With a grant provided by the Bridgestone/Firestone Trust Fund, the first phase of stream bank stabilization was initiated along Jack’s Run at Lynch Field in Greensburg. On Saturday, November 10th, volunteers from Firestone and the Association planted 5 large deciduous trees and 15 shrubs, and reseeded the banks around the bridge leading to the swimming pool. The week before, the City of Greensburg’s maintenance department, supervised by the Westmoreland Conservation District, excavated the eroded banks along that section of Jack’s Run and placed large boulders as rip-rap to prevent further erosion.
Jack’s Run is a major tributary of Sewickley Creek. Lynch Field is subject to periodic flooding because of all the development that has taken place over the years upstream of the park. The development has increased stormwater runoff and occasionally the stream banks are unable to contain the flow. The Association partnered with the City in 1997 to build riparian buffers along the park’s section of the stream, but a severe flood several years ago caused damage to some of the banks and to a jack dam. Through a multi-phase project over the next several years, we plan to re-stabilize the banks, plant trees, shrubs and native grasses to created a wider riparian buffer, repair the jack dam, and install an educational kiosk and interpretive signs. The kiosk and signs will explain the restoration work that is being done and how it can be applied in other neighborhoods to control similar bank erosion and flooding problems. The kiosk will recognize all of the partners who have supported the project with funding and in-kind services.
Sewickley Creeks wishes to thank Firestone and the City of Greensburg for all of their support, as well as all of the volunteers who helped with the project. Please visit the park in the spring to see the flowering trees and shrubs – the product of our volunteers’ hard work! Work on Phase I will continue in the spring. Contact us if you are interested in volunteering.