Planting trees will help keep the water clean, balance its climate and restore lost habitat.

Posted by Press Release on June 16, 2010

The Brandywine
Conservancy's Environmental Management Center has announced a
generous donation of $10,000 from PECOto
support the Conservancy's multi-year reforestation project. The funds
will be used to plant trees in the Brandywine watershed and for community
outreach and educational programs.

The check was presented on June 10 by PECO
representative Greg Cary, External Affairs Manager for Chester County.

"Water resource protection and management have been a
primary focus of the Brandywine
Conservancy since its founding. The simplest and most
effective way to protect the region's fresh water and restore lost habitat is
to plant trees and re-establish forest. We are grateful to PECO for this
grant that will help us continue this vital work," said Sherri
Evans-Stanton, director of the Conservancy's Environmental Management Center.

"We're committed to reducing our carbon footprint and
preserving the environment. This is one of the many ways we are working
with our customers and community partners, to have an even greater
environmental impact through grants and educational programs," said Greg
Cary, of PECO.

Trees provide food and shelter for life in and around
streams, promote absorption of rain into the ground, replenish groundwater
supplies, and reduce stormwater runoff and downstream flooding. In
addition, tree leaves, branches and roots reduce erosion and prevent excess
sediment and nutrients from entering streams during stormwater runoff.
Trees also help slow global warming by removing carbon dioxide from the air,
storing the carbon and then releasing oxygen into the atmosphere.

Most of the natural forest in the Brandywine watershed was
cleared long ago for agriculture. More recently, housing and commercial
development have altered the region. The clear-cutting of trees resulted
in the loss of many valuable benefits that forests provide to all forms of
life. Because much of this cleared land is no longer actively farmed there are
numerous opportunities to re-establish the forests and restore the
watershed to health.

The Brandywine
Conservancy holds more than 400 conservation easements and has
protected over 43,000 acres in Chester and Delaware counties in Pennsylvania,
as well as New Castle County in Delaware. The Environmental Management
Center provides conservation services to landowners, farmers, municipalities
and developers. The staff of professional planners and natural resource
managers offers technical assistance and expertise for conservation and
comprehensive land use planning. Conservation easements, assistance to local
governments and water protection efforts are the key elements of these
programs. In 2008, the Conservancy was among the first land trusts
in the country to be awarded accreditation by the Land Trust Accreditation
Commission.

For more information about the Conservancy's programs and
services, call 610-388-2700 or visit the Conservancy's website at www.brandywineconservancy.org.