Yes, Penn State University develops, supports, and offers programs that encourage and maintain good aquatic stewardship practices. For example:

• University Extension’s statewide Watershed Stewards program encourages good aquatic stewardship practices. It provides training, resources, and ongoing support to volunteers looking to engage in environmental restoration projects and educational programs. There are nearly 1,000 Master Watershed Stewards across 42 counties that have collectively planted 100,000 trees and taught over 400,000 adults and children how to be better stewards to our water, wildlife, and more.
• University Extension developed water management and conservation programs such as pond management which teaches landowners with ponds of 1/4 acre in size how to determine goals for the pond; assess, inspect, and measure a pond; maintain a pond; implement safety practices; identify and control aquatic plants and algae; manage a pond fishery; and, manage wildlife in and around a pond.
• University Extension offers watershed restoration programs such as managing a restored wetland, watershed friendly de-icing, and “Roadside Guide to Clean Water: Streambank and Floodplain Restoration” and webinars, workshops, and articles about water quality and management on topics such as “The Role of Trees and Forests in Healthy Watersheds” and “Applying Herbicides in and Around Water.” These are available for free online to all.
• The University has developed programs such as a Water Resources Preservation Areas (WRPAs) land-use classification for approximately 455 acres of land at University Park which has resulted in the University overall becoming a net zero discharger of surface runoff.
• The purpose of the university’s Stormwater Protection Plan is to promote health, safety, and welfare within the University and its watershed by minimizing the harm to the environment by stormwater from the campus through provisions designed to manage stormwater runoff impacts at their source by regulating activities that cause the problems and by using minimum structural controls, relying on natural processes. All new development and redevelopment projects at the University have the goal of reducing peak runoff rates downstream.
• The Penn State Agriculture and Environment Center focuses on solving today’s water quality challenges related to the impacts of land use and land management.  The center fosters partnerships with stakeholders engaged in land and water issues, and integrates the College and University’s education, research, community outreach, and extension assets to help communities and stakeholders solve land and water-related environmental problems at multiple scales.

Learn more about Penn State’s Progress on SDG 14 HERE.