APRIL 2022 CPC E-NEWSLETTER
A Time of Transition and Celebration!
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CPC Welcomes a New Executive Director! |
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Central Pennsylvania Conservancy is very pleased to announce the appointment of Jason Andrew Beale as the organization’s next executive director. As Anna Yelk retires after 10 years of service, CPC is fortunate to welcome another dynamic professional with a promising combination of experience, skills, and passion to achieve CPC’s goals over the short and long term. He will start on May 2, 2022.
Jason is a lifelong conservationist with a passion for connecting people to the natural world. He has a strong interest in improving habitat connectivity and protecting conservation corridors, especially ridges and waterways. As an advocate of scalable conservation, Jason seeks to highlight CPC’s stewardship work to inspire landowners to improve habitat in their own yards, farms, and forests. By strengthening natural and human communities through conservation, he will continue to advance CPC's mission throughout our service area.
Active professionally in conservation for twenty years, Jason has worked in both rural and urban settings, managed nature preserves and interpretive centers, led land acquisition and habitat stewardship projects, and directed animal care and wildlife education programs. Most recently, since 2014, he worked as a program director at the Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center at Penn State University, during the center’s $7.5 million expansion, including designing and developing an accredited native wildlife zoo and a conservation interpretation program.
We welcome Jason back to south-central Pennsylvania, where he already has a base of family and friends, and we’re confident in a seamless transition in leadership! We hope that CPC members, partners, and supporters alike will soon have an opportunity to meet him in person. To reach out and say hello, Jason can be reached at jbeale@centralpaconservancy.org. |
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Join us on June 12th for a New Event!
Spring Garden Gallery:
A Celebration of the Arts and Conservation
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Expect delicious local catering, lively conversation and connection, wonderful tunes from Old-Time bluegrass band, Charm City Junction, and gorgeous paintings of the Letort Spring Garden Preserve. Paintings will be sold in a gallery setting under a tent, and proceeds will benefit the conservation mission of CPC. For a registration fee of $35, you can enjoy all of these delights as we celebrate the start of summer together. We hope to see you there! |
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Letort Stewardship Updates |
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Volunteers install a new 'Restoration in Progress' sign at the Preserve. |
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Brush hauling! It's a tough job but it has to get done! |
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As the delights of spring continue to unfold, dedicated community members continue the important work of supporting conservation through stewardship at our flagship property, the Letort Spring Garden Preserve. We are incredibly proud of and grateful for the time and efforts our volunteers share to ensure the well-being of such a special place.
Last month saw us splitting black locust rails from downed trees on the property, cutting, staging, and burning brush, preparing seed beds and seeding, creating snags for wildlife, implemented prescribed fire on the former watercress beds to support regeneration, used new power tools in conjunction with community partners, and of course, enjoyed the beauty and tranquility of the Letort.
With Earth day having occurred on the 22nd, CPC invited community members to volunteer over the course of three separate weekends leading up to the holiday. There's always something to do at the Letort, and our earth care extravaganza participants found themselves taking part in myriad activities, including planting native trees and herbaceous species (including American persimmon/Diospyros virginiana, hazelnut/Corylus americana, and Jacob's Ladder/Polemonium reptans), spreading custom mixes of native wildflower seed (check out the incredible species list here!), helping prepare seedbeds, setting woody debris for habitat, burning piles of brush, clearing invasive bushes, picking up litter, placing new 'restoration in progress' signs, witnessing historic archaeology in action, and of course, we also enjoying tasty barbecue-style lunches together to rejuvenate ourselves and enjoy each other's company after working hard.
As fellow community members who acknowledge and understand the responsibility of caring for our lands, together, there's always opportunities for you, your family, and friends to join us for stewardship activities.
If social media isn't your thing, that's okay too! You can still sign up to volunteer with us at our website at this link.
Should you have ideas about how you'd like to get involved that aren't listed, we'd love to hear them! We couldn't do it without you and with your support, look forward to making our lands better for all.
P.S. Our beloved barn is getting a fresh coat of paint the first two weeks of June, complete with a surprise trim color.
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Virginia Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum) about to settle into its new home, streamside at the Letort Spring Garden Preserve. |
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2022 Ironmaster's Challenge 50k & 15 k |
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The 2022 Ironmaster's Challenge will be held on Sunday, September 25, 2022. CPC extends a big thank you to F&M Trust, PA American Water, Mid Penn Bank, Select Medical, West Shore Family Dentistry, and Sun Motor Cars for renewing their sponsorship again this year!
We look forward to offering the traditional trail routes for both 50k and 15k distances as well as our festive finishline picnic. All participants receive an event tshirt, aid station snacks and services, lunch, and 2 free beverages (beer/water/ice tea).
We hope you'll join us for a fulfilling fall adventure that supports conservation efforts in the south-central PA region!
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