A program, which provides training in tree maintenance for a select group of inmates at State Correctional Institution Rockview in Centre County, received an honorable mention by Fast Company in its 2019 World Changing Ideas Awards.

The Forestry Camp provides education and hands-on job skills to help inmates find employment in the high-demand field of tree-care after their release.

The forestry detail at the prison manages the 2,500 acres of forestland at SCI Rockview for timber and firewood production, maintains roads and trails, and conducts tree pruning, tree planting, and hazard tree removal for area communities.

The Forestry Camp also has a wildfire crew available to fight forest fires on institution property and assist DCNR’s Bureau of Forestry as needed.

DCNR and the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections are looking to expand the collaboration into other realms of conservation, including forestry, riparian (stream) buffers, and pesticide application, as well as to other institutions.

(Photo: Huntingdon Daily News, SCI Tree Tenders Help Beautify Huntingdon Streets.)

(Reprinted from the April 17 DCNR Resource newsletter.  Click Here to sign up for your own copy.)

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State Forester Visits SCI Rockview To Tout Program Preparing Inmates For Careers In Tree Maintenance

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[Posted: April 18, 2019]

4/22/2019