Lancaster Conservancy

Get ready to dive into the 10TH ANNUAL LANCASTER WATER WEEK! 💧 With over 60 events during Lancaster Water Week, presented by the @highfoundation , there's a way for everyone to celebrate, learn about, and take action for healthy streams and rivers. 🛶 Paddle on the Conestoga and Susquehanna, 🔎 explore stream restoration projects, 🌼 learn how to create habitat like a rain garden, 📖 read a book about water, 💪 join a volunteer cleanup, 🎨 connect with our streams and rivers through art, and 🎉 party with our clean water community! Lancaster Water Week is June 5-13, 2026! Learn more and sign up for events at the 🔗 in our bio 📸: Michelle Johnsen Photography

One of the best things you can do to support healthy streams and rivers is plant native plants, which filter pollutants out of stormwater and help it soak into the ground, shade waterways to keep them cool, and have the added benefit of creating wildlife habitat! Learn how you can create habitat in your community and protect clean water during these Lancaster Water Week events: 💧 Grow a Pollinator Patch: Turn a Piece of Grass into a Pollinator Paradise - Sunday, June 7 with Gardens Gone Native 💧 Benefitting Streams and Wildlife on Your Property - Monday, June 8 with @stroudcenter 💧 Rain Gardens for Beginners - Tuesday, June 9 with Conservation Foundation of Lancaster County and @schroedergardens 💧 Adopt-a-Rain Garden Tour and Training - Wednesday, June 10 with @cityoflancpa (for Lancaster City residents and businesses only) 💧 East Petersburg Community Gardens Tour - Thursday, June 11 with Little Conestoga Watershed Alliance and East Petersburg Borough 💧 Caring for Your Rain Garden - Friday, June 12 with @ipc_chesapeake and certified Chesapeake Bay Landscaping Professionals from @chesapeakeclc and Penn State Agriculture and Environment Center Learn more and register for these and other Water Week events at the 🔗 in our bio! 📸: Michelle Johnsen

What happens to our water once it goes down the drain? Find out on a wastewater treatment plant tour during Lancaster Water Week! 💧Lancaster Wastewater Treatment Plant Tours - Friday, June 5 with @cityoflancpa 💧 Lititz Wastewater Treatment Plant Tours - Tuesday, June 9 and Thursday, June 11 with Inframark and Lititz Borough Register for these and other Water Week events at the 🔗 in our bio! 📸: Rachel Haynes

Lancaster Water Week began in 2017 with 12 events celebrating our streams and rivers and the steps we can all take to care for them. This year, the 10th anniversary of Water Week will include over 60 events hosted by dozens of partners throughout the community! In honor of the 10th annual Water Week, we're looking back over the past nine years of inspiring, educational, and energizing events. What's been your favorite Water Week event so far? Join us for Lancaster Water Week from June 5-13, 2026! Learn more and sign up for events at the 🔗 in our bio! 📸: @michellejohnsenphotography

Let's read about water during Lancaster Water Week! 📖 Here are some bookish events to check out: 💧 Where the River Reads - all week long with @lancasterconservation and @librarysystemlancasterco 💧 Tiny Worlds & Watersheds Author Event - Wednesday, June 10 with author @rosaliehaizlett , @lancasterconservation , and @librarysystemlancasterco 💧 Water Week Book Club at @pocketbooksshop - Thursday, June 11 💧 Water Week Storytime & Kids' Craft - Saturday, June 13 at @pocketbooksshop Learn more and register for these and other Water Week events at the 🔗 in our bio! 📸: From Lancaster County Conservation District and Rosalie Haizlett

Get out on the water with a paddle during Lancaster Water Week! 💧 Petroglyphs Float | June 6 with @conestoga_river_club and Paul Nevin 💧 Island Ecology Paddle | June 6 with @susquehanna.sup and @landstudies_ 💧 4th Annual Pride on the Conestoga | June 7 with @conestoga_river_club 💧 Conestoga River History and Heritage Paddle Tours | June 8, 9, 11, & 12 with @conestoga_river_club 💧 Conejohela Flats Birding Paddle | June 9-11 with @kayaklanco and ornithologist Mike Hudson (@ipc_chesapeake ) 💧 Conestoga Conservation Legacy Paddle & River of the Year Keynote Event | June 10 with @conestoga_river_club , @stroudcenter , @highfoundation , @cityoflancpa , and @padcnr 💧 Intro to Kayak Fishing | June 10 with @pafishandboat 💧 Riverkeeper Lock 15 Paddle Tour | June 11 with @lowersusriverkeeper Learn more and register for these and other Water Week events at the 🔗 in our bio! 📸: Michelle Johnsen Photography

We are in the process of renovating Climbers Run Nature Center to improve access to the preserve and create even more learning opportunities for visitors! Last week, we celebrated a ceremonial groundbreaking with key project funders, which included donors to the Conservancy’s Protect & Restore Campaign. “We are thrilled to break ground on improvements to Climbers Run,” said Conservancy President & CEO Fritz Schroeder. “When completed, the improvements to the preserve and the Russo Family Foundation Barn & Education Center will represent an important step forward as we continue building a community of well-trained volunteers, expanding youth and adult conservation education, and creating a preserve where people of all mobilities and abilities feel welcome.” Learn more about the project at the 🔗 in our bio 📸: Michelle Johnsen Photography

We're less than a month away from the 10th annual Lancaster Water Week! 💧 Join us and dozens of partners for over 60 events from kayaking to nature journaling, creek stomps to film screenings, book talks to volunteer cleanups! Learn something new, explore our streams and rivers, and celebrate our waterways June 5-13! Find more information and sign up for events at lancasterwaterweek.org or the 🔗 in our bio 📸: Michelle Johnsen

If you're searching for spring wildflowers, check out the wild azaleas blooming now at Welsh Mountain Nature Preserve! Located in East Earl, Lancaster County, this preserve hosts a beautiful display of flowers at the beginning of May, both along the universal access trail (about a 0.6-mile lollipop) and along the many other trails throughout the forest. Find more preserve info and trail maps at NATURE PRESERVES at the 🔗 in our bio! (Remember, please do not disturb or remove the wildflowers!) 📸: Peggy Eppig

Thank you to everyone who supported the Conservancy during Give Local York! 💚 Your gifts help connect our community with nature, provide habitat where wildlife can thrive, and Save York’s Wildlands! 📸: George Morrison

Why is Lancaster Conservancy protecting land in York County? Because nature doesn’t care about human-drawn borders. Help protect the amazing ecosystems and landscapes of the Susquehanna Riverlands by supporting the Conservancy now during Give Local York! Donate today until 7 PM at lancasterconservancy.org/givelocal or the 🔗 in our bio! 📸: McCalls Ferry Nature Preserve by Rachel Haynes #GiveLocalYork #GLY2026

Give Local York starts tonight at 7 PM! This 24-hour giving event is a great time to support local organizations doing good in your community. Did you know that the Conservancy has protected 12 nature preserves along the Susquehanna River in York County? PLUS! Your gift to nature during Give Local York has 2X THE IMPACT thanks to matches from our generous Board members. Donate to the Conservancy and help Save York’s Wildlands from 7 PM on April 30 to 7 PM on May 1 at the 🔗 in our bio! 📸: Wizard Ranch Nature Preserve by Emily Landis #GiveLocalYork #GLY2026