Think Outside with the Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation

“I hope that any time someone finds a new place that they love, that they want to protect and conserve that place.” Tory Mather is the author of Scenic Natural Wonders of Pennsylvania and the creator of Tory Talks Trails. She came to the project when a leg injury in 2021 gave her the time to write about hikes from her Cleveland years. As her mobility returned, the blog grew. A publisher commission...

“We're building a quilt. I call it a quilt of state forest land.” Our host, Marci Mowery, chats with Rick Hartlieb, who is the district forester for the William Penn Forest District, covering nine counties across southeastern Pennsylvania. When he arrived in 2008, the district managed 902 acres. Today, that figure stands near 3,000, the result of patient land acquisition that Rick describes as bui...

"It's all about co-creation." Meredith Hill spent fifteen years at Pennsylvania's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources managing the Conservation Landscape Program before her recent retirement. She believes that no agency, no organization, no community can accomplish conservation at scale alone. Today, Meredith joins our host Marci Mowery to discuss a program that has quietly reshaped h...

“People are building memories… We have foundational memories, and that’s what these people are building day in and day out.” Our host, Marci Mowery, speaks with Park Manager Jim Eckert about why Little Buffalo State Park has become one of Pennsylvania’s most approachable outdoor destinations. Jim describes Little Buffalo as a “starter park,” a place where newcomers can comfortably experience the o...

“You never know what you're going to uncover as you walk through, and the questions about its history always spark great conversation.” Our host, Marci Mowery, sits down with Karli Naugle, who is the district forester of Buchanan State Forest, recently named the Pennsylvania Parks and Forest Foundation's Forest of the Year. She offers an insider's tour of a forest that has, until now, largely kept...

"It's hard to see and notice at the speed with which we move." Our host, Marci Mowery, sits down with Ben Moyer, who is an author and longtime outdoor journalist from the Laurel Highlands of southwestern Pennsylvania. They chat about a life spent paying close attention to the natural world and inviting others to do the same. Ben's connection to nature began early, shaped by his father, who took hi...

“I wasn't afraid of the cave, but I was afraid of people.” Our host, Marci Mowery, sits down with David Cale, former owner of Laurel Caverns in the Laurel Highlands of southwestern Pennsylvania, for a conversation about one of the state's most singular natural wonders. It’s a cave system that became Pennsylvania's 125th state park, and the first underground state park in the commonwealth. David's...

"We want to see everybody enjoying this place. That's where it all comes to fruition." Our host, Marci Mowery, sits down with Park Manager Mathias Weinzen to talk about one of Pennsylvania’s most ecologically distinctive parks: Black Moshannon State Park in Centre County. "Black" describes the dark, tannin-stained waters of the 250-acre lake, colored as clear water flows through sphagnum moss and...

"Everybody can be a steward of Penn’s Woods in some way." Our host, Marci Mowery, sits down with Seth Cassell, Director of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry, also known as the State Forester, to take a sweeping look at one of Pennsylvania's most consequential and quietly essential agencies. Seth came to the role with a deep reverence for the state's remarkable forest heritage and a vision for wh...

“State parks are definitely great places for everybody. We want everyone to feel included and that it's a welcoming, safe place.” Our host, Marci Mowery, sits down with Chelsea DePoe, Park Manager at Colonel Denning State Park, nestled in north-central Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. Chelsea came to Colonel Denning by way of Ricketts Glen and Delaware Canal State Parks before pursuing the managem...

“Other people are there, and they're utilizing the parks and hiking as their form of recovery, whether it's from substance abuse, whether it's from a medical issue, whether it's mental health... It's become a part of who they are.” Our host, Marci Mowery, sits down with Rob Neitz, Park Manager at Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. It’s the only state par...

"Plant a seed in someone, a young person you know, that this is an opportunity, conservation careers exist, that there's opportunities for you to get involved." Our host, Marci Mowery, sits down with Ali Bowling, who joined Pennsylvania's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) three and a half years ago. Before that, she worked in wildlife rehabilitation in Oklahoma, corporate sus...

“The more you get to use state parks and see what they have to offer, the more you’re going to want to make sure they continue in perpetuity.” When Greg Sassaman arrived at Leonard Harrison State Park in 1978, he found a rundown facility with a chain-link fence and a trail barely worthy of the name. What followed was a decades-long labor of love that transformed Pennsylvania's Grand Canyon into th...

“It's kind of amazing to think that almost any challenge that you have, there's some brilliant, intelligent person out there doing the research to come up with a solution to it.” Our host, Marci Mowery, sits down with Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation Membership Coordinator Pam Metzger. When Pam’s husband Bill was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, staying active became his lifeline. After...

“Being outdoors is a part of our story, part of our essence. And so we don't want to abandon or forget about those who are growing older, and they just need a little help and support in connecting them to these benefits.” Our host, Marci Mowery, welcomes Nicole Faraguna, Director of the Office of Planning and Policy at the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, to discuss b...

“For me, coming to the Pennsylvania State Parks has been a way to really disconnect from the stress of the world and the stress of our individual lives and just enjoy nature. And it has such a healing effect.” Our host, Marci Mowery, chats with Cindy and Polly, whose Pennsylvania State Parks journey began in 2018 at Gifford Pinchot, where a passport sparked a family tradition that would grow from...

“Supporting local businesses not only enhances your experience, but also supports that community, and oftentimes those community businesses are very supportive of the park and forest.” Our host, Marci Mowery, chats with Jessica Myers, whose quest to visit all 124 Pennsylvania state parks and 20 forest districts began unexpectedly in 2017. After moving from DC and adopting a dog, she discovered the...

“Every park I go to is an adventure.” Charlie Hutler's journey began with a single visit to Promised Land State Park. Right there, at Pickerel Point’s campground, he caught the park bug! By 2021, via the See ‘Em All challenge, Charlie had visited all 124 state parks and 20 forest districts. He shares his treks on his YouTube channel, "PA Parks Man". Our host, Marci Mowery, sits down with Charlie t...

“It's amazing... when you get together with people at a campground or a park, there’s no barriers to participation. Everybody just enjoys being out and about.” Joe Brosky's retirement began with a discovery that would reshape his next five years: a Pennsylvania Parks and Forest Foundation passport he picked up at the Laurel Hill State Park's gift shop. Our host, Marci Mowery, chats with him in thi...

“What are we doing today so that a century from now, people look back and say, ‘Thank goodness Marci was there to do this, or Secretary Dunn was there to do that.’ You can have that kind of impact if you’re really committed to the work.” Our host, Marci Mowery, chats with Dr. Silas Chamberlin in this episode of Think Outside. Dr. Silas Chamberlin's career trajectory, from Academic Historian to Yor...

"Every little bit makes a difference. And do not assume that someone else is going to continue to take care of it." Pennsylvania Healthy Lands Week, running from National Public Lands Day through Walk in Penn's Woods each fall, represents a growing coalition effort to transform how Pennsylvanians engage with their natural and cultural heritage. The initiative, now in its fourth year, extends beyon...

"We want to be native to somewhere, and I think park space and outdoor space grounds us and makes us native to the places that we call home and recognize that we occupy place in space, and we are part of that redemption story, and part of that reconciliation story of people to that place.” Pennsylvania's latest Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) and Pennsylvania Trail Network...

“I just really like attracting other people to get outside. That’s kind of my goal right now, is to get as many people outdoors as possible.” Our host, Marci Mowery, chats with two Pennsylvania hikers turned social media influencers, OneEyeWanderz and TheDapperHiker, who are reshaping how people discover the state's outdoor spaces through authentic storytelling and hard-won experience. Dapper bega...

“There are families that have been coming here for five generations, and occasionally all five are here. And that's pretty amazing.” Our host, Marci Mowery, is joined by Environmental Education Specialist Jane Swift, who shares why World's End State Park has captivated visitors for 93 years in Pennsylvania's Endless Mountains region. Controversy sparked the park's beginning when geologists in 1932...

"Some say that the best thing about this park is that there is no cell signal. If you need to disconnect from the world, from the electronic world, you can do that here." Our host, Marci Mowery, sits down with Park Manager Mike Crowley as he reveals why RB Winter State Park remains a cherished destination for families seeking authentic outdoor experiences in Pennsylvania's wilderness. Nestled with...