I used to have trouble answering that question.
According to the U.S. Postal service, I live in Glenside PA 19038, but Glenside doesn’t have a government, school system, or police department. Although it physically resembles a town, it is defined, in part, by a made-up number—a zip code established by the Postal Service for its own convenience. To further muddy the question, the Postal Service lumps other communities into the Glenside zip code, and what most people consider to be Glenside is split between two separate townships.
According to the tax collector, I live in Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pa., a seemingly arbitrary rectangle with pieces missing, like some second-hand geographic jigsaw puzzle. It has a school system, government, and police force, but is made up of disjointed, unincorporated communities, some of which straddle two artificially created townships.
According to the natural landscape, I live in the Tookany Creek Watershed—part of the greater Delaware River Watershed. Walking or driving around my neighborhood, I can see where hills and ridges define it. When it rains, I can follow the water down the slope of land to the neighborhood creek—the “downtown”of my watershed community. There’s nothing arbitrary or artificial about these natural features. They make sense in ways that zip codes and township line roads don’t.
It’s natural for people to identify with the place they live—from neighborhood to city, state, and country. The watery parallels are creeks, rivers, bays, and oceans. Where I live, Tookany Creek, Frankford Creek, Delaware River and Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean each have defined watersheds, along with attributes, sense of place, and memories with which I can identify. Just as communities face issues and challenges that demand attention, so do watersheds. These include stormwater runoff, degraded habitat, and illegal dumping, to name a few.
Now when anyone asks me where I live, I say “I’m a citizen of the Tookany Creek Watershed.” Sure, most people don’t know what I’m talking about, but it opens the door to discussion in a way I can inform about and advocate for the place I live.
David Bell
Capt. David Bell is a U.S. Merchant Marine Officer, a volunteer streamkeeper with the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership, and author of books on seamanship, navigation, and ecology, including Awesome Chesapeake and Chesapeake Bay Walk.
