Archive for the ‘Environment & Conservation’ Category

LHVA Announces Inaugural Photo Contest

Friday, November 6th, 2009

The Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority (LHVA) invites all amateur and professional photographers to help tell the story of the Lackawanna Valley! Photographers are welcome to submit images to the inaugural “Views from the Valley” photo contest. 

All photographs must be taken within the boundaries of the Lackawanna Heritage Valley, which includes all of Lackawanna County and designated townships or boroughs in Luzerne, Wayne, and Susquehanna Counties. Images must be captured between October 1, 2009, and May 31, 2010. 

The deadline for submission to LHVA is June 1, 2010. 

LHVA is looking for images that capture the beauty and essence of the Lackawanna Valley and showcase the region’s cultural, historic, and natural resources. Photos must be registered in one of three categories: Land, People, or Industry. Photos will further be divided into two divisions, Professional and Amateur. There is a $10 entry fee for each participant. All images must be submitted in both digital and printed format. 

First, second, and third place will be awarded for each category in each division, as well as a “Best in Show” prize for professional and amateur photographers. Winning photos will be displayed at a First Friday Art Walk in downtown Scranton at the end of the contest. 

Complete rules and regulations, entry forms, and model release forms are available online at http://www.lhva.org/photo-contest.html. For more information, please contact Sarah Piccini, LHVA Program Manager, at (570) 963-6730 x8227 or spiccini@LHVA.org.

LHVA’s Greenway & Trail Public Information Meeting Just 4 Days Away!

Friday, September 18th, 2009

Reminder! LHVA’s Greenway & Trail Public Information Meeting is next Tuesday, September 22, 2009. Be sure to join us at Steamtown National Historic Site at 6 p.m. to hear updates on the trail and the greenway. There will be information on the proposed routes for trail sections under development; the proposed boundary for the Lackawanna Greenway including trails, lakes, parks, open spaces; and the design concepts for new trail sections. The event will feature lots of new maps and a great presentation.

The event is free. Come give us your input!

Join LHVA on Facebook to send in your RSVP – http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Lackawanna-Heritage-Valley-Authority/80411196448.

Click Here for Directions: http://www.nps.gov/stea/planyourvisit/directions.htm

$500 Grants Available for Heritage and Environmental Education Projects

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

Teachers from kindergarten through twelfth grade are invited to apply for the 2009-2010 Educational Mini-Grant Program, sponsored by the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority (LHVA). The program will award ten grants of $500 each to educators in Northeastern Pennsylvania to produce heritage and/or environmental projects. This includes classroom teachers in the Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit 19 service area as well as educators at cultural, historic, and environmental organizations and sites. 
 
The deadline for application submission is Friday, October 30, 2009, at Noon.
 
The Educational Mini-Grant Program, now in its fifth year, affords educators a unique opportunity for funding to produce classroom or community projects. The projects must take place between December 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010. LHVA encourages projects that:

*  Promote students’ understanding and appreciation of the Lackawanna Valley’s rich heritage and how it contributed to the nation’s development,

*  Expand the students’ understanding of their role as caretakers of the environment, particularly in the Lackawanna River watershed.

Complete program guidelines and the grant application are available on the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority’s website at http://www.lhva.org/minigrants.html.

For more information or to discuss a potential project, please contact Sarah Piccini, LHVA Program Manager, at spiccini@LHVA.org or (570) 963-6730 ext. 8227.

LHVA Partners with Penn State Landscape Architecture Program

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

The Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority is partnering with the Landscape Architecture department at Penn State University to sponsor “The Lackawanna Valley Studio: Heritage as a Catalyst for Sustainable Community Planning and Design.”  Using the heritage and history of the Lackawanna Valley, students in this upper-level course will look at community planning and design in a city currently undergoing a transformation. Students will focus on the design of spur trails, trailheads, signage, trail amenities, and green space. Students will present both individual and group projects to LHVA. 

On August 31, Professors Ceclia Rusnak and Ken Hendrickson toured the Lackawanna Heritage Valley with their students and LHVA staff.  The students took the Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour; visited the remains of the Gravity Slope Colliery in Archbald, the Co-op Farmer’s Market in Scranton, and Old Forge Bore Hole, the site of acid mine drainage pollution into the Lackawanna River; followed the existing and proposed alignment of the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail (LRHT); and traveled through Waymart and South Canaan to see active farmland. The day ended with an ice-cream stop at Keating’s Heaven’s Gate. Photos from the day’s adventures can be found on LHVA’s flickr photosteam at

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/lackawannaheritage/sets/72157622091789151/.

SAVE THE DATE! Greenway & Trail Public Meeting Set for Sept. 22

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009
LHVA will hold its second public meeting on the Lackawanna Greenway and the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail on Tuesday, September 22, 2009, at Steamtown National Historic Site in Downtown Scranton, PA. Registration begins at 6:00 p.m. and the presentation begins at 6:30 p.m. The event is free and the public is invited to attend. Presentation topics will include: proposed routes for new trail sections; proposed boundary for the Lackawanna Greenway with spur trails & parks; and design concepts for new trail sections.
 
Mark your calendar today and check back soon for more information!