ASLA Chapter President Lisa Vavro was on hand to present the award to the county commissioners for the reclamation of the 119-acre Schuylkill River coal silt basin in Phoenixville, now known as Black Rock Sanctuary. Twenty-four acres of newly developed wetlands acres now enhance the basin, along with five nature education stations constructed along a three-quarter mile trail. Chester County will pave the trail and add more nature education stations in the next two years.

The project was a collaboration of federal, state and local agencies and landscape architect Carl Kelemen. The William Penn Foundation, the PA Department of Environmental Resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (PA-DCNR), and Pheasants Forever contributed to the $1.09 million project.

The sanctuary has received an additional $195,000 from the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund for the next phase of development.