CCIP's 2003 Events Calendar

From: Codorus Creek
Time Stamp 2/18/2003 12:48:07 PM


CCIP calendar of the major activities for 2003

The Codorus Creek Improvement Partnership (CCIP) meets every Sunday at 12:45 p.m.(unless its REALLY COLD!) at the West Philadelphia St Bridge in York for a "Codorus Creek-Stroll" where we pick up trash and visually assess or chemically monitor for pollution.

CCIP meets on the fourth Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. for our Monthly Meeting. We conduct the business of CCIP, and plan future projects. The February 27th meeting will be held at the Suscom Center, on the sixth floor of the West Building.

CCIP is starting to work with local schools to bring watershed education into schools that may not have it as part of their curriculum. Please contact CCIP if you are interested in teaching students and taking them outdoors for watershed lessons.

May 3rd and 4th, CCIP will have our educational booth at the Fairie Fest in Glen Rock. Over 10,000 people attend this event, many of them concerned with preserving our environment.

May 11, CCIP will participate in the "Old York Street Faire". We will have our table with Creek info near the Plow Tavern. We will give Historic Codorus tours along the creek from noon to 4 p.m.

May 17, CCIP will be at Lake Redman and Pinchot Park, if these festivals are scheduled the same as 2002. When we are at two locations on the same day, we can use extra assistance at the educational booths.

June 6-15, CCIP will organize The Codorus Creek Clean-Up 2003. This will be a ten-day cleanup of a 3-mile stretch of the Codorus Creek, just upstream from the City of York.

The 1st annual Codorus Creek Cleanup, held in June 2002, was a 10-day collaboration by York City, North York Borough, the Watershed Alliance of York (WAY), the Codorus Creek Watershed Association (CCWA), the Army Corp of Engineers, the PaDEP, the PA National Guard, local businesses, and over 200 volunteers. The cleanup resulted in the removal of over 50 tons of debris from the creek bed and banks, including over 1000 tires, hundreds of bicycles, strollers, car parts, as well as household and industrial materials.

The success of the 2002 Codorus Creek Clean-Up has prompted CCIP and its partners to plan a cleanup June 6-15, 2003 in the 3-mile section of the Codorus Creek upstream from the location of the previous cleanup. The cleanup will start at Bantz Park in York City, near the Richland Avenue Bridge, and continue through West Manchester Township and Spring Garden Township. The cleanup will be a coordinated effort by the Codorus Creek Improvement Partnership (CCIP), York City, Spring Garden Township, other community organizations, as well as many local businesses and volunteers. The Clean-Up gives citizens a chance to actively participate in community improvements, focuses media attention on the need for watershed stewardship, increases awareness to the general public of the current state of the watershed, and promotes the potential recreational possibilities.

From June 6-15, 2003, a registration table, located at Bantz Park on Richland Avenue in York City, will be staffed by CCIP members. Volunteers will register, get safety sheets, sign waivers, and receive trash bags, gloves, beverages, and a meal at lunch. Volunteers should wear boots and long pants and bring waders or hip-boots if they have them. Some waders will be available to volunteers. Facilities will be available for changing and cleanup. Work teams will be chosen, and team leaders will be given emergency radios. All safety concerns will be addressed including flagging of dangerous zones and the distribution of safety facts sheets. A number of dumpsters will be located ¼ mile upstream from Richland Avenue. The creek bank is steep in some locations and when possible, trash will be floated down stream to the dumpster by a mini-barge system, a system that worked well in the 2002 Cleanup. All recyclables will be separated from the trash and disposed of appropriately.

June 21, after the Cleanup, the partners invite the public to the CodorusFest Community Celebration 2003, an environmental education and music festival along the Codorus. CodorusFest 2002 brought out over twenty watershed organizations, governmental agencies, industry representatives, and others who set up displays and spoke with approximately 600 citizens attending the festival. In support of the event, twenty local bands and educational speakers performed or spoke at no charge.

The 3rd annual CodorusFest is scheduled for June 21, 2003, from noon until 10 p.m. in downtown York. This is the celebration of all the hard work and generous contributions that helped improve the Codorus Creek. Community groups are welcome to have informational booths at the CodorusFest.

August 23, CCIP will be reviving a 90-year old "Historic Codorus Creek Boat Parade" through York City. This parade was originally held in the early 1900's, and attracted many participants and spectators. The parade corresponds with the annual arts festival, YorkFest(drawing 15,000 people), along the banks of the Codorus, scheduled this year on August 23, 2003 at 2 p.m. The parade encourages boaters to decorate their non-motorized crafts and enter them in a "float" competition. The parade follows the same path as it did 90 years ago, starting at Bantz Park and ending at the Codorus Boat Basin. Prizes donated by local boating-oriented businesses will be given out for best float, funniest, most historic, and CCIP favorite. CCIP hopes that the parade will encourage boaters to use the creek for recreational purposes on a regular basis.

October 3rd and 4th, CCIP will be coordinating a cleanup of one of the tributaries to the Codorus. Last year’s Willis Run Cleanup was very successful. Over 100 volunteers removed two dumpsters of debris and recyclables from Willis Run.

Please check out CCIP’s web site at WWW.CODORUSCREEK.COM for more info on upcoming activities, and pictures of last year’s activities.

See you along the Codorus