Couple channels environmental passion into Master Watershed Steward service

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Starting from a humble interest in gardening and preserving the integrity of a stream on their property, Penn State Extension Master Watershed Steward program volunteers Jane and Erich Neal, of Doylestown, have taken that interest and applied it to improving Doylestown’s Central Park.

Jane, president of the Bucks County Women's National Farm and Garden Association, was always an avid gardener. Each year, the group holds a garden tour that emphasizes native plants and water management — a perfect fit for her Penn State activities, she noted. In the spring of 2020, she completed the Master Gardener training program and decided to volunteer as a Master Watershed Steward as well.

“I was already in ‘student mode’ when I completed the Master Gardener program several years ago,” she said. “I felt that with the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, the Master Watershed Steward program would give me something positive to spend my free time on.”

Her husband, Erich, had been involved in volunteer projects with her through Penn State’s Master Gardener program. It was only after her encouragement that he decided to join the Master Watershed Stewards to work alongside her. Together, the pair and other volunteers from the program have worked together on public works projects such as the one the Neals have taken on.

In Bucks County, the couple has taken on the challenge of restoring the pond on the Doylestown Township Central Park property. Jane had worked on the park’s award-winning demonstration garden — a public garden, maintained by the Penn State Extension Master Gardeners, that serves as an educational resource for home gardeners — and saw overgrown exotic plants in the pond smothering native plant growth.

“The banks of the pond were completely overrun by invasive plants such as phragmites, Callery pear, multiflora rose and vines,” she said. “I thought it was possible that there would be a seedbank under all that mess and that the pond did not, to say the least, complement the demonstration garden, which was just steps away.”

Leading a group of volunteers from the program, Jane started the project and has spent her Thursdays in the pond clearing out invasive plants. The goal is not just to clear out the invasive species, but to allow the native plants to thrive. She noted that this requires constant attention as invasive species often can outcompete the native plants.

In addition to Jane and Erich, the regular team comprises Nora and Randy Schenk, Alice Marcy, and Alice Brittain.

“The volunteers are great, turning up week after week to do hard, dirty work,” Jane said. “I could not have kept the project going without them.”

Part of the restoration has involved the creation of floating wetlands, led by Erich. The wetlands are designed to restore the natural water chemistry balance — helping both aquatic life and growing much needed marsh plants above the water.

“Most people didn’t even know there was a pond there,” said Kathleen Connally, Master Watershed Steward coordinator for Penn State Extension in Bucks County, who oversaw the project. “Jane and Erich’s work and the other volunteers have really transformed the space from a neglected basin into a thriving habitat for both wildlife and the public.”

The Neals and Connally advocate joining the Master Watershed Steward program as an excellent way to make a positive impact on the environment with other like-minded people. The program enables volunteers to pursue their unique interests in preserving water quality in groups or independently with projects such as the Doylestown Central Park pond restoration, all with the guidance of experts in the field.

“My career has had to come first for a long time,” Jane said. “I’m really thrilled that I have established something meaningful and active for when I finally retire.”

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.