Environmentalists, community watershed activists, municipal officials, academics, scientists and technical experts recently talked about ways to improve and protect the Lehigh Valley’s land and water.

The event, called the Eighth Lehigh Valley Watershed Conference, was held Oct. 15 at Lehigh University’s STEPS building. It featured various conferences, according to a news release. This included two half-day workshops on managing invasive plants in streamside buffers and growing edible tree nuts in the Northeast. In addition, municipal staff and consultants who implement stormwater regulations attended a full-day MS-4 track.

Further events included seminars dispensing continuing education credits for engineers and landscape professionals. Still other conference sessions involved backyard conservation practices, local outdoor recreational opportunities and much more.

The conference’s keynote address was given by Ann English, whose presentation was entitled “Growing a Better Watershed: The Riparian Buffer at Happy Hollow Farm.” The speech focused on what she called “multifunctional streamside buffers” based on her family farm background in York County.