Lauren Ferreri, of Newmanstown, captured the “Woman of Environmental Education” award sponsored by PennFuture, honoring Ferreri’s dedication to educating her community about sustainability and environmental policy.

Ferreri is the manager of the Game Commission’s Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Lancaster and Lebanon counties. Her duties include overseeing the Visitor’s Center and museum. She is also responsible for managing the controlled waterfowl hunts and the collection of biological data at the area.

Ferreri graduated with a degree in Conservation and Wildlife Management from Delaware Valley College in 2010. She started with the Game Commission as a Bio-Aide with the deer research/trapping team.

The following year she became the leader of that team, and then became a biologist in the Northcentral Region. In 2016, Lauren accepted her current position at Middle Creek.

Ferreri has had a big impact at Middle Creek in her short tenure, said Bruce Metz, director of the Game Commission’s Southeast Region. One of her early goals was to provide educational signage on the trails and the popular wildlife driving tour.

She designed signs focused on wildlife and the habitat they need, then helped develop audio for the wildlife driving tour visitors can access by radio.

Ferreri also was instrumental in re-energizing the National Hunting and Fishing Day event at Middle Creek, which now includes more than 30 conservation agencies or outdoor-related groups. More than 2,000 people attended the events in 2017 and 2018.

And she recently oversaw the installation of a camera to livestream the snow goose and tundra swan migration that makes Middle Creek a popular tourist destination.

“Lauren is always taking advantage of training opportunities and recently graduated from the year-long Governor’s Emerging Leaders Program. She is well respected in the agency and deserving of this award,” Metz said.

Ferreri said she is honored to receive the award.

“I am extremely humbled and grateful to win this award. Not only does the award recognize women in conservation, but hopefully sheds light on the importance of the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area to the public,” she said. “Women in the conservation field are reaching positions where they have an ability to impact many people, not just in the state of Pennsylvania, but nationwide and worldwide. I am honored to be part of that movement.”

Lauren will accept her award at the PennFuture’s 5th Annual Celebrating Women in Conservation Awards program in late April in New Cumberland.

The 2019 Awards are designed to encourage continuing excellence in conservation and to forge a stronger network of exceptional women working to protect the Commonwealth’s environment.

(Photo: Lauren Ferreri, Banding Together To Track Middle Creek’s Ducks, Lancasteronline.com.)

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[Posted: March 13, 2019]

3/18/2019