Ridley Creek in the Maurice Bower Saul Wildlife Sanctuary (photo by Roger Latham).
Rose Valley’s Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) is a group of seven community residents appointed by Borough Council to advise officials and educate citizens about the protection, conservation, management, promotion and use of natural resources. It was created in 2008 by Rose Valley Ordinance 325.
The Rose Valley EAC works at the local level to:
- Compile information and convey expertise to help officials make sound environmental policy decisions
- Educate the public on natural resource protection and other environmental issues
- Plan and implement projects, with authorization from Council
The Rose Valley EAC collaborates with its counterparts in Nether Providence, Swarthmore and Rutledge to coordinate natural resource protection and education across municipal boundaries. It is linked in an information exchange and support network to other EACs in southeastern Pennsylvania and throughout the state, coordinated by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council.
Rose Valley EAC members are volunteers appointed by Council from among the Borough’s residents for four-year terms. Their duties, upon request or approval by Council, are to:
- Identify environmental problems and recommend remedies
- Inventory open spaces, natural features and their characteristics and recommend uses and best management practices
- Formulate and promote programs for the promotion and conservation of natural resources and environmental quality
- Identify funding sources to protect and study natural resources and environmental quality and develop proposals to obtain funding
- Recommend uses of open space and advise Council on acquisition of additional open space
- Comment on applications for subdivision, variance or conditional use when requested to do so by Council or the Planning Commission
- Help homeowners and other residents understand the impact of their decisions on the environment and the larger community
More details: What are environmental advisory councils?