Pennsylvania State Parks
December 2021 E-Blast
|
|
Happy ⛄ Holidays from PA State Parks!
We hope that you find the time to rest, reflect, celebrate the winter ❄ solstice, and get outdoors during this busy month.
Are you looking to schedule virtual field trips and programs for your students this ❄winter? PA State Park Educators offer free, virtual (and in-person) programming for schools. Check out this news segment featuring Presque Isle State Park's virtual field trip offerings. Want to connect with a PA State Park offering virtual programming? Reach out to Carissa Longo at calongo@pa.gov
E-Blast Contents:
-
Section 1: Embracing Winter & Teaching with Holiday⛄Themes
-
Section 2: Earn Act 48 hours - Upcoming In-Person Educator Professional Development Workshops
-
Section 3: Slow Down & Visit PA State Parks this Holiday Season
-
Section 4: Webinars, Conferences, Grants, & Competitions
-
Section 5: Explore the❄Outdoors!
-
Section 6: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI)
-
Section 7: PA State Parks Reducing Plastics & Waste
-
Capstone: PA State Park Updates
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Celebrate the Winter ❄ Solstice and find some time to relax 🧘♂️
|
|
Section 1:
Embracing Winter & Teaching with Holiday Themes
|
|
Teaching with Holiday Themes!
Embracing Winter & Celebrate the Winter Solstice!
Winter Solstice Videos
- Use powerful Climate Change speeches from Sir David Attenborough, Xiye Bastida (Mexican-Chilean Climate Activist), and Vinisha Umashankar (student, innovator, & entrepreneur from southern India) to engage your students in discussions on what can be done. These speeches are from the 2021 COP26 in Scotland.
|
|
Learn what ermines, beavers, Great Blue Herons, Black Bears, 🦊Red Foxes, Pine Grosbeaks, and other animals are up to in December. Discover the Geminid Meteor Shower and the Ursid Meteor Shower, and more!
|
|
|
Section 2:
Earn Act 48 hours - Upcoming In-Person Educator
Professional Development Workshops
|
|
Saturday, February 12 and Saturday, February 26, 8:00 am - 4:00 pm each day
In-person at Ohiopyle State Park, 124 Main St., Ohiopyle, PA 15470
Fee: IU Credit fee
Act 48: Participants will receive ONE IU CREDIT (30 Act 48 hours) for attending ($140.00 fee)
Get Outdoors Ohiopyle is an educational, interdisciplinary, winter-based program for grades 4-12. It encourages the study of the winter environment, both inside and outside of the classroom. Participants will gain information on how NASA studies our planet's climate and the cryosphere. Teachers will be given the tools and training to facilitate a comprehensive study of ⛄winter in their classroom. This includes investigating snowflakes , thin sectioning ice, viewing ice crystals under polarizing sheets, determining snow density and temperature in the snow pack, the albedo effect, and investigating winter through the use of thermochrons. Attendees will also participate in a winter❄ecology snowshoe hike and spend time using snowshoes during a history activity. The majority of the lessons will be hands on both in the classroom and outside.
Participants in this program will spend a great deal of time outside. Educators should be prepared for the out of doors. Information regarding weather preparedness will be sent to participants prior to the workshop. Participants will be required to complete a homework assignment, a pre/post test, and a plan for using the curriculum in their classrooms. Register NOW. Questions? Contact Barb Wallace, EES at bawallace@pa.gov or 724-329-0986.
|
|
Section 3:
Slow Down & Visit PA State Parks this Holiday Season
|
|
PA State Parks free/low-cost winter and holiday programming
Most programs require pre-registration. Masks are encouraged.
Below is a sampling of all of the December in-person, virtual, & self-guided PA State Park programs presented by our talented Environmental Educators around the state. Check out ALL programs for the month of December. Please share these December program options with your students and their families.
Donations are gladly accepted for all programs.
Northeastern PA
-
Nescopeck State Park (Luzerne County)
-
FREE! Christmas🎅Naturally, 12/7 - 12/11, times vary
- Craft holiday decorations.
-
Lackawanna State Park (Lackawanna County)
-
FREE! No Leaves? No Problem! Winter Tree ID! - Virtual, 3-part series on 12/8, 12/9, & 12/10, 7:00 pm each night
- Just because the leaves have fallen doesn't mean trees are unrecognizable, join the Park Educator online for a crash course on winter tree ID!
Southeastern PA
-
Delaware Canal State Park (Bucks County)
-
FREE! Natural Ornament Making 12/4, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
- Join a Park Educator to make natural Holiday ornaments using elements found in nature. Program will begin with an outdoor hunt for natural materials with additional materials provided.
-
Washington Crossing Historic Park (Bucks County)
-
FREE! VIRTUAL December Book Club, 12/20, 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm on Zoom
-
Join Museum Curator, Kimberly McCarty to discuss Surviving the Winters: Housing Washington’s Army During the American Revolution by Steven Elliott.
-
Nolde Forest EE Center (Berks County)
-
FREE! Gentle Solstice Hike🚶, 12/21, 10:00 am - 11:00 am
- Take a moment to celebrate and appreciate the shortest day of the year with a quiet 1-1.5-mile-long hike in the forest.
-
FREE! Winter Solstice Afternoon Hike🚶, 12/21, 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm
- Embrace the season with a long and contemplative hike through the winter forest. This is a moderately difficult ~3-5 mile hike with inclines & uneven terrain.
North Central PA
-
Black Moshannon State Park (Centre County)
-
FREE! Science Saturday-Snow and Ice, 12/11, 9:00 am - 11:00 am
- Winter weather ❄ is on the way! Make fake snow, see how animals are able to survive winter, fish for ice cubes, and see a snowstorm in a jar.
-
Sinnemahoning State Park (Cameron County)
-
FREE! Natural Ornament Making 12/4 & 12/18, 10:30 am - 12:00 pm Create beautiful homemade ornaments using local, natural materials. Materials and assistance provided.
South Central PA
-
Little Buffalo State Park (Perry County)
-
Light up Little Buffalo! It's back! Little Buffalo's lighted trail is brought to you by Little Buffalo State Park in conjunction with The Friends of Little Buffalo.
-
The full event will run from 12/17 through 12/20. During these 4 days, there will be Santa 🎅, hot dogs, & marshmallows. From 12/21 - 12/23, the event is holiday lights only (No Santa).
- Free! Donations gladly accepted.
-
FREE! Snowman⛄Scavenger Hunt, self-guided
- Frosty and friends took a hike along the park's Mill Race Trail and got separated! Each of the 8 snowmen☃ have a puzzle piece on their backs. Collect all the pieces and unite Frosty and his friends!
-
Greenwood Furnace State Park (Huntington County)
-
Holiday Open House, 12/5, 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
- FREE! Donations gladly accepted.
-
Greenwood Furnace State Park and the Friends of Greenwood Furnace, Whipple Dam, and Penn-Roosevelt State Parks welcome everyone to the annual Holiday Open House at the Visitor Center. Come to the festivities and take part in a variety of holiday traditions for all ages throughout the day. Make your own old-fashioned, natural holiday ornaments. Visit with a Victorian Santa Claus 🤶, & more.
-
FREE! Christmas Wreath Scavenger Hunt, self-guided
- There are 20 natural material wreaths scattered throughout the park. See if you can find them all!
-
Canoe Creek State Park (Blair County)
-
Holiday Traditions - Wreath Making, 12/4 (choose a session time to register (3 time options available), $12/participant. Our holiday traditions and symbols come from nature. Find out about this fascinating folklore & make a beautiful wreath made from natural materials to take home.
-
Kings Gap EE Center (Cumberland County)
-
FREE! Holiday Open House, 12/5, 12/12, & 12/19, 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm each day
-
Join the Friends of Kings Gap and enjoy this once-a-year opportunity to explore the Cameron-Masland Mansion, a gracious mountain stone villa built in 1908 as a summer home. Take a self-guided tour of both floors of the mansion adorned in seasonal décor.
-
Prince Gallitzin State Park (Cambria County)
-
FREE! Nature's Ornaments, 12/11 & 12/22, times vary
- Join park staff to create a variety of ornaments out of natural materials.
Northwestern PA
-
Presque Isle State Park (Erie County)
-
FREE! Presque Isle Lights (self-guided driving tour), 12/3 - 12/5, 12/9 - 12/12, 12/16 - 12/19, 12/23 - 12/26, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm each night. Donations requested. Presented by the Presque Isle Partnership
-
FREE! Virtual Animals of Presque Isle Lights on Zoom, 12/3, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
-
Jennings EE Center (Butler County)
-
FREE! Family Science Outside: Weather 🌨Wonders Week 3 - Sun & Seasons, starting on 12/14, 12/16, & 12/19, times vary.
-
Family Science Outside: Weather Wonders brings at-home learners and their grown-ups into the living lab of the great outdoors! During Week 3 Sun and the Seasons as we approach the winter solstice, learn to track the sun and the shifting seasonal change. These weekly choose-your-own adventure style experiences are a perfect escape from screens but are also a real-world supplement to school studies (aligned with many area school curricula, and state, and national standards).
Southwestern PA
-
Point State Park (Allegheny County)
-
FREE! Ugly Holiday Sweater Walk🚶, 12/26, 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
- Join park staff to work off those holiday calories with a walk around the park. Wear your best ugly holiday sweater and any other festive gear to keep warm 🧣 while we learn about how soldiers at Fort Pitt and Fort Duquesne celebrated holidays and what the soldiers had to do to prepare for winter.
|
|
Section 4:
Webinars, Conferences, Grants, & Competitions
|
|
~WEBINARS~
Friday, December 3, 4:30 pm - 5:15 pm Eastern time
Fee: Free!
Open to: 6th - 8th grade teachers & educators
This free webinar will introduce middle school teachers to the WaterViz: a new tool for teaching water 💦cycle science through data-driven art and music. The WaterViz tool allows all learners to engage with real scientific water cycle data uniquely represented in animated art, music, and scientific graphs. Specifically, water cycle data, collected in near-real time by scientists at The Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire, are represented visually through animated art and auditorily through instrumental sonification in WaterViz. The 4-lesson sequence is geared toward middle school learners, with specific consideration for students with visual impairments. We will guide teachers through the lesson plans, which adhere to Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards for Grades 6-8. Register NOW. You will need to create a free account to register.
Open to: 6th - 8th grade teachers in any public or private school within the US
1 continuing education unit (CEU) through Cornell University School of Continuing Education
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is are excited to share and train educators on their latest educational kit for FREE! Thanks to a generous donor, they are offering their eBird Explorers: Biodiversity Detectives kit and virtual workshops for 6th-8th grade classrooms. This kit uses birds 🐦and citizen science to help bring science to life and build connections to your local environment with a global perspective. This dynamic curriculum provides everything you need to teach confidently with eBird while exploring animal evolution and speciation, diversity, and adaptations.
Teacher commitment:
-
Complete the application by 12/8/2021 Apply NOW
- Complete the asynchronous 3-hour, online eBird Essentials course before 1/16/2022
- Complete ~2 hrs. asynchronous homework before 2/1/2022
Attend BOTH webinar sessions but chose from the following times:
-
Session 1 : 2/1/22 from 7:30-9:00 p.m. ET OR 2/3/22 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. ET
-
Session 2 : 2/8/22 from 7:30-9:00 p.m. ET OR 2/10/22 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. ET
- Complete an implementation plan before 2/18/2022
What you receive:
- Kit: eBird Explorers: Biodiversity Detectives kit ($89.95 value)
- Training: eBird course plus two webinars
- Ongoing support during implementation
Wednesday, December 15, 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm on Zoom
Fee: Free for PAEE members, $5 for non-members
Join B-WET Program Coordinator, Elise Trelegan to learn about the open priorities for B-WET 2022 and to hear some tips and tricks for writing effective proposals. This session will include Q&A for you to get all of your grant questions answered. Register NOW. Questions? Email Julie for more information. Provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Educators (PAEE).
NOAA’s Environmental Science Training Center is hosting a series of free virtual workshops for educators this winter.
Fee: Free!
- APPLYING EDUCATION RESEARCH
December 14, 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm EST
Explore current EE research & use it in program planning with school decision makers.
- MWEE FACILITATOR TRAINING
January 12 & 26, February 9 & 23, March 9, 2022, 9:00 am - 11:00 am EST
Best practices for effective MWEE professional development.
January 20, 2022, 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm EST
Conservation projects are designed using CC data, Indigenous knowledge, & community.
- EXTREME WEATHER AND RESILIENCE
March 3, 2022, 1:00 - 4:00 pm EST
Responses to extreme weather events can support better resilience.
- MWEE Practitioner Series 12/3, 12/7 & 1/14, 1/28, 2/11, & 3/9
Fridays, 1:00 - 2:00 pm EST
Join NOAA for facilitated conversations around each of the NAAEE Community Engagement Guidelines for Excellence, specifically in relation to how organizations can employ these in the context of MWEE programs. Attend the dates that you can.
~CONFERENCES~
March 21 - 22, 2022
Virtual on Zoom
Fee: $50 for members, $75 for non-members
Scholarships for Classroom Teachers & School Administrators Available!
Scholarships equal to the amount of the full conference registration rate and a 1 year membership to PAEE (up to $75) are available for 15 Pennsylvania practicing teachers and/or school administrators to attend the 2022 Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Educators Conference. Priority will be given to teachers or school administrators that serve Title I schools, marginalized communities, or otherwise work to grow DEI and environmental justice. The conference will take place on March 21-22. Complete the Google form by January 22, 2022 to apply. Scholarships for non-formal Educators are also available.
Questions? Contact PAEE Administrative Coordinator Stacey Widenhofer at stacey@paee.net.
~COMPETITIONS~
Pennsylvania public & private schools can now apply for national recognition as part of the Green Ribbon Schools program. Applications are now open (Nov 1-January 12). State finalists schools will be forwarded to the US Department of Education for consideration at the national level. Apply NOW
Schools will be considered for their efforts in advancing sustainability in three areas:
- Reduced environmental impact and costs,
- Improved health and wellness of schools, students and staff
- Effective environmental and sustainability education.
Important Dates
- Nomination Applications Open: November 1, 2021
- Nomination Application Submittal Deadline: January 12, 2022
- Nomination Submittal to U.S. DOE: February 18, 2022
- State and National Award Announcements: Spring 2022 (on or around Earth Day)
- State Awards Ceremony: Spring 2022
- National Recognition Ceremony: Tentatively scheduled for July 26, 2022
Questions? Contact Tamara E. Peffer, Environment & Ecology Content Advisor, PDE at TPeffer@pa.gov.
~GRANTS~
Nomination deadline: Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022
Grants: 3 of $2,000, 38 of $500 as well as Hillshire Farm SNACKED! products for a year (est. value $156)
Nominate a student in grades 4–6 who has the power to come up with an amazing idea that could create change in their neighborhood, school, the country, or even the world.
Grant Focus Areas:
-
Awareness: Youth are powerful educating others, sharing information, and teaching others to positively change behaviors.
-
Service: Youth are powerful volunteering, using creativity, time, and talent to directly meet community needs.
-
Advocacy: Youth are powerful advocating, speaking out, and joining others to influence policy makers to change policies and laws.
-
Philanthropy: Youth are powerful giving through collecting and donating financial and in-kind support.
|
|
2022 EE Grant Applications only accepted through December 10, 2021.
Grant Award Amounts
-
Mini Grants of $3,000 or less may be awarded for local (school, county, municipality, or other defined area) environmental education projects.
-
General Grants (Level I) - from $3,001 up to $20,000 may be awarded for implementation of large-scale, regional, or statewide environmental education projects.
-
General Grants (Level II) - from $20,001 to $85,000 may be awarded for non-formal environmental education programs designed to widely engage teachers & youth at the county, state, and national levels.
Eligible Applicants:
Schools, conservation districts, colleges and universities, incorporated nonprofit organizations, and PA businesses are invited to submit project applications.
DEP’s Environmental Education Grants Program identifies three Priorities:
- Climate Change
- Water
- Environmental Justice
|
|
|
|
Section 5:
Explore the Outdoors!
|
|
Building with LEGOs can be a fun way to learn more about Leave No Trace (LNT). Activities will challenge learners with prompts that help connect them with outdoor stewardship while playing indoors. Checkout the LEGO & LNT resource document.
With winter weather on our doorsteps you might be looking for indoor activities for your students. Consider working through the LNT Virtual Park National Park Tour. It's a great lesson plan that allows students to learn the seven principles while utilize technology and sparking their creativity.
|
|
Section 6:
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI)
- Learn more about DCNR's DEI efforts here -
|
|
NEW... DCNR's Next Gen Council!
The purpose of the DCNR Next Gen council is to increase public participation and diversity of perspectives to help to inform DCNR programs and operations and create lasting engagement with young people. DCNR is seeking to engage individuals in participation on a Council to help inform the agency’s work, advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and create lasting change and necessary conditions to ensure all Pennsylvanians feel welcome on public lands.
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources (DCNR) mission is to conserve and sustain Pennsylvania’s natural resources for present and future generations’ use and enjoyment.
DCNR is charged with:
• Maintaining and protecting 121 state parks
• Managing 2.2 million acres of state forest land
• Providing information on the state's ecological and geologic resources
• Establishing community conservation partnerships with grants and technical assistance to benefit rivers, trails, greenways, local parks and recreation, regional heritage parks, open space, and natural areas.
|
|
Section 7:
PA State Parks Sustainability Efforts
|
|
DCNR Working to Reduce Plastics & Waste at PA State Parks
The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) is taking steps to reduce the use of plastics and amount of waste generated from food concessions at Pennsylvania state parks. As contracts with food providers are renewed, new provisions now prevent the use of plastic bags, straws, and cutlery. These items are to be replaced with compostable, paper, wooden, or plant fiber alternatives.
“As the state’s conservation leader, DCNR strives to model practices that conserve and sustain our natural resources, and we are now extending that to the concessions that provide snacks at our state parks,” Dunn said. “This step will help to reduce the emissions generated through plastic production and eliminate the amount of plastic that ends up in landfills.
”New contract language also requires food providers to minimize the use of paper straws and disposable utensils, and when on-site composting is available at a state park to work with DCNR to convert as many of their food service products to compostable, paper-based forest product alternatives and compost them with food waste.
The new measures are currently in place at Beltzville, Frances Slocum, Keystone, Marsh Creek, Presque Isle, and Sizerville State Parks. As future contracts expire, they will be updated with the new requirements.
|
|
PA State Parks are YOURS! |
|
Book your virtual, in-person programs, and field experiences with PA State Park Education staff now! Find a PA State Park. Need help connecting to a PA State Park with an Educator on staff? Reach out to Carissa Longo at calongo@pa.gov.
DCNR facilities and Programs are OPEN with social distancing encouraged:
-
Many Environmental Education programs require pre-registration. Explore the DCNR events calendar for details and to register.
-
Plan your outing before you leave. Learn about facilities, download a park map, and review regulations here: Find park pages here
-
Take care of & respect the resource. Park, hike, hunt, Snowmobile, and ice fish🎣 only in designated areas. ⛄
- Check the weather before you depart, wear proper footwear, dress in layers, and bring water/warm beverages with you.
-
Wear orange if hiking in designated hunting areas.
- Carry a park map with you!
- Please do not litter 🚮.
- Alcohol is not allowed in PA State Parks.
-
Make a reservation at a PA State Park Campground, Camping Cottage, Cabin, or Yurt. Reservations can be made up to 11 months in advance.
You can help keep state parks safe for all by following these practices:
- Use the restroom before you leave your house 🏡
- Bring a bag and either carry out your trash or dispose of it properly
- Clean up after pets 🐕
You can help keep state parks safe for all by following these practices:
- Continue to practice social distancing (stay >6' apart)
- Take hand sanitizer with you and use it regularly
-
Avoid touching your face, eyes, and nose
- If you are sick or have been exposed to someone who is sick, stay home
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
