Stroud Water Research Center

Great organization doing critical work locally that is also important globally.

As the first summer intern in 1968, picking mayfly nymphs out of leaf packs in the loft space over the Stroud Family garage, and now as a Stroud Center Board Member, I've watched the Stroud Center grow from an unproven idea into a global leader in freshwater research. I've seen first hand here on the farm where I grew up, and now live, the benefits of streamside buffers, reforestation, and responsible agriculture. All are based on more than 50 years of Stroud Center research.

Partnering with Stroud Water Research Center was a professional pleasure and highlight. Their ability to blend scientific watershed research with education and environmental literacy efforts is truly unique. Their education department personnel are environmental literacy leaders not only in PA, but across states throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. They produce data and learning tools that are used used daily by thousands of students and teachers. Recently, ShoreRivers and Stroud presented at the Maryland Association of Environmental and Outdoor Educators Conference about Wetlands in the Face of Climate Change. Teachers were thrilled to receive the most up-to-date science and learn how to incorporate it into their curriculum. Three cheers for Stroud Water Research Center and their impact on the watershed science and environmental education!

Stroud Water Research Center has a number of paths one can use to increase knowledge of Stream Health. From Monitor My Watershed and the other WikiWatershed tools available to a video of an instant mayfly egg hatching a minute after being laid, the number of resources publicly available are truly remarkable. Constantly educating, constantly striving for effective ways to engage with the community and constantly improving the technology used for the above, Stroud is in a category by itself. I am fortunate to have been involved in several professional groups and seminars driven by Stroud and they don’t forget the children and how to make it fun for the next generation. To name a few, our family has enjoyed a polo match, golf outings, several webinars and seminars, World Water Day Celebrations, tours of the world class Moorhead Environmental Complex, a Green Building with Platinum status. I also enjoyed the tour of how the building recycles virtually every drop of water used in the building and takes care not to drain anything into White Clay Creek. Strous is an exemplary display of Education and Outreach to the entire community!

Chester County Pennsylvania residents are profoundly fortunate to have this internationally recognized leader in watershed science, research, and education right here in our community. I have personally learned so much from their scientists and have followed the work they are doing right here, and around the world, to shape our knowledge of how to protect the planet's most precious resource. As a volunteer, I'm proud to spend time supporting Stroud's program to collect data on key water metrics in streams and rivers around our area. Dozens of volunteers, like me, help collect data and keep equipment running in the greater Philadelphia area, and Stroud scientists use that data to learn more about our watersheds every day.

I work in a volunteer capacity with several watershed organizations and with a group of volunteers and professionals that are creating documents relating to the interface between stream data and governmental decision-making. I can't say enough for the support provided by Stroud Water Research Center. Everyone with whom I've interacted at Stroud has been more than enthusiastic in answering questions, providing resources and opportunities for education, and even traveling long distances to stream sites to provide advice. The development of the EnviroDIY stream monitors by Stroud has been a game-changer, not only for the number of streams that can be evaluated accurately and in real-time, but for the opportunities afforded to professionals and citizen scientists alike.

I volunteer with a watershed association in the Lehigh Valley. We were concerned about the possibility of road salt pollution in our waterways, but were not sure how to proceed.

Fortunately, while on a field trip to Stroud. I met David Bressler, Stroud’s Community Science Coordinator, and he has been able to provide us with support, expertise, for an in-depth study of our streams.

We are extremely fortunate to have Stroud in our region to provide the resources to help us perform our environmental work.

Stroud Water does such an important job of educating our community on the importance of how we treat our landscapes and resources. When we think of water projects and initiatives in our community we think of Stroud Water- they have become synonymous. I have gained a deeper understanding of our freshwater systems thanks to Stroud's educational events and I look forward to more in the future.

I went on a field trip here in 5th grade and have wanted to come back ever since. I grew up with the White Clay Creek in my backyard, so the trip to Stroud helped me understand how the ecosystem in the stream worked. This past summer I decided I wanted to be an intern, and my first pick was Stroud. While I was there As an unpaid intern at Stroud, I helped set up and assisted at events, stuffed envelopes, created fliers, took photos to be used in flyers and social media accounts, and wrote content for the Upstream e-newsletter. To write this newsletter content, I interviewed my fellow Stroud Interns and wrote Meet Our 2023 Interns! Great experience overall.

As a Stroud Water Research Center volunteer, I appreciate how all of the people and activities associated with the Stroud Center are focused on its mission to advance knowledge and stewardship of fresh water through research, education and watershed restoration. I am delighted to participate in the tree planting activities because they directly benefit the community by helping to provide healthy streams on which all life (aquatic, insect, wildlife and people) depends. The Stroud Center team is knowledgeable, accessible, and committed to applying its research driven activities to educate the public and to restore clean fresh water for all. I applaud the Stroud Center team for its dedication and commitment to people and to the planet.

Stroud Water Research Center is a unique. special place that focuses on fresh water. They are experts in their field of fresh water, and they offer wonderful resources for both their community and and educators around Pennsylvania (& beyond). They work hard to produce excellent educational materials that are top notch. I highly recommend this non-profit.

As a long time Trout Unlimited volunteer I have been working with Stroud for a lot of years on all kinds of stream protection efforts. We have used the Stroud research for managing some of our planting projects and other papers and presentations for guiding our chapters efforts at establishing baseline data for studying the effects of certain developments on the creek. For years I was thinking that the increasing warmth of Valley Creek due to continued development in the watershed was going to be its death knell. Now we are working on a salt fact sheet for Valley Creek with the help of Stroud. The salt pollution seems to be the more severe problem for the ecosystem of Valley Creek which still sustains its Class A wild brown trout fishery. Our Trout Unlimited Chapter has also worked with Stroud to support the "Stream Girls" a watershed STEM program for girls that builds confidence and breaks down barriers in science and the outdoors.

The non-profit organization where I work collaborates closely with Stroud, and they are one of our strongest partners. We work together on riparian forest buffers and agricultural best management practices to improve water quality. Particularly, we collaborate on the logistics of project implementation, strategize together on how to accelerate implementation, and coordinate on grant applications so we can use our respective grant funding in a complementary fashion. Through this work, our partners at Stroud are always communicative, transparent, creative, and downright pleasant people. I recommend Stroud not only as a resource for robust research on riparian forest buffers and stream conservation, but also as a partner in implementing these best practices.

Stroud is doing excellent work with educators and students in their education department, raising the bar for quality environmental education and stewardship. It has been a joy to collaborate with them over the years, as a program manager at Earth Force, on environmental action civics and meaningful community level change. The Stroud folks are so dedicated to their work. Thank you for all that you do and we look forward to collaborating more! Check out their invertebrate investigation truck on wheels - made for local watershed investigations at any local school! Great for student-led community inventories, in partnership with educators, on the health of their local watershed that leads to student-led enviro-action. Thinking global and acting local.

Stroud Center has been instrumental in getting our school water quality monitoring program up and running. They have visited our school numerous times and are extremely helpful on the phone with questions that come up. Their monthly conference calls keep a community of citizen science groups connected and informed. Highly Recommended!

We work closely with Stroud on a number of projects focused on protecting area waterways. Stroud is always helpful, professional and ready to provide scientific direction. We would be lost without Stroud's guiding partnership.

We work closely with the Watershed Restoration Team at SWRC on agricultural conservation projects. Their strong relationships with landowners and the resources they bring to our projects are critical for enabling us to make important water and soil quality improvements in our local watersheds. Stroud has an outstanding reputation among their colleagues, which has been well earned through their commitment to excellence in the field of fresh water.

Stroud Water Research Center provides amazing educational experiences for teachers and students. Over the past 10 years, as a K-12 Science Supervisor for a public school and as the principal investigator for an outdoor education grant, I have had multiple opportunities to work with Stroud. Each and every time, Stroud delivers wonderful, relevant, in-depth content to the students and teachers. All of this is provided by top-notch professionals that always exceed my expectations. I am proud to know the remarkable individuals at Stroud and thank them for their expertise, efforts, and caring.

I am Penn State Extension Master Watershed Steward involved in Stroud's Enviro DIY Community Science stream monitoring initiative. I see first hand the commitment and scientific expertise that the Stroud Center staff contributes to studying stream health, improving water quality and furthering the development of Community Science.

I work with Stroud on many projects, and they are a great organization and resource! Stroud has assisted us in water quality monitoring, creating and making accessible educational tools, and offering their beautiful space for learning. The Stroud staff are always extremely friendly and knowledgeable.

We've partnered with Stroud on several riparian buffer planting projects and their staff is very helpful in sharing resources, research and best practices to improve our own tree planting projects. Their expertise is recognized and valued in the conservation community.

Stroud is an excellent organization to work with! Their staff helped us install two remote water monitoring stations and have been an amazing resource as we get used to managing them.

Stroud is a great partner and we could not do what we do without them.

Stroud Water Research Center has a diverse and wide range of skills and expertise that have assisted our organization with water quality monitoring for years. They're quick to respond, technically knowledgeable about a wide range of subjects, and able to work with volunteers and staff alike to resolve technical issues and enhance program capacity. Stroud is also flexible and understanding of small mostly volunteer driven water monitoring operations.

I have found SWRC to be cutting edge in watershed restoration. The research that they do is leading to new industry standards to improve mortality in the plantings and in the most economical way.

Stroud has a broad range of approaches to water education and stewardship that ticks the boxes of social and environmental justice in the frame of science. They partner with and provide individuals and organization stakeholders of localized initiatives as instructors and as a source of technical instrumentation, data management, platforms for community communication, and as standard bearers for the entire field of citizen science water education and stewardship. Their work with Indigenous communities is particularly sensitive to sovereignty and self-determination while filling a gap in the direct, fieldwork education, and follow-up that is so deeply needed in marginalized communities.

Working with Stroud as a community volunteer has extended my understanding of and capacity for engaging in the health and maintenance of waterways, and has offered me opportunities to exercise my own expertise within their umbrella of vast community outreach.

My name is Geoffrey Selling. I am a Penn State Extension Master Watershed Steward, a Streamkeeper with the TTF Watershed Partnership and a weekly volunteer involved in restoring the riparian buffer on Rock Creek in Curtis Arboretum--work for which the PSU Extension gave us an award for EXCELLENCE IN A RESTORATION PROJECT for the 2021 project year.
Almost all of us involved in watershed and stream restoration work depend heavily on the leadership, research and findings that come from the Stroud Water Research Center. The rigor of their scientific work, the reliability of their findings and their outstanding efforts to communicate this information through published papers, workshops, trainings and the like make Stroud the “go to” source for the most accurate information about watershed restoration, tree plantings, water sampling, macroinvertebrate research and so much more. It is rare for there to be a training or workshop in the watershed community where Stroud’s name isn’t referred to many times. When there are differing opinions about how to proceed on a project, one often hears: Let’s ask the Stroud people or At the last Stroud training we attended, Stroud said that the best practice was XXXXX. That usually settles the matter!
I am now six years retired from my work as a lower school science teacher at the Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia. The entire fourth grade curriculum at the time was about water, watersheds, stream testing etc. Much of the curriculum I developed for the children was based on summer workshops I had attended at Stroud. When I was nominated for a Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching in 2015, I submitted a video of a watershed lesson—based on material learned at a Stroud Center workshop. Not only did I win one of the PAEMST awards, but the adjudicators commented very positively on the rigor and thoroughness of the scientific content of my fourth-grade lesson. I could trace that lessons right back to summers spent at Stroud workshops.

The Stroud Water Research Center is an amazing non-profit organization that does so much to help the world protect our water sources. I worked here as a 2022 summer communications intern, and I couldn't have asked to get more out of it. Every person you will meet here is so kind hearted and enthusiastic about what they do. Even the other interns that worked here this summer were always hard at work, and stayed dedicated to helping and working in Stroud Water Research's studies. I strongly recommend going to some of the events that Stroud Water Research puts together too, they are very well thought out, and if you have an itch for some science, they've got you covered!

Stroud Water Research is doing an amazing job to improve/maintain the water quality in Pennsylvania, as well as many other areas. Their approach includes education at all levels and ages, awareness, and hands on projects which involve large numbers of volunteers. I have volunteered for a number of projects with Stroud, and have enjoyed working alongside others from varying backgrounds joined in this common interest. Some volunteers are young parents who bring their kids along to participate in planting trees as a riparian buffer. Some volunteers come from local businesses unconnected to environmental work. Each volunteer goes away with an appreciation of the importance of helping to save our environment.

Stroud Water Research Center is an exceptionally effective, PA based environmental organization, dedicated to Research, Education and Watershed Restoration. I have had the pleasure of working with them in a volunteer-capacity for several years now, and plan to continue to support their efforts. I also urge friends and neighbors to do the same as their mission is such an imperative one!

Stroud’s efforts are as nearby as next door, yet also span the globe - they are often able to help well beyond our borders. Their research, restoration projects and often free educational programs are invaluable…helping to ensure clean water presently and for generations to come!

As a very young child growing up in south Florida, I was surrounded by water and drawn to Nature…learning very early-on the epic importance that a constant, clean, fresh water supply plays in terms of every species’ literal survival.

Regarding Stroud Water Research Center’s very meaningful mission, I respectfully suggest we all familiarize ourselves with their critical work, follow their noble-lead and contribute in every way possible to support fresh water efforts near and far within this ever-fragile planet we all call home!

Ellen Marie Kuehner

Stroud has an incredible blend of scientists coordinating their groundbreaking research and an education department that plants the seeds of knowledge with hands on learning for all ages really. The accessibility of information is so rare and amazing for fresh water science.

Stroud's organization is benefiting our local watersheds and the public in numerous ways, providing leadership across several essential fields, and has done so for several decades. While Stroud's programs have impacts around the globe, it is their local impact that we are most familiar with. Whether it is stream health assessments, innovative DYI environmental loggers, water quality models, environmental education, policy, and new science around emerging issues, Stroud is delivering science out to where it needs to be to affect outcomes. Stroud's stream restoration practices and agricultural programs are at the forefront of this field--leading the way to more cost effective BMPs and cleaner streams. Their myriad of programs are bringing together experts and practitioners to stimulate new outcomes which simply would not be possibly otherwise. Simply put, Stroud is an outstanding example of how science and care for the environment can merge into something much greater, with much greater benefits to everyone.

The Stroud Water Research Center, Inc. is my "go-to" for all things watershed education! Their staff is knowledgable, friendly, and creative. Stroud's local and action-oriented programs engage teachers, youth, and the community. They are a trusted source of unbiased and fact-based watershed information, and leaders in experiential environmental literacy education.

I've been working with staff from the Stroud Water Research Center over the last year to model runoff and pollutant loading changes under different land use scenarios, to demonstrate the stormwater management benefits of permanently preserving open space. Stroud staff are so incredibly knowledgeable, with amazing technical skills, and are so responsive to my project's needs, I feel lucky to have the connection and that we could engage with them on our Return on Environment reports for counties in Greater Philadelphia.

Stroud is a destination for everyone who cares about the environment. Their ecological studies are useful for other environmental organizations and community. Their educational programs are consistently well though out. Their staff is professional and helpful. Amazing organization to work with.

Sroud is a very educational non profit. I am a retired engineer and always investigating new ways to preserve and help the environment. Water is one of the most precious resources that we have and we need to protect and save our water from being compromised. I have been involved in one small initiative that Stroud has embraced called stream stewards . I have two streams that I monitor monthly. Stroud engineered a water sensor that sends readings of the water every 5 minutes. You can from monitor from home and/or cell phone. I would like to attach a photo but the sensor momitoring may be propietary. Thanks to Stroud I and many others are citizen scietists.

Stroud offers quite a few educational opportunities every month which I have attended and provides me and countless others with lifelong learning opportunities. Covid did limit in person attendance but lectures were provided virtually and I expect Stroud to reurn to in person opportunities very soon.
Stroud has afforded me and many others a means to provide a meaningful contribition to society.

The Stroud Water Research Center has been an invaluable partner for The Nature Conservancy in building and maintaining our Stream Stewards water quality monitoring program. The staff at the Stroud Center are unparalleled in their willingness and ability to share their expertise with partners, volunteers and the general public to support and encourage organizations and individuals to become stewards of freshwater resources. From designing and installing in-stream sensor stations, to assisting with riparian planting projects, to educating the public at programs and events and connecting volunteer monitoring groups in the Delaware River Watershed, the Stroud Center staff are doing incredible work to protect clean water.

Stroud Water Research Center has been invaluable with professional development support in our middle and high schools. They worked with us to integrate critical concepts and standards into meaningful learning experiences for students. Stroud Water met numerous times with our curriculum specialists to plan the workshops. The feedback from teachers is always positive.

As Director of Environmental Education for a PA agency, improving the environmental literacy of the all Pennsylvanians is a major priority. In this role, I have had the fortunate opportunity to work with the Stroud Water Research Center on a variety of projects and initiatives. Collaborating with Stroud and other agencies and organizations as part of the PA Environmental Literacy Task Force, Stroud has proven to be a valuable partner in the work of this task force. Their professional staff are well informed in the latest trends in environmental education, continually shows a willingness to go above and beyond and have been a leader within this collaboration. Stroud Water Research Center also has shown that they are quite talented in procuring grants and delivering outstanding programs with the use of these funds. I know this first-hand, as Stroud is an active participant in a grant program manged by this office. Their projects have shown creativity and have done a remarkable job in reaching under-served communities. Currently PA is undergoing a revision in the environment and ecology standards for public education. Steve Kerlin has demonstrated excellent leadership in this difficult process. I have also have closely worked with other staffers (Mandy Nix and Tara Muenz) that bring a dynamic presence to these projects. My interactions with the Stroud Water Research Center have all been positive as they contribute mightily to improving environmental literacy within Pennsylvania.

I volunteer with the Stream Stewards, a joint program with The Nature Conservancy and the National Park Service. The Stream Stewards monitor water quality in several streams in and around the First State National Historic Park. The monitoring technology we use was developed by and implemented with Stroud Water Research Center. Stroud continues to work with us in maintaining this technology, and is a valued partner in our efforts to protect and preserve clean water in Delaware and Pennsylvania.

I had an amazing time getting to see all of the amazing work the Stroud Research Center does in Bucks County and the connections/impacts the organization has abroad. I worked here as a Communications intern for Summer 2021, and ALL of the staff were so helpful and passionate about the center's work. It was easy and fun to be a part of the fundraising campaign at Stroud because you know the money goes to the Center's mission to protect and improve our waterways locally and beyond. I cannot recommend the Stroud Research Center enough.

My husband and I have gone to many lectures and workshops hosted by Stroud Water Research. We love the fact that such a progressive, world-class research institution is located only one hour away by car. The staff are knowledgeable, professional and courteous. They have always made themselves available for our local watershed association questions and even went to the trouble of designing and giving a fantastic workshop on how to use data collected from our local Mayfly sensor stations. Also, as an environmental educator myself, Stroud has always been available to answer water-related questions and hosts informative webinars. We are truly grateful for Stroud Water Research Center.

As a long standing member of the White Clay Creek Wild and Scenic Management Committee, I am pleased to write in support of Stroud Water Research Center. Over the years, Stroud has been an invaluable partner to the Wild and Scenic, particularly in the areas of riparian buffer restoration and water quality monitoring.

We are extremely fortunate to have Stroud Water Research Center as a partner in the White Clay Watershed!

Sincerely,
Aileen Parrish
London Britain Township
Board of Supervisors

Stroud Water Research Center is our go-to source for freshwater health related research, citizen science research, direct and train-the-trainer educational outreach, and so much more.
I have participated in their public educational programs, tailored educational programs for specific groups, and attended guest presentations by Stroud Center staff. I highly encourage our volunteers to work on their citizen science monitoring program and everyone involved loves their experience and the sense of pride from providing information that is available for researchers around the globe.

Stroud Water Research Center has been an absolute pleasure to work with! Their team of researchers, scientists, and educators are always willing to lend a hand to provide guidance whenever a question arises. When our organization installed a water quality monitoring sensor for the first time, the Stroud Water Research Center staff worked side-by-side with me to ensure that I fully understood all of the data that was being collected. I would highly recommend working with them.

Stroud Water Research Center is a premier freshwater research and outreach institute located in Pennsylvania. I have worked with Stroud as an intern, professionally, and as a citizen and have been amazed and their depth of knowledge, passion, and drive for education and outreach. Five stars!

I would have to say that working with Stroud Water Research has been the best experience I have had with any organization, non-profit or not. They have empowered me to push beyond what I thought I could do and backed me up the entire time.

Most of my work with Stroud has been with their Mayfly Data Loggers and the EnviroDIY Program. They have built a community that engages users and provides them with the tools and resources to succeed. They also helpful in sharing with other organizations to promote their work or the work of others, to benefit the common good.

I am always very eager to work with Stroud Water Research and look forward to many years of the collaboration and education they provide.


Robert S

The Stroud Water Research Center is an internationally active and renowned water and aquatic ecologies science center, whose work ranges from basic science, to understanding landscape wide and site-specific impacts on watersheds, to ecological restorations. Environmental education is also a key organizational mission, so that the lessons learned can benefit local communities of residents, all levels of government, and nonprofit watershed and natural resource organizations. Science and practice are truly integrated in the way this organization works, a characteristic that was born with its first scientists who tested the ecological principles and passed on their informed recommendations for improving water quality, forest and biodiversity expansion, and health of aquatic species and ecologies. Diversity is represented in both the staff and volunteers. All of my volunteer work there has been critically linked with the education I need to understand the key principles of the projects, and to use tools effectively. These scientists, technical experts, and educators practice the affability, determination to improve water quality, scientific excellence, technical analysis, and willingness to partner in ways that lead to continuing expansion of their assistance to others and their expertise.

From the first day of training with Stroud Water Research Center, to the present, where I've made trusted friends, I've found all those involved to be committed to their mission, supportive of all people searching to understand the science of fresh water systems, and generous with sharing education about fresh water systems.

This organization is transparent about their views and ideas, approaches to research, and experiences in the field.

David Bressler, Citizen Science Project Facilitator, is exceptional in his role to connect, and build relationships with individuals and organizations in an effort to support awareness and encourage research of our valuable fresh water resources.

In all the years I've been involved with Stroud Water Research, either on the board or as a volunteer, I've never had a moment that I haven't been totally inspired, impressed or educated!! The international staff is so dedicated to preserving fresh water and teaching the rest of the world how it can be done. I selfishly stay involved as I've learned so much about our environment and how to be a better steward.

I had the opportunity to participate in a volunteer event with Stroud collecting data on the caliper of trees. The Stroud individual was very knowledgeable about the initiative we were helping with and could tell he was passionate about it. I enjoyed working with Stroud for the day and plan on volunteering with them again.

My friends and I love to support the Stroud research center. I appreciate they were able to provide a great volunteer opportunity during the pandemic. I was able to take half a day off from working at home to help plant trees at a beautiful location in Southeastern PA. It was a great day, they followed all CDC guidelines so everyone felt comfortable. After a rough few months it was nice to be able to contribute and connect outdoors with like minded individuals. I look forward to volunteering again in the near future.

As an un-paid volunteer, I have spent time at the Stroud Center doing stream monitoring with the lab assistants. I continue to be impressed by their knowledge of a stream's eco-system and its importance to our way of life. The Stroud Center does freshwater research all around the world, in particular helping impoverished areas learn to detect clean water for drinking and cooking, which is life-saving in most countries. I would recommend a visit to anyone looking to learn more about conserving fresh water.