The January edition of the Good for PA Newsletter of the PA Recreation & Parks Society (PRPS) highlights the wonderful new on-line map developed by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Once you click on the link, you’ll see a map of PA and then from there scroll in to find a park that is in your community or region. I live in Saint Clair and this map noted the small borough parks that are in our community.
According to the same newsletter of PRPS, there has been (as you suspected) an enormous growth in park visitation during these pandemic times. In fact, visitation expanded by about 8 million!
Click on this link to check out this very useful resource: http://maps.dcnr.pa.gov/localparks/?name=
NATURE NUGGET: January is Anthracite Mining Heritage Month. From Schuylkill County to Lackawanna County and then some, anthracite mining has been happening for over 200 years. Anthracite is the highest rank of coal. Unlike other types of coal, it is usually considered to be a metamorphic rock. It has a carbon content of over 87% on a dry ash-free basis. Anthracite coal generally has the highest heating value per ton on a mineral-matter-free basis. It is often subdivided into semi-anthracite, anthracite, and meta-anthracite on the basis of carbon content. Anthracite is often referred to as “hard coal”; however, this is a layman’s term and has little to do with the hardness of the rock.
NATURE QUOTE:
“Porcupine Pat” McKinney is environmental education coordinator for the Schuylkill Conservation District and provides programming for people of all ages with an emphasis on schools, public programming and nature center development. “Porcupine Pat” hails from Marion, Ohio and has a BS with Distinction in Natural Resources – Environmental Interpretation from Ohio State. He is a recipient of the prestigious Sandy Cochran Award for Excellence in Natural Resources Education from the PA Forestry Association, the Schuylkill Pride Award, and the PAEE “Outstanding Environmental Educator Award.”
