Linda Layne, left, works on the Town Run Watershed with other volunteers on June 27. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — On Dec. 18, the Town Run Watershed Steering Committee announced that their organization had been awarded a $5,000 Stream Partners Grant by the West Virginia Stream Partners Program.

This is the second-year-in-a-row that the Town Run Watershed has received this grant.

According to committee member Carolyn Thomas, the grant will be used to continue Town Run Watershed’s work, by: improving stream and river health, educating community members about the watershed and engaging volunteers in watershed protection, recreation and restoration activities.

“Founded in 2023, the Town Run Watershed group works to protect and enhance the Town Run, which runs from just south of Morgan Grove Park through Shepherdstown to the Potomac River,” Thomas wrote in a press release, before noting the reason for this effort. “During 2025, the run will be blended with Potomac River water, becoming a primary seasonal source of drinking water for Shepherdstown, as well as a beautiful rich natural area for the enjoyment of aquatic and terrestrial wildlife, as well as the human community.”

According to Thomas, the West Virginia Stream Partners Program is a grant program, created to support the efforts of watershed groups. It is a cooperative effort among multiple state agencies, housed within the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s (WVDEP) Division of Water and Waste Management. Every year, it is is designated $100,000 by the Legislature, which is then used to award $5,000 grants to 20 different watershed groups around the state.

Town Run Watershed Steering Committee member Peggy Bowers picks up some native plants to place around Town Run, during a work day on June 27. Tabitha Johnston

“It is the purpose of the Stream Partners Program to encourage citizens to work in partnership with appropriate state agencies, so that the state’s rivers and streams: are safe for swimming, fishing and other forms of recreation; can support appropriate public and commercial purposes; and can provide habitats for plant and animal life,” according to a statement by the West Virginia Conservation Agency.

And the work that this grant funding will be used for on Town Run will accomplish just that, according to Kay Schultz, who is one of the Town Run Watershed’s founders.

“Town Run is one of the most beloved features of Shepherdstown and has been critically important in the location of Shepherdstown and its historic character,” Schultz said. “The grant will be used to support monthly stream cleanups, monitor water quality, offer outreach and education events, provide native shrubs and trees to owners with stream frontage, recruit volunteers to help label storm drains in town and develop outreach materials to share with both students and the wider community.”

To use this grant most efficiently, volunteers will be needed once again this year to help with the Stream Clean Ups of Town Run, which are coordinated by Shepherdstown resident Sandy Brown.

“Getting to know neighbors and community members is one of the main reasons people join our cleanups,” Brown said, mentioning this has proven especially beneficial to new community members.

One such community member who volunteered with the Stream Clean Ups over the past year, was Laurie Preston. As a recent transplant to the Shepherdstown community, she enjoyed being able to connect through her volunteerism with a number of other nature lovers in the area.

“We just officially moved to Shepherdstown in January,” Preston said, after helping to plant native plants around Town Run this past summer. “I’ve always liked native plants — I’ve been gardening my whole life. I just thought that this was cool, and a good way to meet people and do community service, all at the same time!”

To learn more about the Town Run Watershed, visit https://townrunwatershed.org.