National Get Outdoors Day |
Warren, Pa. – The Allegheny Outdoor Club is pleased to announce that it will take part in its first National Get Outdoors Day (NGOD) on Saturday, June 14 at Chapman State Park with a varied program designed to encourage people of all ages to enjoy the outdoors.
This recreational event is sponsored nationally by the USDA Forest Service and the American Recreational Coalition. The National Outdoors Web Site features the event. There is now a working NGOD website home page and a page of participating organizations and their locations. Here in Warren County, in the heart of The Pennsylvania Wilds, the AOC and several partners have scheduled a number of hands-on classes and activities with an emphasis on reaching outdoor first-timers, families and children.
The events, all free and open to the public, will take place on the swimming beach side of the park, with the classes and crafts events taking place in Pavilions 1 and 3 and in Tent 1. Participants may choose from three subjects at each scheduled time..
• Take a photo and lecture tour of Pennsylvania’s hiking trails with local hiking guidebook author John L. Young. Young will take his audience from the Sidewalk Trail on Presque Isle to the Wissahickon Gorge in Downtown Philadelphia. Tent 1
• Local hikers and Emergency Medical Technicians Ron and Sharon Johnson will share information on treating basic emergencies in the wilderness. Participants will learn how to assemble a light weight, go anywhere first aid kit. Pavilion 1
• April Moore of the Allegheny National Forest will present “What’s in the Water?” As you’ll find out, it’s more than just hydrogen and oxygen. P3 11 a.m. Hike the Penny Run Trail with John Young. Meet at the trailhead near Parking Lot # 1.
• Bill Massa will teach his audience “How to Read a Topo Map.” With a topo map, a GPS and a little practice you can plot your own hike. Tent 1
• Don Watts has been fledging and banding the American kestrel since 1985. He’s part of the Warren County Nestbox Trail. Watts will present a slide show on one of North America’s most colorful and interesting birds. Pavilion 1
• ANF personnel will present “Leave No Trace,” which means what you take in with you on your hike, you bring back out. How to do this, and why it’s important will be explained. Pavilion 3
Hike the Lowlands Trail with AOC member Rick McDaniel. Meet at the amphitheater.
• AOC member Gene Cornelius has backpacked the Colorado Rockies a number of times. On one trip he took along a llama to carry his gear. But in the end he still had to set up his tent by himself. He will be demonstrating the best way to do this. Tent 1
• Debby Hornburg of the Warren County Conservation District will discuss the West Nile Virus. Pavilion 1
• Local GPS expert Wes Ramsey will explain the GPS and discuss geocaching, the fastest growing outdoor activity in our region. Pavilion 3
• Warren resident Mary Putnam will present “The Night Sky.” Even though we have been looking at the night sky, literally, every night Mary will point out a few things we may have missed.Tent 1
• Members of the North American Mountain Bikers Association will give a demonstration and talk about the sport and the custom-built bicycles they use. Pavilion 1
• Jean Gomory will give a lecture and demonstration on “Enviroscape.” Pavilion 3
Canoe and kayak rides and lessons, provided by Allegheny Outfitters/Indian Waters, will begin at 10 a.m. at the swimming beach and continue throughout the day.
Warren County’s first-ever outdoor gear sale and swap will begin at 10 a.m. in Parking Lot # 4 and continue all day. We expect to see all kind of outdoor equipment—from leftover skis to sleeping bags to boats to snowmobiles to campers to whatever. AOC members will be selling their used gear in Pavilion # 4. Dealers welcome. (Firearms and weapons of any kind are prohibited.)
You can save some time at the event by printing the Gear Seller's Form and filling it out listing all the gear you will bring to sell. Bring it with you to the gear sale and swap.
The AOC will host a Food & Drinks table at Pavilion # 2 where visitors can purchase a light breakfast, lunch and snack items, and a vegetarian option.
AOC member Dennis Anderson will start things off with “Kim’s Nature Game,” a way of teaching children to remember what they have seen: Environmental Classroom The following classes will be taught by Chapman State Park Naturalist Melinda Kokus.
Bird Watching Primer: Environmental Classroom.
Nature Crafts: Environmental Classroom
Wildflower Walk: Amphitheater
Woodland Treasure Hunt: Amphitheater
4 p.m. Warren County’s very own singer/songwriter Rich Geer and his newly formed group “Folkheart” will be singing at the campfire on the swimming beach. Be sure to bring lawn chairs or blankets, and of course, marshmallows.
For more information contact John Young at (814) 757-8158 or john.young@madbbs.com