Thank you for coming out to Cafe Fresco last evening, all you Coconut Breeze Martini lovers. Um hmmmm, they were yummy! And sincere thanks to Jen and the whole crew at CF for making us so welcome. We'll try the same happy hour fundraiser thing on October 12 at The Tattered Flag Brewery and Still Works in Middletown. Details will be posted on our calendar of events as we progress.

And by the way if you haven't been sure this week whether you're coming or going, did you know it's Palindrome Week? Yes, from 7/11/17 through 7/19/17 the dates read the same forward and backward. Neat-o, right?

Thank you also to Bryan Matthew for sharing this week's masthead shot from a hike on the Fred Woods Trail of Elk State Forest to the Hiking & Backpacking PA Book of Faces. It's only a five-mile trail but DRAMA!

Pam Metzger
Membership Coordinator

News of note

I suppose if they worked at it, they could find a way to make a martini out of switchgrass since they make them from just about everything else. If someone gets the recipe right, then there's a wonderful source of switchgrass and other interesting things at Ernst Conservation Seeds in Meadville, featured recently in the PA Environment Digest. I had the pleasure of meeting Calvin Ernst many years ago through the development of the Ernst Trail, a five-mile rail-trail constructed on some property owned by the family. Charming, visionary man and family!

Thanks to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy for donation of another 30 acres in the Laurel Creek watershed - this time to Laurel Ridge State Park (the home of the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail where, you know, we are raising money to restore the shelters)!

Some of the best news I've read in quite a while came courtesy of the Prince Gallitzin State Park Book of Faces where they reported 435 bats at their July 7 bat count. The two bat counts in 2017 have apparently been the highest in years following the devastation of white nose syndrome. A hopeful sign indeed!

Get your tickets now for the premiere showings of Cathedral: The Fight to Save the Ancient Hemlocks of Cook Forest, a beautiful new film about an ugly possibility by Wild Excellence Films. It will make its debut on Friday, July 28 and Saturday, July 29 at the Verna Leith Sawmill Theater in Cook Forest State Park. The trailer is lovely; the whole idea of the loss of all our hemlocks is just frightening.

Marci and I will be at Pymatuning and McConnells Mill State Parks next week. At Pymatuning, we'll do a quick and dirty graffiti removal project on the afternoon of the 19th then launch the new Friends of Pymatuning with a meeting and an evening volunteer project. Then on Thursday, we'll head a little south to McConnells Mill for a graffiti removal project at Cleland Rock. Should you happen to be in the neighborhood, we'd love to meet you and scrub a rock together.

At work and play in the parks and forests

Focus on education - if you have your copy of the Pennsylvania State Parks & State Forests Passport and want to take strides to earning your Deep Thoughts champion tag, here are some Environmental Education programs to set you on the right course. Don't have your Passport and have NO idea what I'm talking about? We can take care of that!

North

A learning weekend at Sinnemahoning State Park starts with a float and learn on Saturday and concludes with a bike and learn on Sunday. 

South

Learn the essential "ingredients" of a day pack at Prince Gallitzin State Park on Saturday and the joy of watercolor and wildlife at Blue Knob State Park on Sunday.

East

Learn how much fun it can be to volunteer with Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center and the hard-working trail crew from Keystone Trails Association on Saturday; on Sunday learn just why the Boulder Field at Hickory Run State Park is so amazing.

West

Learn what to include in an herbal first aid kit up at Presque Isle State Park on Saturday; learn how to start a fire with flint and steel at Ohiopyle on Sunday.

No matter what region of the commonwealth you want to visit, our website Events and the DCNR Calendar of Events are great sources for things to see and do. Bookmark them!

Picture of the week

Dr. Dennis shared this photo of sailboats at Moraine State Park. As Bill would say, "this is high summer indeed."

Take five for trivia

You all managed to discover through last week's trivia question that Caledonia State Park is full of hidden gems and unique features - from a golf course to the Totem Pole Playhouse to the operating blacksmith shop to the Underground Railroad to a swimming pool to the Pennsylvania Forest Heritage Discovery Center to a performance by the Blue Ridge Thunder Cloggers it's clear you should be down there on Route 30 for a visit!

The hemlock woolly adelgid is but one of several insects impacting our state parks and forests. Name at least one other invasive insect and one way that you can prevent the spread of invasive pests.

Send in your answer and we'll enter your correct response into our monthly prize drawing. All correct answers each week will go into the hat and at the end of the month we'll draw one lucky winner. The more correct answers you submit in a month (up to four or the occasional five depending on the month), the more chances you'll have to win.

July is National Picnic Month.

Pennsylvania Parks & Forests Foundation (PPFF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization - contributions to which are tax deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law. The official registration and financial information of PPFF may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling, toll-free within Pennsylvania, to 800.732.0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.

Pennsylvania Parks & Forests Foundation is a proud member of EarthShare and is a Gold GuideStar Participant.