Dear Pam:

I hope that you are staying safe during these unseasonably warm days. If you are outside, please be diligent about staying hydrated.

PPFF team members are heading to the National Association of State Park Foundations Conference on Sunday. We are looking forward to learning new ideas and gathering information to share with you at the Chapter Retreat in November!

Yours in the Outdoors,

Marci J. Mowery, President

TRAINING 

In-Person Chapter Retreat

• • Reminder: the retreat will be a one-day meeting at Greenwood Furnace State Park on Saturday, November 4th.
  • An additional half day session on Friday, November 3rd will cover the current (and future anticipated) hayride policy for those chapters who may be interested in learning more. We will be joined by Mr. Walt Remmert, Director, who oversees the bureau in the Department of Agriculture that implements the hayride program. We encourage you to invite your park or forest manager to this event if you are offering or wish to offer hayrides.
  • You may make arrangements on your own for available lodging in the area (as shown on the event page), including in the park campground.
  • A separate email will contain the proposed agenda. We would appreciate your taking a moment to register your attendance. We'd love to have all chapters represented by one or more attendees!

Chainsaw Training

• • The two-day basics course at Tuscarora State Park on October 14th and 15th is now FULL. A wait list is available.

Walk With Ease

• • If you are interested in learning how to lead walks for those with arthritis, PPFF will reimburse the cost of participating in the Walk With Ease Training.
  • Walk With Ease is an evidence-based program that has been proven to help people with arthritis or other related conditions reduce pain, increase balance, strength and walking pace, and improve overall health. As a Walk With Ease Program Leader, you’ll help arthritis pain suffers build confidence in their ability to be physically active, and show them how they can make physical activity part of their everyday lives. You’ll learn the relationship between arthritis, exercise, and pain; develop and implement a personal walking plan with realistic goals; and get tips, strategies, and resources for maintaining a long-term exercise routine. Participants receive an Arthritis Foundation certification, a leader's manual filled with exercise illustrations, health education information, and a 6-week walking plan.
  • If you are interested, reach out to Marci at mmowery@paparksandforests.org. In order to qualify for the PPFF reimbursement, you must agree to host a minimum of two Walk With Ease programs at your park or forest, have permission from your park or forest, and successfully pass the course (which requires a CPR certification).

Wilderness First Aid

• • Our colleagues at Keystone Trails Association are offering a course at Camp Hebron in Halifax on September 23 and 24.  As a Chapter Leader, you are eligible to register for the volunteer price. PPFF will cover 50% of the cost upon successful completion of the course. Obviously you will need to act quickly to take part!
  • We are working on scheduling another Wilderness First Aid course, this time this fall in the greater Carlisle area. If you are interested, please let us know (include best days of week and time of day).

KNOW

River Missal has joined PPFF as an AmeriCorps Member focused on trail maintenance and training. River will be organizing training programs, can assist you with a volunteer trail day, and will be looking at building volunteerism for trails without friends groups. Reach out to River at rmissal@paparksandforests.org.

KNOW TOO

Don't forget to add your September 23 to October 1 event to the Healthy Lands Week website. Use the event submission page and get some additional promotion for your activities!

Just a reminder that you don't have to schedule something special, maybe there's something you're already doing that could use an expanded audience. Don’t miss out on this free way to build your programs and to be a part of a growing movement! Register your event by September 18^th and we will send you some goodies to use as door prizes!

SHARE

This is for internal sharing.

Several groups have reported scammers posting to their Facebook page or events page. These scammers set up a link for people to register for your event (even free events) and claim that they are the safe place to register.

Scammers exist, but watching your Facebook page and removing any false posts is one way to reduce a scammer's success. Screenshot the post first, before deleting, in case someone does fall prey to the scammer. You can also report to Facebook, although they are slow on the uptake on addressing.

You can also consider turning off the comments opportunity on your Facebook event. This will prevent people from asking questions, but could prevent a scammer from posting.

Never send confidential information via Facebook Messenger. According to experts, Messenger is a risky way of communicating.

We will discuss other ways to be safe during our Chapter Retreat. If you have experienced a scam, please let us know so that we can gather data to determine how to reduce these attacks.

SHARE TOO

The first PPFF Virtual Book Club was a success! Please consider sharing the graphic through your social media about the September Book Club. The Club is listed on our Events calendar at https://paparksandforests.org/event/ppff-virtual-book-club-2023-09-27/. (The date at the end of the URL changes with each monthly event.)