By Stephanie Sherman
Now more than ever, we need nature. Hiking and exploring the forest are some of the lowest risk activities during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is great because your local nature center would love to see you! Lack of students and public visitors during the shutdown has hit many outdoor education and science centers hard, even “potentially catastrophic” as quoted by a survey of 995 organizations done by University of California, Berkley. How can you help? Visit and support! We love sharing nature so here the late summer highlights for getting outside!
Lacawac Sanctuary in Lake Ariel will be hosting “Preserving the Harvest” on August 15th at 10am, demonstrating techniques on freezing, canning, drying and fermenting your extra summer produce. On September 2nd at 6pm they will also be running a “Full Moon Paddle” on Lake Lacawac. See their website lacawac.org for more!
Promised Land State Park ramps up their August/September offerings with daily events throughout August ranging from archery to animal explorations. Highlights include Family Fishing on August 13th and 27th, Archery on August 11th and September 4th, and ends with a free Veteran’s Appreciation Day on Sunday September 6th. Register or learn more from Alison at atews@pa.gov.
Pocono Environmental Education Center (PEEC) in Dingmans Ferry August offerings Nature at Night on the 29th, Waterfall Tour on the 30th, and a book your own “Staycation” for a week throughout the summer. September, stay tuned for Orienteering (9/13), Pond Paddles (9/19), and Intro to Tent Camping (9/20). PEEC also has a weekend getaway for all bird-lovers during our Fall Flights: Birds and Brews, September 25-27. Call for more at 570-828-2319
Environmental Education centers across the country have missed out on serving at least 4 million learners during our shutdown periods. If you’d like to learn more about the impacts of these beloved centers and the current effect COVID-19 has had on this field, you can read more at https://www.lawrencehallofscience.org/sites/default/files/EE_A_Field_at_Risk_Policy_Brief.pdf.
Stephanie Sherman, Director of Education at Pocono Environmental Education Center
Stephanie has spent the past 15 years of her life dedicated to enriching others’ lives through teaching in nature. Growing up near the Lehigh Valley, Stephanie started her career teaching summer camps and has since continued career serving Northeastern Pennsylvania for outdoor recreation and hands-on learning. In her off time, she enjoys reading a good fantasy novel on the banks of the Delaware River.