight the Conservancy’s community efforts with its partners.

The Brandywine Creek Greenway is a regional planning initiative of the Brandywine Conservancy, along with 25 municipal partners, including the Borough of Downingtown, in Chester and Delaware counties. The Greenway is a 30-mile long conservation and recreation corridor along both branches of the Brandywine, and stretches from the Delaware state line just south of Chadds Ford to the Pennsylvania Highlands Mega-Greenway at the northern border of Honey Brook Township. The Brandywine Creek and its network of parks and trails form the western limit of the Circuit, a regional trail network of the greater Philadelphia region. Goals of the Greenway defined by the Conservancy and its municipal partners include protecting scenic, historic, and natural resources; educating communities about the Brandywine and its resources; and promoting water related and other forms of outdoor recreation. To learn more, visit www.brandywinegreenway.org.

The Brandywine Conservancy, as part of the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art, protects water, conserves land, and engages communities. The Conservancy uses a multifaceted approach to conservation. Staff work with private landowners who wish to see their lands protected forever, and provide innovative land use and environmental planning services to municipalities and other governmental agencies. The Conservancy currently holds 479 conservation and agricultural easements and has facilitated the permanent preservation of more than 63,000 acres of land.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Brandywine Conservancy and Greenway have partnered to install new creek access improvements.