Special Funding Initiatives
Every once in a while a special project or problem to be solved arises and PPFF members and friends are asked to mobilize in support of the cause. Much like a Kickstarter or GoFundMe campaign, these special funding initiatives are meant to be socially directed and quickly {successfully} concluded.
Sometimes the conclusion takes a little longer and if you can help them succeed or make them go classically viral, check out these worthy projects.
Protect Our Parks & Forests
Our 2017 report, The Legacy of Pennsylvania's State Parks & Forests: The Future is in Our Hands outlined a billion dollar need for maintenance across our state parks and forests. It's not just a nicety - it's a necessity. For our health, our economy, and our future
Michaux Wildfire Recovery
The end of April has brought dangerous wildfires to the Commonwealth once again. Burning as of this writing is a fire in excess of 1,000 acres in the Michaux State Forest. Thankfully, food and water has been offered to the firefighters and volunteers in abundance. What will be needed when all this is done is monetary assistance for remediation and reforestation. Any help you can give is much appreciated!
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid
When a "nasty bug" threatens the Pennsylvania state tree - especially at Cook Forest State Park, home of some of the Commonwealth's most amazing examples of the hemlock - then action has to be taken.
Trails & Recreation in Elk State Forest
A multi-year effort to rehab and improve the recreational amenities in Elk State Forest - including its iconic trails like the Fred Woods and Quehanna - is underway.
French Creek CCC Barracks
The staff at French Creek State Park has lovingly restored the CCC barracks of Camp SP-17. There's still lots of work to do in the camp, including creation of a CCC museum. Help make the dream come true and remember the CCC Boys in a special way.
All-Terrain Wheelchairs
Freedom of movement. Freedom. Movement. Access. Undeniably important!
McKeever Pollinator Garden
For decades, Mercer County's McKeever Environmental Center offered students of all ages an educational oasis. The Commonwealth has assumed ownership of the facility and restoration is beginning. An exciting early project is installation of a teaching pollinator meadow. Learn more, and help to bring this project literally to life with your donation.
Keep the Boulder Field Graffiti Free
A National Natural Landmark deserves more respect than to be a "canvas" for vandalism. Help support the effort to keep the iconic Hickory Run State Park boulder field free from graffiti.
Little Buffalo Projects
Playgrounds and Rail Cars and Launches, oh my! The accessible launch is done, the accessible playground just needs a BIT more assistance, the historic Sherman's Valley Railroad "way car" is just getting started. There's a place for your contribution here and the opportunity to make a big difference!
Ruffed Grouse Habitat in Bald Eagle State Forest
In recent years, foresters on Bald Eagle State Forest in Snyder, Union, Centre, Mifflin, and Clinton counties have been working to restore and improve approximately 800 acres of high-priority ruffed grouse habitat by planting pitch pine and scrub oak. Ruffed grouse is at risk of extinction from portions of its Pennsylvania range; populations have been in decline since the early 1980s. A donation to this special fund will help with habitat restoration.
Trees - and More Trees
You buy 'em; we'll plant em. Well, actually, you can help plant them too. Donate to the fund and sign up to be notified whenever a tree planting event is taking place. Can you dig it?
Habitat Restoration in the Michaux State Forest
For years, foresters on Michaux State Forest in Cumberland, Franklin, and Adams counties have struggled to deal with the mix of invasive plant species that have grown on-site at the former Michaux Camp, impacting both the critical cultural resources and wildlife habitat there. In recent years, staff and volunteers have begun implementing a multi-year landscape-level habitat enhancement and restoration project that will benefit wild turkey, ruffed grouse, woodcock, and other wildlife species by varying the age class, patch size, and tree and plant species variety in the state forest, as well as by treating the invasive plants with herbicides and prescribed burns. All told, an estimated 200 acres will be improved through this effort. The total budget for this project is $176,021, of which $139,751 has been raised so far from grants and state funding. Your financial help can close the final budget gap and help foresters on the Michaux improve forest quality not just for wildlife, but also for the hundreds of thousands of annual visitors to the state forest.
Outdoors For Everyone
Pennsylvania’s people are more diverse and their life experiences more urban than a decade ago. Simultaneously, we have an aging population. We must improve public access to the outdoors, provide better and more centralized recreation information, and encourage and accommodate outdoor users. Enter “The Outdoors for Everyone,” a program of removing barriers to participation in outdoor recreation. Always looking to ensure "a place and an experience for everyone in the outdoors."
Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail Fund
What began as a project to restore the chimneys and fireboxes of the 40 Adirondack-style shelters in the five overnight areas of the LHHT has become a focal point for improvements of all kinds to this iconic experience.
Camping Enhancements
For over a century, a staycation in a Pennsylvania state park campground or state forest campsite is what summer (and every season) has meant to millions of Pennsylvania families. You love them. You need them. Please help them! Choose the amenity (in whatever quantity) you would like to purchase, or make a gift to the project for $25, $50, or $100. Funds raised will be used first to address the most pressing needs across the park system.
Natural Play Areas
What is a natural playground? Simply stated, it’s an area where kids can play with natural elements such as dirt, water, wood, plants, and found objects like pinecones, acorns, feathers, and leaves. Your support can help create more of these designated spaces in our state parks.
Playgrounds For All
Remember that feeling of weightlessness as you flew through the air on a swing? The sensation of flying as you came down the slide, or the sense of accomplishment when you overcame your fear and made it to the top of the jungle gym? Outdated equipment is being replaced all across our parks system. Find out where - and support the cause!
Dunes Restoration at Presque Isle
Beach erosion is a major problem at Pennsylvania's "seashore." People would mourn the loss of their summer playground but the endangered piping plover would lose all of its critical habitat. With your support, we can fend this off.
Support Our Work
Whether directed to a unique project like these, a specific park or forest, a hardworking Chapter friends group, or to the Foundation itself your support makes a significant difference in our state parks and forests.
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Find Some Friends
Does your favorite park or forest have a group of volunteers working to make it the best it can be? Find out and get involved.
Our Work
Volunteers are the lifeblood of any nonprofit. Whether you’re a trailbuilder, a wildlife expert, an event organizer, or one of those special people who always say, “Just put me to work wherever you need me,” Pennsylvania’s state parks and forests have a role for you.
Find your niche. Make your voice heard with decision makers. Pitch in with a friends group. Work on your own or with your family, friends, and co-workers as a Steward of Penn’s Woods. Support any of the programs and initiatives we promote. You will be welcome as a volunteer. And it’s as good for you as it is for your state parks and forests!
Friends Groups
Your special affinity for a specific park or forest means that a PPFF chapter friends group is the perfect outlet for your creative energy. Friends are people like you who volunteer their time, services and support to our state parks and forests. Chapters form for a variety of reasons but all understand the value of their state park or forest and share a common goal to make that park or forest the best in the commonwealth.