The E. Kneale Dockstader Foundation held an awards ceremony last month to distribute over $134,000 for eleven environmental projects in Southern Chester County. In addition, five graduating seniors from area high schools will receive scholarships totaling $20,000. Penn Township hosted the event.

Each year, the Dockstader Foundation disburses project grants to individuals, non-profit organizations, and local governments for environmental projects that benefit Southern Chester County. Since its inception in 1982, the foundation has disbursed over $1.8 million in funding to improve the environment. 

The 2024 recipients include the following:

• Avondale Borough: Avondale community garden 2024 and Pomeroy Park revitalization.
• Brandywine Red Clay Alliance: Baily Farm water quality project.
• Brandywine Conservancy: Green storm-water infrastructure for Red Clay and White Clay watersheds.
• Friends Home in Kennett: landscaping for new elevator tower.
• Kennett Area Park Authority: Anson B. Nixon waterworks environmental study.
• Natural Lands: The Peacedale Preserve.
• New Garden Township: New Garden Park trail and foot bridge.
• Penn Township: public storm-water education and basin retrofit.
• SILO : Growing Together Community Garden 2024.
• White Clay Watershed Association: Community green infrastructure project, West Grove Borough.
• YMCA of Greater Brandywine: STEM on Wheels for southern Chester County.

In addition, the Foundation awarded $20,000 in college scholarships to outstanding local high school seniors intending to pursue environmental studies.  This year’s recipients are Tyler McCarraher of Avon Grove Charter High School, who is attending Shippensburg University; Adelaide Etchman of Avon Grove High School, who is attending Penn State; Vienna Gurev of Kennett High School, who is attending Ursinus College; Elizabeth Kiernan of Oxford Area High School, who is attending University of Delaware; and Tyler Parsons of Unionville High School, who is attending Delaware Valley University.

The Dockstader Foundation is a charitable foundation created by Southeastern Chester County Refuse Authority (SECCRA) to honor its longtime director and chairman, Kneale Dockstader. A professional engineer with the DuPont Company, and a 60-year resident of southern Chester County, Dockstader served the community as a volunteer director on the SECCRA Board from 1978 until he died in 2008. He served as Chairman of the Foundation Board for 25 of those 30 years.