If you're looking for a gift that will bring a smile to someone's face this holiday season and help conserve our natural resources, cleanup abandoned mine discharges, improve recreation facilities and restore wildlife habitat, here are a few suggestions. Or you could get someone another tie.

Pottery with a special glaze: In a continuing effort to help market abandoned mine treatment technologies, particularly iron and manganese removal, Jennings Environmental Education Center in Butler County and its partners have formed a pottery connection called Clean Creek Pottery to produce and sell pottery glazed with water pollutant minerals extracted from passive treatment systems. The money raised goes to maintenance accounts and new systems.

Donate to a Watershed Group Or Local Land Trust: Your local watershed group or land trust could use some help. Give a gift of volunteer time or a financial gift to help them cleanup your watershed or preserve local farmland, open space or habitat. Find a watershed group.  Find a land trust.

A Pennsylvania State Park Gift Card: This gift card can be made in any dollar amount and the recipient can use it for campsites, cabins and pavilions anywhere they are available in the 117-state park system. Parks are a great, economical overnight destination and offer the added bonus of watching wildlife and connecting with nature. To arrange for a gift card, visit the online Gift Card webpage.

The Wild Resource Conservation Nature Shop: The Wild Resource Conservation Fund directs resources to endangered and threatened plants and animals and educates children and adults on how to help recognize and preserve some of Pennsylvania's most sensitive flora and fauna. WRCF offers a license plate, clothing, books, patches, posters, videos and more with proceeds going to the fund. For more information, visit the Wild Resource Conservation Nature Shop.

Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation Living Gifts: PPFF is a non-profit organization that helps enhance Pennsylvania's parks and forests, protect natural resources, and support conservation and environmental programs. PPFF's Living Gifts program supports the planting of native plants, environmental education and the friends group volunteer organizations that help enhance and conserve state parks and forests. Visit the online donations webpage or contact PPFF at mmowery-ppff@pa.net for more information. Or, download the PPFF Living Gifts Guide.

A State Park calendar: Beautiful photography of Pennsylvania state parks, throughout the seasons, is captured in a calendar, with proceeds supporting the 117-state park system. It also provides the added value of tips and facts that make it easy for people to get outside and discover what the state parks have to offer. The calendar is $8.49, plus tax, and $1.95 for postage. It can be ordered by calling 1-888-PA-PARKS. Visit the State Parks Calendar webpage for more information.

Tree seedlings from Penn Nursery: The Bureau of Forestry manages a program of raising forest tree seedlings that landowners can purchase for watershed protection, wood products, soil erosion control, reclamation of areas affected by open pit mining, or wildlife food and cover. Different species are available, with a minimum order of 100 seedlings, some as low as $10 a bundle. Trees can be picked up or shipped in spring. Order forms are available on Penn Nursery Forest Tree Seedlings webpage.

Game Commission Outdoor Shop: TheGame Commission's online merchandise store includings educational and informational publications; award-winning wildlife videotapes; fine art prints; and collectible stamps and patches. Visit the Game Commission Outdoor Shop webpage.

Fallingwater Gifts: The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is responsible for administering one of the great architectural treasures in the United States--Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater home. This holiday you can share part of this treasure with gifts inspired by this unique home. Visit the Fallingwater holiday gift page.

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Pittsburgh's Environmental Leadership Days December 3

11/29/2008