The South Mountain Partnership engages in many activities throughout the year.
What’s been constant in our 8-year history is that the South Mountain Partnership’s ‘Power’ to positively impact the South Mountain landscape has always resided in the energy of our partners," said coordinator Jon Peterson.
(PRWEB) January 27, 2015
The Franklin County Visitors Bureau values the work of the South Mountain Partnership and invites the public to engage in the work of the Partnership. An excellent way to discover and engage is by attending the South Mountain Partnership’s 2014 “Power of the Partnership” Celebration. It will be held on the morning of Friday, January 30th in Reisner Hall at Shippensburg University; informal networking and breakfast will start at 7:30 am and the formal program will run from 8:30 am to 10:30 am.
The annual “Power of the Partnership” Celebration is the Partnership’s largest gathering of the year, pulling together partners, elected officials, community members, and the general public to celebrate the collaborative spirit of the Partnership’s work. More than 120 attendees are anticipated, including DCNR Acting Secretary Cindy Dunn (remarks invited).
“What’s been constant in our 8-year history is that the South Mountain Partnership’s ‘Power’ to positively impact the South Mountain landscape has always resided in the energy of our partners,” stated Jonathan Peterson, Environmental Planner at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and Lead of the South Mountain Partnership. “This event is about recognizing the investments of our partners and continuing to build engagement and momentum to achieve even bigger goals in 2015.”
The Celebration will highlight many of the Partnership’s accomplishments of the past year, and introduce activities and projects that are emerging for the upcoming year. Recipients of the Partnership’s most recent Mini-Grant round will be recognized, with 6 projects receiving funding to complete projects over the course of 2015.
Additionally, the Celebration will spotlight three highly successful projects completed by partners in the last year: the creation of a youth program built around leadership, education, and farming; a trout habitat enhancement project on the Conococheague Creek in Michaux State Forest; and the opening of a new museum at the Monterey Pass Civil War battleground in Franklin County.
“These three projects speak to the essence of the South Mountain Partnership,” said Peterson. “They have forged new, collaborative connections across the landscape and have focused on deepening our communities’ connection to the place in which we live. We are thrilled to be able to share these success stories.”
Finally, a Spirit of South Mountain award will be presented during the program to recognize an organization or project that has best reflected the Partnership’s mission to collaboratively conserve all which makes the South Mountain landscape unique and special.
For more information and to register for the event, please visit http://www.appalachiantrail.org/events.
The South Mountain Partnership is a public-private partnership led by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and has grown into a coalition of citizens, businesses, non-profits, and government agencies and officials. Together, these partners collaborate in conserving the South Mountain landscape to enrich the quality of life and sustain the sense of place of the region’s citizens and communities.
The South Mountain landscape covers portions of Adams, Cumberland, Franklin, and York counties; the South Mountain ridgeline, the northern terminus of the Blue Ridge Mountains, lies at the heart of the landscape, but equally important is the surrounding valleys. Communities in the 400,000-acre region have thrived off fertile limestone agricultural lands, the timber that fed iron furnaces, plentiful game and wildlife, and abundant pure spring water that is captured by the mountains’ permeable soils and released into the valley. Additional information is available at [http://www.southmountainpartnership.org.
The Franklin County Visitors Bureau invites all to explore Franklin County PA and enjoy the history, arts and entertainment, recreation and natural beauty, and the fresh foods and warm hospitality of charming communities like Chambersburg, Greencastle, Mercersburg, Shippensburg, and Waynesboro. Franklin County PA is located just north of the Mason Dixon Line and is an easy drive to Washington DC, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. Discover more....plan your visit at ExploreFranklinCountyPA.com or by contacting 866.646.8060.