Nurturing Nature: Preserving Ecosystems through the Lancaster Conservancy

Nurturing Nature: Preserving Ecosystems through the Lancaster Conservancy

Apr 26, 2024 | Community Involvement

Being part of the communities we serve goes well beyond delivering safe, reliable electricity. Through PPL Foundation grants, we support local programs focused on environmental stewardship and education, economic development and/or workforce development.

The Lancaster Conservancy in southcentral Pennsylvania recently received a grant from the PPL Foundation. The Conservancy is using this funding to remove invasive plant species from two nature preserves of the 10,000 acres it has protected in its over-50-year history.

The Conservancy protects and tends to 50 preserves in Lancaster and York Counties. With 25 full-time employees, the Conservancy turns to hundreds of community volunteers every year who log thousands of hours of service.

“We couldn’t do this work without them,” said Vice President for Engagement and Education Keith Williams. “We have very few ecosystems that are not impacted by invasive plants. Because they’re not native to our land, they don’t have the typical population controls that keep their numbers in check.”

This, Williams says, leads to a lack of diversity in the ecosystem, which in turn impacts the plants and wildlife that depend on natural resources.

The grant from the PPL Foundation is helping the Conservancy pay for materials to remove invasive species within the Shenks Ferry and Kellys Run preserves. So far this year, our funding has aided in the removal of 3,600 gallons of garlic mustard, a prominent pest across the northeastern United States.

“We started this project three years ago,” Williams said of the garlic removal. “We compare this area to some that we haven’t gotten to yet, and the diversity of the native wildflowers is so much greater on these treated lands.”

Invasive species within the Conservancy include more than just garlic mustard. The team is planning to also remove larger intruders like multiflora rose, bush honeysuckle and autumn olive. With the help of passionate volunteer conservationists like Brad Gorter, the team hopes to preserve the land’s natural beauty and all that comes with it.

“The Conservancy was looking for volunteers and we realized that we could give back to the organization that provided such wonderful outdoor spaces for us to enjoy,” Gorter said.

“Performing this work isn’t just important, it’s vital to the long-term health and sustainability of the places we work and live.”

The Conservancy has expanded and flourished for 54 years, and it believes that these efforts can help it – and our natural lands and wildlife – thrive well into the future.

“Humans depend on the diversity we’re protecting,” Williams said. “Each organism within these 10,000 acres provides an ecosystem function, and we benefit from the services that are provided. These native species deserve to be here as much as we do, and the work that we’re doing ensures that these species will continue to thrive into future generations.”

Empowering a Community of Conservation at the Wildlife Leadership Academy

Empowering a Community of Conservation at the Wildlife Leadership Academy

Mar 3, 2024 | Community Involvement

Being part of the communities we serve goes beyond delivering safe, reliable electricity. Through PPL Foundation Empowering Communities Grants, we support local programs focused on environmental stewardship and education, economic development and/or workforce development. 

The Wildlife Leadership Academy in Lock Haven recently received a grant from the PPL Foundation. The academy’s using this funding for its programming, allowing students to have more printed materials and hands-on learning opportunities in its field schools. 

Now in its 18th year, the academy hosts five different field schools during the summer. It has held 57 field schools and graduated over 1,000 alumni across Pennsylvania and 13 other states. 

“We aim to engage and empower high school-aged youth to become conservation ambassadors,” said Sara Mueller, Executive Director of the Wildlife Leadership Academy. “Once they’ve engaged with us for a week, they go back into their communities and do outreach, service projects, creative arts projects, engaging with the media – really having an impact.” 

The academy welcomes 100 new students every year, developing conservation and leadership skills through hands-on teaching. The students are broken into teams and led by a peer mentor who took the course the previous summer. 

“The a-ha moment is the most rewarding piece for me,” Mueller said. “Students come to us with an idea of what conservation and leadership are, and we really engage them over the course of the week. We don’t just watch the student change, but we then watch how they change their communities.” 

The students say that the 40+ hours they spend at the academy is a transformative experience. 

“The experience has allowed me opportunities and I have been impacted in many ways,” said Sarah Klecanda, a former student. “It’s important that we teach others to protect our natural world; education will help us toward our goal of conservation.” 

As the academy gears up for another wave of students, it’s beginning a new program that will use fly fishing as the hook for interested conservationists. Mueller hopes this program, called the Stepping Stones Program, serves as a stepping stone toward a future of possibilities for the academy. 

“We can take that recreational aspect and apply it to several other outlets like bird watching and canoeing,” she said. “We’re also looking to expand the opportunities that we already have for our alumni. So many people learn by doing, so we give them the book knowledge and the opportunity to apply that knowledge in the field. We’re creating conservationists, but we’re also creating leaders.”