Get outdoors and get moving, PA! Knowing the benefits of spending time outside, the PA Parks and Forests Foundation encourages everyone to #GetMovingPA!

Grab your camera, phone, or video camera and celebrate this year’s special outdoor occasions including Earth Day, Rothrock Week, I Love My State Parks Week, State Parks and Forests Week, National Trails Day, and Healthy Lands Week by capturing these events with video.

With 121 state parks, 2.2 million acres of forest, and over 11,000 miles of trails, Pennsylvania’s parks and forests offer free access to the outdoors and endless opportunities for recreation including hiking, biking, canoeing, climbing, rafting, simply taking a walk in the woods, picnicking, angling, hunting, and much more.

Help celebrate all that PA’s parks and forests provide and encourage their stewardship!

During the outdoor holidays listed below, capture video footage while engaging in the outdoors or while volunteering in a state park or forest.

Share it on social media, tag PPFF, and include the hashtags #GetMovingPA and #GetInMotionPA, so we can find you!

-- Earth Day through Rothroth Week: You probably look forward to giving back for Earth Day every April 22 but did you know that April 24-30 is also a cause for celebration?

The last week of April annually marks J.T. Rothrock Memorial Conservation Week, dedicated to the first commissioner of the then Pennsylvania Forestry Commission (now the Bureau of Forestry), who championed the conservation and reforestation of Pennsylvania.

What better time to join PPFF or a Friends Group for a tree planting event or find yourself immersed in a state forest?

-- I Love My State Parks Week: With a soft launch in 2022, this national event celebrates the nation’s state parks. Kicking off on Mother’s Day, the event runs until May 16. Brought to you by the National Association of State Park Foundation, include the hashtags #ILoveMyStateParks, #ILoveMyStateParksWeek, and #NASPF.

-- PA State Parks and Forests Week: To commemorate the 125th anniversary of PA’s state parks and forest in 2018, Governor Wolf proclaimed May 23-30 Pennsylvania State Parks and Forests Week. This is the perfect opportunity to get outdoors and show your appreciation for all that Pennsylvania’s state parks and forests provide!

-- National Trails Day: Presented by the American Hiking Society, National Trails Day on June 4 is a day of service and advocacy for trails. How will you hit the trails? Hike, bike, by paddle or saddle; share with us your favorite way to explore PA’s trails!

-- PA Healthy Lands Week: Help us kick off this new, annual week of volunteerism. PA Healthy Lands Week begins with National Public Lands Day on September 24. Capture your volunteer service on video and help to inspire stewardship in others. The week wraps up with A Walk in Penn’s Woods on October 2, the perfect day to take a hike in – you guessed it – Penn’s woods!

Looking for even more inspiration? Outdoor recreation has proven benefits for health and wellness. Learn more in PPFF’s recently released video, “Health Benefits and Outdoor Recreation”.

For more information about all of these upcoming events and more, sign up to receive PPFF’s weekly Take Five e-news and follow us on social media.

[Visit DCNR’s website to find a State Park or Forest near you; or find more adventures at the Explore PA Trails or Get Outdoors PA websites.]

For more information on programs, initiatives, special events and how you can get involved, visit the PA Parks & Forests Foundation website.  Click Here to sign up for regular updates from the Foundation,  Like them on Facebook or Follow them on Twitter or tune in to their YouTube Channel.  Click Here to become a member of the Foundation.

The Foundation and their 48 chapters mobilize 65,000 volunteers annually to steward YOUR state parks and forests.

(Photo: Taken in Ricketts Glen State Park, Columbia, Luzerne, Sullivan Counties by Jill Cook.)

[Posted: March 24, 2022]

3/28/2022