Earth Day festivities

LAKE WALLENPAUPACK, PA — Celebrate Earth Day at the new Wallenpaupack Environmental Learning Center open house on Saturday, April 26 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The center is located on Route 6 next to the Wallenpaupack High School. The festival and all educational activities are for children and adults and are free of charge.

For more information visit the PPL website at pplprojectearth.com and click on “Environmental Preserves” or call Lacawac Sanctuary at 570/689-9494. Also visit www.pikewayneearthday.org.

Saturday events:

11:00 a.m. — “Birds of Prey” with live animals from the Delaware Valley Raptor Center.

12:00 noon — “A Salute to John Denver” by Rich Pawling and Not Forgotten.

1:00 p.m. — “Lenape Lifeways,” a presentation/slide show on the Lenape Indians by John Kraft.

2:00 p.m. — Pocono Wildlife Rehabilitation Center program with live animal helpers.

3:00 p.m. — “A Salute to John Denver” by Rich Pawling and Not Forgotten, repeat performance.

Ongoing programs throughout the day:

• Groundwater Flow Model demonstration by the Pike County Conservation District.
• Enviroscape Watershed Model demonstration by the Penn State Cooperative Extension Service.
• Readings from the Christopher Otter series by John Crerand.
• Best Management Practices slide show by the Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management District.
• Eagles of the Delaware River slide show by the Eagle Institute.
• Water Quality testing and microscope viewing with the Wallenpaupack Area High School students.
• Animal tracks and fish prints with the WAHS Environmental Club.

Presentations during the week:

Monday, April 21 at 7:00 p.m. — “Tying Trout Flies,” Wayne Pike Chapter Trout Unlimited.

Tuesday, April 22 at 7:00 p.m. — “Pennsylvania Black Bears,” Mark Ternent, PA Game Commission.

Wednesday, April 23 at 7:00 p.m. — “Gifford Pinchot and the History of Conservation,” Lori McKean, Grey Towers.

Thursday, April 24 at 7:00 p.m. — “History of the Wallenpaupack,” D.J. Roberts, Wallenpaupack Historical Society.

PPL unveils Environmental Learning Center

HAWLEY, PA — With a snip of the scissors on the morning of April 11, the green ribbon across the front door of PPL’s Wallenpaupack Environmental Learning Center fell away and the new 12,000-square-foot facility was officially open for business.

More than 100 local community leaders joined PPL to celebrate the unveiling of the building, which features a 160-seat auditorium, a science lab, numerous nature exhibits, an environmental library and a cut glass collection, in addition to offices for the Wallenpaupack Historical Society, Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management District and PPL’s lake superintendent and staff.

“This learning center will give thousands of students and tourists a chance to understand nature better,” said Jim Seif, vice president for PPL Corporate Services. “At Lake Wallenpaupack we will do more than simply teach students about water monitoring. They will go out on the lake, take samples to analyze the health of the lake and examine these samples in the new science lab.” Seif said this kind of hands-on learning will make the $1.7 million facility a popular destination for both students and outdoor enthusiasts.

Through its PPL Project Earth ™ program, the company also will hold environmental workshops and seminars for teachers in the center, he said. Project Earth is the company’s effort to promote environmental education and focus its resources on generating and delivering energy in an environmentally responsible manner.

Tens of thousands of people visit the nearby 5,700-acre lake year-round. It was created by PPL in 1926 and provides waterpower for the company’s Wallenpaupack hydroelectric plant.

Grey Towers to open

MILFORD, PA — Grey Towers National Historic Landmark will open earlier than usual this spring and offer house tours on weekends beginning April 26 and 27 at 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. in conjunction with Milford’s Pear Blossom Festival.

Weekend tours will continue at 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. until May 24, Memorial Day weekend, when Grey Towers will resume its regular tour schedule of seven days a week from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., every hour on the hour.

For a copy of the 2003 Calendar of Events or for more information, call 570/296-9630, or visit pinchot.org/gt.

Pike County for forest legacy area

BLOOMING GROVE, PA — The Delaware Highlands Conservancy in cooperation with the Pike County Conservation District is working on a proposal to have Pike County designated a Forest Legacy Area. A public meeting concerning the proposal is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Monday, April 21 at the Pike County Conservation District.

Once Pike County is designated, forestland owners can apply to place a conservation easement on their lands which prevents future development in a manner similar to the Wayne County’s Ag Land Preservation Program.

Landowners, who would be compensated for giving up their development rights, must also agree to follow a forest management plan which outlines how the forest land can best be managed for timber production, wildlife and watershed management.

For more information call the Delaware Highlands Conservancy at 570/226-3164, or email dhc@ezaccess.net. Or call the Pike Conservation District at 570/226-8220.