FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 12, 2016
Penn Nursery wins 2016 Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Award
(Camp Hill, PA) – The Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation (PPFF) today recognized the outstanding stewardship of Pennsylvania’s state park and state forest systems by Penn Nursery, awarding them the 2016 Joseph Ibberson Government Award. This year’s award is sponsored by Dominion.
Named after William Penn, Penn Nursery and Wood Shop is located in the Seven Mountains Region of Central Pennsylvania. The Nursery first began in 1908 in a potato patch at the back of Forest Ranger W.F. McKinney’s residence. Today Penn Nursery has grown into a 330 acre facility with 20 acres of seedling bed space and includes a wood sign shop, laminated sign shop, and picnic table production.
Some of Penn Nursery 2015 highlights include:
• 1 to 1.5 million bare seedlings were produced for use on state forest lands, research projects, and other state lands
• Twenty nine different species of native conifers and hardwoods were offered
• 600 picnic tables were produced ,which will be used on state forest and park lands across Pennsylvania
• 4,329 signs and products were produced for the public to better use our state forests and parks
Penn Nursery was honored at PPFF’s 10th annual awards banquet on May 11, 2016 at the West Shore Country Club in Camp Hill, PA.
Other 2016 PPFF Award Winners:
Cliff Jones Keystone Legacy Award: Rob Wonderling
President’s Award: Greenwood Furnace State Park Complex
Park of the Year Award: Gifford Pinchot State Park
Forest of the Year Award: Tuscarora State Forest
Volunteerism-Improvement Award: The Ridge Runners of the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail
Volunteerism-Individual Award: Stephen Smetana
Volunteerism -Group Award: S.O.N.S. (Save Our Native Species) of Lake Erie, Presque Isle State Park
Volunteerism -Education Award: Pamela Karhan, Cherry Spring State Park
About the Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation
Founded in 1999, the Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation supports 120 state parks and 2.2 million acres of forest by coordinating volunteers, activities, and donations through its 40 chapters. The mission of the foundation is to inspire stewardship of Pennsylvania’s state parks and forests through public engagement in volunteerism, recreation, and conservation. paparksandforests.org @PaPFF
Joseph Ibberson Government Award: Penn Nursery
Sponsor Dominion’s Don Houser, Fran Chadick, Jeff Kozar, PPFF President Marci Mowery, Jason Albright