From staff reports
The Allegheny Valley Conservancy, Allegheny Valley Trails Association and Venango Conservation District are offering a workshop on how local trails can be used to promote environmental protection and education.
The workshop will be held twice — Friday and Saturday, July 22-23, — at the Venango Conservation District office at 4871 U.S. Route 322, Franklin.
The first workshop will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, July 22, and the second will be from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, July 23.
There will be speakers from all three agencies.
The Conservancy will present information on how it can work with the Trails Association to protect lands and the environment.
The keynote speaker will be Dave Rupert, recently retired manager for the Armstrong Conservation District and a board member for the Armstrong Conservancy.
As a long-time member of the Armstrong Trails Association, Rupert has been involved in the development and preservation of more than 100 miles of previously used railroad corridors, the permanent protection of more than 1,200 acres of land, and the implementation of more than $12 million in watershed restoration projects.
Rupert will speak on topics such as wetland restoration on lands adjacent to the trails, stream and river habitat enhancement/improvement work on the trail and conservancy lands in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, pollinator gardens and plantings as well as bee shelters along the trail, bat and bluebird boxes, and solar-powered Adirondack shelters.
H. William White, a retired Venango County judge and landowner who reached out to the Conservancy for assistance in placing a conservation easement on his 152-acre property along French Creek, will also be a featured speaker.
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