News Flash

Save the Date and Plant a Tree!

Join us as a volunteer on November 4 from 9:00 until noon as we implement Phase 2 of the Hamlet Crest Park reforestation project. Phase 1, which achieved the installation of 120 trees and shrubs, occurred on Arbor Day. Phase 2 comprises about 90 trees of ...

Ecosystem Services of West Goshen Township Park Trees

Suburban and small metropolitan areas have grown more quickly than their urban and rural counterparts. Approximately 46 million Americans live in rural counties, 98 million in urban core counties, and 175 million in city suburbs and small metropolitan are...

Drought Watch and Water Conservation Tips

2023 Arbor Day Celebration

The Township’s annual Arbor Day celebration was held on Saturday, April 29, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Hamlet Crest Park. The event began with a reading of the Arbor Day Foundation’s Proclamation and opening remarks by Supervisors Ashley Gagné and Tin...

East Meets West at Dual Township Sustainability Expo

East and West Goshen Townships co-hosted an interactive Sustainability Expo on Sunday, April 16, at East Goshen Park. This year’s theme was “Healthier Planet, Healthier You.” The unifying event brought together our respective...

Historic Weeping Beech Update

Located on Old Fern Hill Road, the venerable European weeping beech—star of the Arbor Day 2021 celebration—is a very old and special tree that once anchored a public park after being gifted to the Township by Longwood Gardens in 1975. ...

Thank You for Participating in the Ewaste and Shred Event!

The eWaste and Shred Event last weekend was a huge success! The township extends its sincerest thanks to all the residents who participated in the event. We had around 200 cars come through!

Every item collected and/or shredded is one less item in our land...

Sustainability Advisory Committee: 2022 Retrospective

Along with merry-making and celebrations, another year-end tradition is to reflect on the past and look toward the future. Here are a few of the committee’s achievements in 2022:

• In January, West Goshen Township was recognized by the Arbor Day Fo...

PHS Tree Tenders Planting over 2000 Bare-Root Trees

From November 17th through November 20th, PHS Tree Tenders and other volunteers from more than 100 communities in southeastern Pennsylvania will plant these 5- to 7-foot tall trees with intact root systems.

Welcome Scott deLone!

The Sustainability Advisory Committee is pleased to welcome new member Scott deLone. Scott, who has taught physics at Henderson High School for 13 years, has a deep and abiding interest in preserving the natural environment. He grew up in Wayne, graduated...

Tips to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

As a follow-up to last month’s article about calculating your carbon footprint, we are presenting 10 common sense tips on how you and your family can reduce it. Remember, every action you take as an individual is cumulative and contributes to a ...

The Inflation Reduction Act Rewards Going Green

Signed into law on August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act provides tax benefits and rebates for homeowners who reduce their carbon footprint. 

Financial incentives aimed at battling climate change are being offered to consumers who purchase ...

What is a Carbon Footprint and How do You Measure it?

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, many of our daily activities, such as using electricity, driving a car, or disposing of waste, cause greenhouse gas emissions. Together these emissions make up a household’s measurable carbo...

August is National Water Quality Month

Even though water makes up over 70% of Earth’s surface area, the total amount of freshwater only makes up around 3% of the water supply, 1% of which is easily accessible. This 1% accounts for all of our lakes, rivers, groundwater, aquifers, and ...

Solar Use Survey

Do you have rooftop solar on your home? Are you thinking of installing solar to supply your electricity? 

If so, the West Chester Area Clean Energy Future (WCACEF), a committee of the West Chester Council of Governments, would like to hear from yo...

Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers: Air and Noise Pollution

Did you know that trying to hear each other over the din of a gas-powered leaf blower pales in comparison to the mix of toxic fumes and particulate matter that are being added to local smog and greenhouse gas emissions?  

Responses to this concern...

Arbor Day 2022

West Goshen Township celebrated Arbor Day this year by honoring the past and encouraging the planting of trees for the future.

The celebration was held on Friday, April 29, at Oaklands Cemetery, a beautiful, heavily wooded natural burial park in the wester...

SAC Welcomes Barbara Rinehart

The Sustainability Advisory Committee is excited to welcome Barbara Rinehart as its newest member. An 11-year resident of the Township, Barbara has a Bachelor of Science in biology from James Madison University and a Master of Science in general science e...

Celebrate Arbor Day with us!

This year’s Arbor Day event is on April 29 at 5:00 p.m. at Oaklands Cemetery, where we will celebrate the life of Joseph Trimble Rothrock, dubbed the “Father of Forestry” in Pennsylvania, in the 100th year since his passing.&...

Single-Use Plastic Bag and Straw Ban

After much hard work and research by the Township’s Sustainability Advisory Committee, the Board of Supervisors approved a single-use plastic carry-out bag and single-use plastic straw ban effective April 22, 2022. 

 April 22, 2022 is als...

Sustainability Advisory Committee 2020-2021 Recap

The SAC helps guide the Board of Supervisors (BOS) on the development of sustainable policies and practices for West Goshen Township by promoting environmental awareness through strong community connections, outreach, and workshops.  Additionally...

Single-Use Plastic Bags and Straws: Plastic Is Not So Fantastic

How many times have you seen a single-use plastic bag blowing in the wind or stuck in a tree or clogging a storm drain into which it has been washed?  Single-use plastic litter is not just a local problem.  These single-use bags, along w...

We All Win When We Get Rid of Plastic Bags

With much of the United States now trapped in a vicious cycle of climate change-induced heat, wildfires, droughts, flooding, and storms, coupled with the COVID-19 delta variant, it is easy to lose sight of other equally important environmental problems, s...

A Vote of Confidence for Eliminating Plastic Bags

Christine Knapp, director of Philadelphia’s Office of Sustainability, was invited by the Township’s Board of Supervisors to speak at the August 17 Board meeting to offer support and best practices for a ban on single use plastic bags in West Goshen. Accor...

Safeguarding Our Communities from Extreme Heat

It’s not your imagination: It is hotter. In this first month of summer, high temperature records have been set across much of the United States and globally. Here in West Goshen Township (WGT), temperatures between May 1 and Jul...

Township Heritage Trees

A heritage tree is typically a large, individual tree with unique value, which is considered irreplaceable. The major criteria for heritage tree designation are age, rarity, and size, as well as aesthetic, botanical, ecological, and historical value.&...

SAC Initiatives Update

The Sustainability Advisory Committee is currently working on several of the key initiatives we established at our first meeting in September 2020. They are:

• Analysis of the township’s vehicle fleet towards the goal of transitioning over...

EVs Get a Charge Out of Town Hall

Since its installation on September 1, 2020, the ChargePoint® electric vehicle charging station in front of the township complex’s Public Works Department building has been getting a workout while improving the environment. Fifty-two dif...

Arbor Day Celebration to Honor West Goshen Heritage Trees

In honor of Arbor Day 2021, West Goshen Township is celebrating its heritage trees – the oldest and largest arboreal residents of our community. The public is invited to join the socially distanced event at the historic weeping beech site on Friday April ...

Tree City USA Initiative Underway

West Goshen’s Arbor Day 2021 is not just a celebration of the township’s heritage trees, it is also the first step to attaining Tree City USA certification by the Arbor Day Foundation. To be a Tree City, a community must meet four standards: establish a t...

Goshen Tree Tenders live-stake planting

The Goshen Tree Tenders cut and planted live stakes (shrub branches) along the creek at West Goshen Township's Barker Park to become new rooted stems.  Live stakes help stabilize streams, lessen erosion, moderate temperatures and improve...

Take our survey on plastic bag use

Even before the pandemic, studies showed a significant increase in the use of plastic bags. It has only gotten worse. With a groundswell of community support, local and state governments are now launching initiatives to curb the use of plastic bags and ot...

Arbor Day celebration: Join us!

On Arbor Day, April 23, 2021 at 5:00 p.m., we will celebrate West Goshen’s heritage trees at the township’s most well-known tree. It is a European weeping beech, planted by Alexander Bane on his farm around 1711. At more than 300 years old, the venerable ...

Sustainability / Environmental Advisory Committee

West Goshen Township is seeking resumes of those interested in participating in an ad hoc Committee to formulate a new Sustainability / Environmental Advisory Committee.

Those interested should have experience or education in Planning, Environmental Scienc...

Coming Soon… West Goshen’s Sustainability Committee!

West Goshen is currently in the process of forming a Sustainability / Environmental Advisory Committee.  As a first step, the township is seeking members of an ad hoc committee to define the purpose and functions of the to-be-created committee.

Ne...

Introducing the NEW West Goshen Sustainability Committee

The newly formed Sustainability Advisory Committee (SAC) in West Goshen Township was adopted ad hoc by the Board of Supervisors on August 18, 2020 and met for the first time on September 22, 2020. The SAC’s overall mission&n...