Women Making Waves: PEEC Creates River Trip Program for Young Philadelphia Females

June 24th, 2010

Lehman Township, PA – This past week, 11 young women from the Philadelphia area spent time at the Pocono Environmental Education Center (PEEC) to prepare for their upcoming Delaware River trip. Women on the Water (WOW) is a program created by PEEC and funded by a grant from the National Park Foundation (NPF) in which the participants will learn about and deepen their experiences with the natural world.

July 10th through the 16th, 2010, the girls will head to the river guided by Kittatinny Canoes. They will spend 4 days rafting, canoeing, kayaking, and camping along the Delaware. Throughout the trip, the girls will be blogging about their adventures on the water. You can meet the participants and learn about their recent trip to PEEC, as well as follow their adventure at http://womenonthewater.blogspot.com.

PEEC’s mission is to enhance environmental awareness, knowledge and appreciation through hands-on experience in a natural outdoor classroom. It provides unique year-round environmental experiences to families, school groups, scouts and nature enthusiasts of all ages. PEEC is located near mile marker 8, within the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, in Dingmans Ferry, PA (Lehman Township). For more information call (570) 828-2319 or visit PEEC on the web at www.peec.org. PEEC is close to home, where learning comes naturally!

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Innovative Conservation Program Teaches Urban Youth About Restoring Native Habitats

April 8th, 2010

WASHINGTON, DC (April, 19th 2010) – Area youth from the East Stroudsburg, Middle Smithfield and Bushkill areas will be planting a garden of native plant species in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (DWGNRA) on April 24th, 2010 as part of the National Park Foundation’s First Bloom program and as a part of the Pocono Environmental Education Center’s (PEEC) Earth Day Celebration that day.

First Bloom gives students firsthand experience in national parks, and teaches them about native and invasive plant species. “The young people that have been part of First Bloom at our park have learned and grown tremendously,” said Molly Check, PEEC’s Naturalist and Public Program Manager. Heidi C. Normand, PEEC’s Associate Director of Education stated “The park and our center have really valued their enthusiasm and their hard work as we have designed and planned this native garden, which will restore this area of land to its natural beauty and give the thousands of visitors that come to PEEC each year a chance to learn about native plants and wetland ecology.”

“One of the most important things anyone can do for the environment is to connect young people to parks,” said Neil Mulholland, president and CEO of the National Park Foundation. “Kids, who are forging connections with the national parks today, are likely to have lasting relationships with the parks and the outdoors for their whole lives.”

First Bloom connects kids between 4th and 6th grades to national parks and natural environments. The nationwide program is currently taking place in 26 national parks in partnership with 31 youth groups across the country. Most First Bloom kids meet with park rangers monthly over one program year, approximately September 2009 to June 2010 to engage in outdoor, hands-on activities and learn to love the outdoors and their national parks. PEEC’s program is different in that their First Bloom participants meet with PEEC’s environmental educators and partake in 2 overnight program experiences at PEEC’s 38 acre residential environmental education center located in the park. Toward the end of the program, youth involved plant a native landscape at a national park. That landscape is a lasting connection for those youth, a transferable experience, and a feature that all future visitors to the park will enjoy. In addition, the PEEC / DWGNRA First Bloomers are also helping to start the planting of an “outdoor” wetland ecology “natural” classroom adjacent to their garden. This parcel of land was designed to manage storm water runoff from pavement on the PEEC Campus. Basic Pennsylvania wetland plant species will be planted in the area and interpretive signage installed to help educate the public about native wetland ecology.

To learn more about the First Bloom program, visit www.first-bloom.org. First Bloom programs around the nation were generously supported by the UPS Foundation, ARAMARK Parks and Recreation, and gifts from private donors and foundations.

ABOUT DELAWARE WATER GAP NATIONAL RECREATION AREA
The recreation area encompasses 67,000 acres of mountain ridge, forest, and floodplain on both sides of the Delaware River in the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Among the more surprising species of animals in the park are black bear, timber rattlesnakes, bald eagles, and, recently, nesting peregrine falcons. Ecosystems include hemlock ravines with bountiful rhodendron and ridge tops with prickly pear cactus.

Forty miles of the Middle Delaware River are within the park, as well as trout streams, lakes, ponds, and some of the highest waterfalls of either state. Water quality is exceptional in this section of the valley. The river’s path through the mountains includes the S-curves of Walpack Bend and the Delaware Water Gap.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION
You are the part-owner of 84 million acres of the world’s most treasured landscapes, ecosystems, and historical sites — all protected in America’s nearly 400 national parks. Chartered by Congress, the National Park Foundation is the official charity of America’s national parks. We work hand in hand with the National Park Service to help connect you and all Americans to the parks, and to make sure that they are preserved for the generations who will follow. Join us – This is Your Land. www.nationalparks.org

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