News of Note.
The photo contest was once again this year a hard-fought battle (and I don't just mean mine to try and make it work on the website instead of Facebook)! I'm almost inclined to think that we need a category next year for night sky photographs because they figured prominently in people's selections - and waterfalls and sunsets were not as popular as they normally are. Still, I think the winning photographs provide a wonderful cross-section of the beauty (and fun) of our state parks and forests - check out the People's Choice winners (like Best in Show winner Kyle Yates and his masthead photograph from Cook Forest State Park) and Critics' Choice selections on our Facebook page. We'll bring them out on the road in full living color in the spring and, of course, do it all again next September. Take your winter shots now!
A terrific event is coming up on October 11, our first plein air afternoon. Artists are invited to paint in the outdoors at a unique venue - the Hammonds Rocks site where the Graffiti Busters have been working so hard to remove years of accumulated vandalism. It's a real celebration of the GB efforts and the transformation of the concept of art at Hammonds Rocks. So whether you are an artist yourself or would just like to come and watch them at work (and enjoy the restored beauty of some of the rock surfaces), mark your calendar for this lovely autumn Tuesday afternoon.
The plein air afternoon is part of the education outreach we're undertaking as a part of the anti-graffiti campaign since we recognize that unless and until everyone understands all of the negative impacts of graffiti it will likely continue to be a problem. So stay tuned for information on a poster and video contest we're inviting students to enter in the weeks ahead.
And it's that time again - time to start thinking about the volunteers you believe are deserving of recognition at our annual spring awards banquet. Submit your nominations before mid-December.
A few years ago we were treated to a tour of a photography exhibit at the State Museum of Pennsylvania on the lumber industry in northern Pennsylvania in the late 19th and early 20th century. The photos in question were prints from glass plate negatives taken by an unknown New York photographer named William Clarke. The discovery of the glass plates is interesting; the photographs are stunning - and have been compiled in a new book called Wood Hicks and Bark Peelers, available now from Penn State University Press.
Congratulations to Pennsylvania environmental pioneer (and PPFF Keystone Legacy Award winner) Franklin Kury on the designation of the tip of Packers Island at Shikellamy State Park as "Kury Point!" It's an honor well deserved.