2022 Scholarship Guidelines

The Edward W. Cooch, Jr. Environmental Scholarship fund was established to honor the late Edward W. Cooch, Jr. (1920-2010).  “Ned”, as many knew him, was an avid environmentalist with a deep passion for the natural lands and water resources of the State of Delaware.  He was a founder of the Christina Conservancy, one of the driving forces for the Christina River Watershed Cleanup, and an active member of the Delaware community who demonstrated a deep commitment to the natural environment.

This $1,500 scholarship will be awarded to one Delaware resident selected by the scholarship committee who demonstrates the ideals that Ned Cooch carried out in his daily life.  Applications are due by Friday, April 15, 2022. Notification of the winner will take place by the end of May and the Scholarship will be awarded in June 2022. Click here for full scholarship guidelines and application instructions.

The 2022 Christina River Watershed Cleanup was held on April 2. After two years of no or limited cleanups, there was even more trash and debris than usual. The Cleanup is a great opportunity for volunteers to work with local organizations to remove man-made debris from this beautiful watershed. Trash in wetlands, along waterways, and on the ground in neighborhoods, parks and natural areas makes its way into rivers, streams, and the ocean if not picked up.

For the last two years, the Cleanup has been canceled or very limited, due to the pandemic, so we were happy to have it back in its original format in 2022. Thank you to all of the sponsors and volunteers that made it happen!

Learn more and see where the various sites were in Wilmington and New Castle County at www.ChristinaRiverCleanup.org!  

On Tuesday February 15, 2022 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm on zoom, a group of partners including the Christina Conservancy held a workshop about the Christina-Brandywine River Remediation, Restoration, Resilience (CBR4) Plan. Organizations, agencies and community groups working in and around the lower Christina and Brandywine Rivers were invited to attend. 

The first hour of the workshop featured a guest speaker sharing insights from Newtown Creek as well as information on conditions, goals and strategies identified by the project team as critical for CBR4. The remainder of the workshop was an interactive discussion seeking reactions, feedback and additional ideas on the strategies shared. Input collected will guide the project team in identifying projects and activities to include in the plan, to be completed later this year.

Watch a recording of the workshop here. To learn more about the CBR4 project see www.ChristinaConservancy.org/CBR4/.