Race for the Watershed: Duck Derby & 5K
Race for the Watershed Duck Derby & 5K
Saturday, June 13, 2026
8am-2pm
Help support healthy waterways in our community! Held in partnership with Concord Township, this event is a fundraiser to help raise money for watershed protection projects at Newlin Grist Mill. The day starts with 5K trail run, with a free beer for all runners over 21! Stick around for the rubber duck races in the Chester creek, a car show, kids games and activities, music, food, and exhibitors! Emcee’d by John McBride and featuring live music from 12-2 by the Rock Slyde band.
Schedule of Events
8:00am: 5K registration
8:40am: Pre-race warm up by Yoga Six of Glen Mills
9:00am: 5K trail run begins. Free beer for runners over 21 from Succession Fermentory
10:00am-2:00pm:
Car show with People’s Choice award
Kids Activities
Exhibitors
Duck Races with $1,000 grand prize
Live Music with the Rock Slyde Band from 12-2pm
Vendors
The Munch Box
Middle Brother Coffee Roasters
Succession Fermentory
Mr. Softee
Register for the 5K trail run here. Online duck sales are now closed, but don’t worry! You can still get ducks in person at the event.
Exhibitors
Bird Town of Chester Heights
Brandywine Zoo
Celebree School
Darlington Arts Center
Del. Co. Health Dept.
Del. Co. Conservation District
Mathnasium
Master Watershed Stewards
Rachel Kohl Library
Ridley Creek State Park
S2Stem
The Learning Experience Glen Mills
Tri-State Bird Rescue
Velocity Fitness
Wild Birds Unlimited
YogaSix Glen Mills
Sponsors
Opendaker Trash and Recycling
AEI
Agilent Technologies
Brinker Simpson
Concordville Subaru
Encompass Health
Team Toyota of Glen Mills
The Learning Experience
Propell Credit Union
Sun East Foundation
United Tire of Concordville
Visit Delco, PA
Encompass Health
Wild Birds Unlimited
Zizza Highway Services
Interested in sponsoring this event? Please contact Brenda Orso at borso@newlingristmill.org.
Why It Matters
The Chester Creek, which runs through Newlin Grist Mill, is listed as impaired by the Pennsylvania DEP. When water quality is low, it has a detrimental impact on human health and safety, as well as the plants and animals that rely on our waterways. We monitor our stretch of the creek very closely by tracking pollutants, water temperature, and other factors that could impact the rich biodiversity of our streams.
We have documented over a dozen species of freshwater fish in the stream, as well as turtles, aquatic insects, freshwater mussels, and the trout that we stock for our fly fishing program. Many other species depend upon healthy waterways, including herons, wood ducks, muskrats, mink, beaver, and other mammals.
The landscape around the creek, known as a watershed, has significant impacts on water quality. Pollutants like road salt, lawn fertilizer, and soil erosion from construction all end up in the creek and harms aquatic life.
Communities can improve water quality through projects like riparian buffer restoration, storm water runoff management, and erosion reduction.