UpstreamPgh

📅 Timeline Tuesday

Then: Ten years ago, UpstreamPgh (formerly the Nine Mile Run Watershed Association) hosted the Nine Mile Run Bike Tour & Block Party, an adventurous and educational celebration of the watershed that featured a guided bike tour of local sustainable projects and a block party filled with food, activities, and music for the whole community! 🎉

Why it mattered: This event, which ran three years in a row, successfully introduced community members to key sustainable projects in the watershed, while celebrating Nine Mile Run with live music, good food, and fun! As UpstreamPgh celebrates its 25th anniversary, we strive to continue hosting community events like these for years to come. 🩵

Now: Interested in biking through Nine Mile Run? Join UpstreamPgh and for Choose Your Own Adventure Day on Saturday, October 17 from 9:30AM–2PM in Nine Mile Run’s Duck Hollow! 🚲

💧 State of the Stream Hike Recap

On Saturday, UpstreamPgh and Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory teamed up to lead an educational hike along Nine Mile Run!🚶‍♀️

Thank you to our wonderful hikers and guest speakers, including graduate student researchers Jason Aguirre and Grace Mattson who showed us how to survey rhe stream for macroinvertebrates as well as Ethan McGarvey of Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) for discussing the restoration of Nine Mile Run following the replacement of the Commercial Street Bridge! 💙

Thank you also to Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory Engagement Programs Manager Megan Lange and UpstreamPgh Community Engagement Manager Erica Jackson for leading this hike as well as UpstreamPgh Ecosystems Program Coordinator Keith Moore who joined us in Duck Hollow! 🪿

➡️ Swipe to see highlights from this educational community hike and check out our website for more information on our upcoming events!

   

📅 Timeline Tuesday

Then: On August 17, 2006—just over 20 years ago to the day—UpstreamPgh (formerly the Nine Mile Run Watershed Association) hosted a public celebration at the banks of the Nine Mile Run stream in Frick Park to recognize the early completion of the $7.7 million restoration of the watershed. This event featured speeches from U.S. Representative Mike Doyle and Colonel Stephen Hill, as well as a tour of the restoration area. 💙

Why it mattered: This restoration was completed on a 2.2-mile stretch of Nine Mile Run, mostly in lower Frick Park, and involved evening out the stream’s water flow, planting native trees, shrubs, and flowers as well as capturing and treating runoff from a 200-million-ton slag dump at the mouth of Nine Mile Run. Thanks to these efforts, pollution problems in the watershed were alleviated and once-dormant fish species began to thrive in the stream. 🐟

Now: Interested in learning more about the next phase of the Nine Mile Run Watershed’s restoration? Visit our website or scan the QR code to explore the interactive ArcGIS StoryMap of Ripple: An Environmental Justice Plan for NMR that will guide UpstreamPgh’s work for the next 25 years to come! 💧

🎶 Turn It Upstream Musical Festival Recap

On Friday, June 26, UpstreamPgh hosted the inaugural Turn It Upstream Music Festival to celebrate our 25th anniversary. This was the biggest fundraiser event we’ve ever hosted, raising over $80,000 for future
water conservation efforts in Nine Mile Run 🎉

There are so many people we have to thank for the success of this sold-out event, including our staff, volunteers, vendors, talent, sponsors, and each and every one of YOU! Whether you shared this event with a friend, bought a ticket, donated, bid at our silent auction table, bought merch, or just had a grand ‘ol time, we could not be more grateful for your support 💙

Here’s to 25 more years of environmental stewardship and clean water advocacy in the Nine Mile Run Watershed and beyond💧

Photos by Carina

🎨 Love Your Watershed Pizza Party Recap

Last week, UpstreamPgh celebrated the release of two roadmaps for a healthier future in the Nine Mile Run Watershed, Ripple and Restore Fern Hollow, with a pizza party featuring an incredible community art project led by Wilkinsburg artist Darya Kharabi! 🎉

Over 50 attendees from the watershed learned about plans to address inequities and stormwater challenges in their neighborhoods and how, together, we can help shape the future! 💧

➡️ Swipe to see highlights from this artistic and educational community celebration and check out our website for more information on our upcoming events!

   

🎶 Festival Friday: Festival Lookbook

Excited for the festival but unsure what to wear? Look no further! Swipe to take a peek at our lookbook and get ideas. But remember: the best outfit is the one you’re comfortable in! We cant wait to see what you all bring to the party!

Which style fits you best?

🌼 Boho Chic - flowy, flirty, free
🎤 Indie Revivalist - retro, rock-n-roll, rebellious
🤠 Western Glam - denim, deserts, dramatic
✨️ Eclectic Maximalist - bold, brazen, brassy
💚 Raver - mesh, metalics, mischievous
💧 Utilitarian - functional, flexible, fieldwear

Unsure if something is a allowed? Follow common sense and all applicable laws and rules (and we will too)...and maybe leave the heels at home. Unless you regularly hike and dance in heels...then bring the heels!

Still need tickets? Swipe to scan the QR code or head to the link in our bio!

🎶 Turn It Upstream Talent/Vendor Lineup

We are officially 5 weeks away from the inaugural Turn It Upstream Music Festival! Swipe to discover the host, talent, food, trucks, breweries, vendors, and sponsors of this community event to remember! 🎉

Host 🎤



Music 🎵

v.illmusic




Food Trucks 🔥




Breweries 🍻




Artisans & Goods 🎨
e.b.pottery


it





Community Orgs 🗨

Environmental Justice Table (EJT)













Sponsors 💙

Cronin Enterprises




Epic Metals
pitt




Maher Duessel
The Rubinoff Company

GVD Financial

Blender


🌱 To explore what all of these talent and vendors have to offer, swipe to scan the QR code or visit the link in our bio to secure your tickets today!

🌧 Rain Garden Walking Tour Recap

On Saturday, UpstreamPgh's Ecosystems Program Coordinator Keith Moore, Plan/Build Director Aaron Birdy, and Development Director Ryan Ferrebee led a Rain Garden Walking Tour in partnership with 🌱

We visited four past projects in the Nine Mile Run Watershed that combined manage over 10 million gallons of stormwater annually and learned how this infrastructure promotes climate justice! 💧

➡️ Swipe to see highlights from this educational walk and check out our website for more information on our upcoming events!

   

💧2026 Spring Stream Sweep Recap

On Saturday, over 30 volunteers joined UpstreamPgh's Ecosystems Program Coordinator Keith Moore, Plan/Build Director Aaron Birdy, and Community Engagement Manager Erica Jackson as we cleaned up Nine Mile Run ♻️

Despite the rainy weather, we managed to collect just over 200 pounds of trash! 🎉

Thank you so much to our volunteers as well as for assisting with clean-up 💙

➡️ Swipe to see photos of our incredible volunteers in action and check out our website for more information on our upcoming volunteer workdays!