Vincent DiFilippo Nature Preserve Honored as Top Project
The Central Penn Business Journal has named recent enhancements to the Vincent DiFilippo Nature Preserve one of the region’s Top Projects. HRG worked with Silver Spring Township to restore wetlands and meadows, add new riparian buffer plantings, increase parking, and add a boat launch at the preserve. These improvements simultaneously help the township meet its MS4 pollutant reduction plan goals and nurture wildlife while improving the recreational experience for township residents.
Shawn Fabian with Silver Spring Township’s Jennifer Groller, Carl Machamer, and Scott Maldonado
The nature preserve was already a popular place for birdwatching and nature walks, but, thanks to this project, it now has more shade, more wildlife viewing opportunities, and more aesthetically pleasing views with colorful flowers and plantings that simultaneously reduce watershed pollution. It is a bit of a natural oasis in the middle of one of the state’s most rapidly growing suburbs, and the boat launch creates a new convenient access point to one of the region’s treasured recreational amenities: the Conodoguinet Creek Water Trail. An expanded parking area makes it all more accessible to users, allows for buses to more easily turn around in the parking area to facilitate environmental education programing, and created two new ADA compliant parking spots for easier trail and boat launch access.
The project is a great example of how investments in the environment and recreational amenities go hand-in-hand where there is smart planning and thoughtful design. Silver Spring Township has made wise investments in long-term planning, so that each project they do – big or small – supports the community’s long-term goals. These plans have helped them attract extensive grant funding, including more than $252,000 for the nature preserve enhancements in addition to the grant funding that the Chesapeake Bay Foundation brought to the table from grants they secured for the riparian buffer along the Conodoguinet Creek onsite.
We’re grateful to work with Silver Spring Township and be a part of great projects like this. Congratulations to the township on this recognition and to all of the project partners, including the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, LandStudies, and KLA Roofing & Construction. Thank you to Shawn Fabian and everyone on the HRG team who contributed their time and talent to making this a successful project, including Aaron Moyer, JJ Robinson, Jake Hoffman, Eric Fleisher, Terry Meek, Katie Valla, Lauren Zumbrun.
Congratulations to the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority (WVSA), who received an award this week from the American Water Resources Association (AWRA) for Integrated Water Resources Management. The authority’s executive director Jim Tomaine accepted the award at a luncheon during AWRA’s national conference in Seattle.
HRG has hired Ryan Cummings as a project engineer in our York office. Ryan has seven years of experience in stormwater management, land development, and site design. He has primarily supported the construction of pipelines, well pads, roadways, bridges, and culverts. He is a licensed professional engineer in Pennsylvania and a member of both the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Society of Highway Engineers.
Steve Malesker recently joined HRG as a senior project manager in our Transportation Group. He is responsible for bridge design and inspection projects throughout the south-central counties of Pennsylvania.
Matthew Vanaskie has joined the civil group at Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, Inc. as a senior project manager in our Lewisburg office. He has 15 years of experience in water resource management, which includes watershed planning, NPDES permitting, MS4 compliance, and the design of water, sewer, and stormwater systems. He also assists communities with capital planning and budgeting.