Think Outside with the Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation

“Get outdoors. Get off your iPad and get outdoors because it's way more fun and it's good for your brain.”Our host, Marci Mowery, chats with Lutricia Eberly, the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Recreation Association (PORA), the trade group representing the state's ski resorts, outfitters, zip lines, and adventure providers.Lutricia grew up on a tree farm in the woods, though neither of her degrees (computer science, then theology) pointed toward outdoor recreation. Almost by accident, she turned a seasonal job at Roundtop Mountain Resort into a career. It wasn't until she moved to Girl Scouts that she recognized outdoor recreation as an industry.PORA began in 1978 as a ski association and rebranded in 2024 to represent the whole sector. Its advocacy work centers less on trails than on the unglamorous machinery behind them. These include utility costs (snowmaking is expensive!), minor-employment law, and safety training run jointly with the state's lift inspectors.The association's most visible project is the Pennsylvania Outdoor Adventure Pass, a $69 digital pass for fourth and fifth graders that unlocks discounts at more than 50 providers statewide. Ski slopes, zoos, caves, and river outfitters are among them. These kids are old enough for real independence, but young enough that parents are still along for the ride.Lutricia's case is that, more than a discount card, the pass is a counter against five-plus daily hours of screen time. It’s a low-stakes way for kids to try something unfamiliar and build confidence, and, eventually, a pipeline into outdoor careers kids don't yet know exist!Key Topics:What PORA Actually Does (3:52)The Outdoor Adventure Pass, Explained (8:31)What the Pass Unlocks for Families (15:16)Showcasing Careers in Outdoor Recreation (18:05)Screens, Loneliness, and the Case for Getting Outside (22:43)Resources:Pennsylvania Outdoor Recreation Association: https://paoutdoors.org/Pennsylvania Outdoor Adventure Pass: https://paoutdooradventure.com/@PaOutdoorPass on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PaOutdoorPassPORA on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pennsylvania-outdoor-recreation-association/🎧 Listen to the Think Outside Podcast on Spotify, Apple, or your favorite app while on the go! New episodes drop bi-weekly on Mondays, and you may occasionally find a bonus episode, as well!The Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation inspires stewardship of YOUR state parks and forests through volunteerism, education, recreation, and philanthropy.Learn more, find events, download outdoor resources, and get involved!👉 Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter🎥 Watch outdoor tips and stories on our YouTube channel📸 Follow the podcast on Instagram🎶 Podcast music provided by Evan Mongeau📱 Follow PPFF on:FacebookInstagramLinkedInYouTubeMeetUp

“We don't want anyone to ever feel like they're on an island. We don't feel like we are!”Our host, Marci Mowery, sits down with Kate Gundersen-Thorpe, manager of French Creek State Park, and Kim Keller, manager of Marsh Creek State Park, to discuss the third annual Women in the Big Woods retreat and the winding paths that led them both into park management.Neither planned on a conservation career. Kate discovered it through a college internship after growing up camping in New Jersey, where state parks are scarce, while Kim abandoned a research-science track after hating her first lab job and found her footing at a regional DCNR office instead.Kate and Kim offer a candid look at what it means to work as women in a still male-dominated field. Both describe deliberately mentoring newcomers, defending each other's reputations, and building an informal support network that they wish they'd had starting out.Along the way, they give a little tour of both parks. French Creek's CCC-built cabins, 40 miles of trail, and new glamping sites; Marsh Creek's freshly dedicated, ADA-accessible visitor center, replacing a converted residence after 52 years, plus its horse-boarding concessionaire.They round out the conversation by discussing practical notes on Sunday hunting rules, as well as the Bark Ranger leash program.Key Topics:About Women in the Big Woods (07:47)Touring French Creek: CCC History, Trails, and Glamping (11:07)Marsh Creek: From Drinking-Water Reservoir to a New Visitor Center (17:24)Mentorship in a Male-Dominated Field (23:17)Start Small: Gear Swaps and Backyard Camping (27:55)Bark Rangers and the BARK Principles (29:36)Navigating Hunting Season on Two Different Parks (31:12)From Intern to Manager: The DCNR Career Ladder (35:09)Tree Complaints and Feral Raccoons (42:13)Resources:French Creek State Park: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/recreation/where-to-go/state-parks/find-a-park/french-creek-state-parkMarsh Creek State Park: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/recreation/where-to-go/state-parks/find-a-park/marsh-creek-state-parkFacebook French Creek State Park: https://www.facebook.com/frenchcreekSP/Facebook Marsh Creek State Park: https://www.facebook.com/MarshCreekStatePark/Timberline Glamping: https://www.timberlineglamping.com/🎧 Listen to the Think Outside Podcast on Spotify, Apple, or your favorite app while on the go! New episodes drop bi-weekly on Mondays, and you may occasionally find a bonus episode, as well!The Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation inspires stewardship of YOUR state parks and forests through volunteerism, education, recreation, and philanthropy.Learn more, find events, download outdoor resources, and get involved!👉 Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter🎥 Watch outdoor tips and stories on our YouTube channel📸 Follow the podcast on Instagram🎶 Podcast music provided by Evan Mongeau📱 Follow PPFF on:FacebookInstagramLinkedInYouTubeMeetUp

"Learning about stewardship and choosing to turn your passion into action is something you can do anywhere and everywhere."Our host Marci Mowery welcomes Amy Hill to explore how Pennsylvanians can “Turn Your Passion Into Action” during Pennsylvania Healthy Lands Week, with this year’s spotlight on Bedford County. They share how the initiative connects volunteers, families, students, and outdoor enthusiasts with hands-on stewardship of the state’s cultural and natural resources—across state parks, forests, historic sites, and community spaces.In Buchanan State Forest, volunteers help preserve the legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps, including an African American CCC camp from the Great Depression. Marci and Amy discuss uncovering remnants of historic camp structures, restoring bridges and stonework, and supporting climate resiliency. These efforts safeguard today’s forest experience while honoring the work that built much of the outdoor infrastructure people enjoy now.Marci and Amy also highlight projects at Shawnee State Park and other Bedford County locations, where invasive plant removal, trail improvements, scrap metal cleanups, and family-friendly “micro-litter” projects at pavilions all add up to healthier ecosystems. Woody invasive plants will be upcycled into fish habitat structures for park lakes, improving aquatic environments rather than heading to a landfill.Running from September 26 (National Public Lands Day) through October 4—during Bedford County’s fall foliage festival—Healthy Lands Week invites participants to sign up at pahealthylandsweek.org, volunteer one day, then hike, bike, paddle, or explore covered bridges and local farm-to-table food the next. And while the spotlight is on Bedford County this year, Marci and Amy emphasize that stewardship can start in any Pennsylvania community, all year long.Key Topics:What Is Pennsylvania Healthy Lands Week? (Bedford County Spotlight) (00:00:38)“Turn Your Passion into Action” – Personal Meaning and Stewardship Mindset (00:02:21)How Visitor Use Impacts Trails and Natural Areas (00:03:28)CCC Camp History, Hands-On Preservation (00:04:42)Climate Resiliency Projects: Testing Southern Tree Species and Preparing Forests for Hotter Summers (00:06:36)Stewardship Projects: Vegetation Management, Bridge/Trail/Infrastructure Restoration (00:07:53)Shawnee State Park: Invasive Removal and Upcycling Woody Invasives Into Fish Habitat Devices (00:10:04)Wet-Trail Fixes, Scrap Metal Removal, And “Micro Litter” Pavilion Cleanup (00:12:22)Family-Friendly, Student, And Corporate Volunteer Opportunities in Bedford County (00:15:49)Event Details: Dates, How to Participate, And Bedford County as A Fall Recreation Destination (00:16:41)Resources:Pa Healthy Lands Week: PaHealthyLandsWeek.orgHealthy Lands Week Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HealthyLandsWeek/Healthy Lands Week Instagram: @HealthyLandsWeek🎧 Listen to the Think Outside Podcast on Spotify, Apple, or your favorite app while on the go! New episodes drop bi-weekly on Mondays, and you may occasionally find a bonus episode, as well!The Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation inspires stewardship of YOUR state parks and forests through volunteerism, education, recreation, and philanthropy.Learn more, find events, download outdoor resources, and get involved!👉 Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter🎥 Watch outdoor tips and stories on our YouTube channel📸 Follow the podcast on Instagram🎶 Podcast music provided by Evan Mongeau📱 Follow PPFF on:FacebookInstagramLinkedInYouTubeMeetUp

“It's a forgiving river, but you have to respect it.”Brook Lenker, president of the Susquehanna River Trail Association, traces the origins of Pennsylvania's first formal water trail. Celebrating its 25th anniversary in recent years, the trail encompasses the 52-mile middle section of the Susquehanna between Sunbury and Harrisburg.The idea began with a single canoe trip in the early 1990s that turned a casual acquaintance with the river into a lifelong passion. What followed was years of coalition-building. The middle section's success helped seed a statewide network that today shares in Pennsylvania's more than 83,000 miles of waterways, the second most in the nation.What sets this stretch apart is its geography. It has roughly 500 islands, five consecutive water gaps cutting through the ridge-and-valley mountains (rare enough to earn National Natural Landmark status) and river towns like Millersburg and Harrisburg that have embraced the water rather than turned away from it.Twenty-three designated, numbered campsites along the 52 miles, measured from the river's mouth at Havre de Grace, Maryland, invite paddlers into primitive, forested camping within sight of the State Capitol dome.A dedicated corps of volunteer stewards, working alongside the Bureau of Forestry, keeps the sites usable, all while encountering otters, beaver dams, and at least one paddler who signed every logbook "Squid Billy."Key Topics:A River Rat's Canoe Trip: How the Idea Was Born (02:30)Island Camping 101: Signs, Logbooks, and Mile Markers (08:42)Know Before You Go: Dams and River Hazards (14:01)Primitive Camping and a River That Changes (17:46)Volunteer Island Stewards and Trail Upkeep (21:54)River Encounters: Otters, Beavers, and "Squid Billy" (25:18)Dauphin Narrows: Lady Liberty and a National Natural Landmark (27:14)Resources:Susquehanna River Trail Association: https://www.susquehannarivertrail.org/Facebook, Susquehanna River Trail Association: https://www.facebook.com/SusquehannaRiverTrailAssociation/Weiser State Forest: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/recreation/where-to-go/state-forests/find-a-forest/weiserCaptain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail: https://www.nps.gov/cajo/index.htmCanoe Camping Fact Sheet: https://paparksandforests.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/canoe-camping.pdf🎧 Listen to the Think Outside Podcast on Spotify, Apple, or your favorite app while on the go! New episodes drop bi-weekly on Mondays, and you may occasionally find a bonus episode, as well!The Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation inspires stewardship of YOUR state parks and forests through volunteerism, education, recreation, and philanthropy.Learn more, find events, download outdoor resources, and get involved!👉 Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter🎥 Watch outdoor tips and stories on our YouTube channel📸 Follow the podcast on Instagram🎶 Podcast music provided by Evan Mongeau📱 Follow PPFF on:FacebookInstagramLinkedInYouTubeMeetUp

“I live in a place where people come on vacation, and my family reminds me of that pretty frequently.”Our host, Marci Mowery, chats with Jim McCorkle who manages Shawnee State Park in Bedford County, a role he's held for five years within a 19-year park management career.Speaking from the park's Historical and Interpretive Center, he describes a place built around its 450-acre lake, kept free of gas motors so paddlers, anglers, and swimmers share the water peacefully. Trails range from the paved, stroller-friendly Lake Shore Trail to Field Trail's unexpected Allegheny Plateau overlook, to a quieter, hillier loop along Forbes, Pigeon Hills, and Tiday trails that most visitors skip.Overnight options span camping cottages, an island lodge once part of the Bowman family's Water Brooks Dairy Farm, and 201 campsites, including "Great Gathering" sites for larger groups and new "buddy sites" arriving alongside a rebuilt yurt for the 2027 season.Historically, Forbes Road once passed through the property, the Shawnee people moved seasonally through the area, and longtime educator Ron Barlik spent 51 seasons amassing a Native American artifact collection now being recatalogued. The park, dammed and dedicated in 1951, marks its 75th anniversary this year with a 75K challenge and an October 17th celebration.Volunteers, coordinated through the Friends of Shawnee and Blue Knob State Parks, sustain much of this through trail work, cleanups, and events like Art in the Park.What Jim hopes visitors take away is that even a place built for tourists can be a backyard worth discovering!Key Topics:What to Expect at Shawnee (01:28)Campsites, Great Gathering Sites, and New Buddy Sites (04:49)Bedford County and the Surrounding Laurel Highlands (10:57)Celebrating 75 Years of Shawnee State Park (15:10)Family Activities (18:26)Overlooked Trails and Quiet Contemplation Spots (19:32)The Friends of Shawnee and Blue Knob State Parks (26:31)Healthy Lands Week and Closing Thoughts (29:44)Resources:Shawnee State Park: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/recreation/where-to-go/state-parks/find-a-park/shawnee-state-parkShawnee State Park Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShawneeSP/Friends of Shawnee and Blue Knob State Parks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendsofshawneeblueknob/Friends of Shawnee and Blue Knob State Parks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FriendsOfShawneeDiscover Bedford County: https://discoverbedfordcounty.com/Bedford County Development Association: https://www.facebook.com/GrowingBedfordCounty/Shawnee Boat Rental: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61566658509518Pa Healthy Lands Week: https://pahealthylandsweek.org/Pa Healthy Lands Week Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healthylandsweek/🎧 Listen to the Think Outside Podcast on Spotify, Apple, or your favorite app while on the go! New episodes drop bi-weekly on Mondays, and you may occasionally find a bonus episode, as well!The Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation inspires stewardship of YOUR state parks and forests through volunteerism, education, recreation, and philanthropy.Learn more, find events, download outdoor resources, and get involved!👉 Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter🎥 Watch outdoor tips and stories on our YouTube channel📸 Follow the podcast on Instagram🎶 Podcast music provided by Evan Mongeau📱 Follow PPFF on:FacebookInstagramLinkedInYouTubeMeetUp