A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Nov. 15 to officially dedicate the Hay Creek Pedestrian Bridge, which connects Rustic Park in Birdsboro, a popular community recreation area, to the 1,800-acre Birdsboro Waters Preserve, owned by the Birdsboro Municipal Authority. The new bridge spans the waters of Hay Creek, providing easy access to the preserve. Within the preserve, visitors will find miles of walking and mountain biking trails, including the well-traveled Horseshoe Trail.

Following the ribbon-cutting, attendees, including a bicyclist, made their way across the bridge for the first time.

The creation and installation of the 6-foot-wide, ADA-accessible pedestrian bridge came about through the efforts of Birdsboro Borough, Birdsboro Municipal Authority, the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry, Berks Nature and the volunteer-led Hay Creek Watershed Association.

Kim Murphy, president of Berks Nature, which now oversees the watershed association and facilitated the project, welcomed those in attendance. "I recognize that most of you here today have been working hard toward this achievement for many, many years," she stated. "Today's celebration and the installation of this bridge represent unique partnerships and a community dedicated to making the trails and outdoor recreation more accessible and safer, all while protecting the habitat of the Hay Creek. Thank you for your dedication to this important project."

"It took a team that communicated well and often to get this project completed for today's celebration," added Ted Coffelt, president of the Hay Creek Watershed Association.

Murphy explained that the Hay Creek watershed not only provides outdoor recreation areas, but also includes Exceptional Value waters, Class A trout streams and a designated Important Bird Area by the Audubon Society. It is part of the Hopewell Big Woods and the Schuylkill Highlands Conservation Landscape Initiative. It is also protected with a Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Forest Legacy conservation easement to safeguard the drinking water supply for the Borough of Birdsboro.

"Berks Nature values partnerships all around the region to help protect special places like this," she said. "We believe nature is essential to our quality of life. We help protect land and water resources, and we help connect people to nature."

Also offering remarks were Joseph Peterson, mayor of Birdsboro, and Sen. Judy Schwank.

In addition to in-kind donations and funding from local community members and businesses, the Hay Creek Pedestrian Bridge was funded by the grants from the Pennsylvania DCNR; Bureau of Recreation and Conservation; Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund; and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Commonwealth Financing Authority through the Greenways, Trails and Recreation Program.

Rustic Park is situated along Route 82 near the southern edge of Birdsboro. For GPS users, the address is 1314 Haycreek Road, Birdsboro.