With fall coming to the Lehigh Valley, Southsider wants to highlight the best of the summer 2024 events. The Wildlands Conservancy’s Get Out for Wellness events, in our staff’s opinion, are truly worthy of this designation as they provide the local community with opportunities to connect with one another while embracing Pennsylvania’s abundant nature.
The Lehigh Valley is a growing region with a booming warehouse sector and trucking industry. The continual growth of the area has resulted in the wilderness surrounding the valley being sacrificed for urban development. To combat development that impacts local woodlands, Wildlands Conservancy was created in 1971 with the initial goal of protecting South Mountain. Its mission today has expanded to protect and restore as many natural areas in and around the Lehigh Valley as possible. According to their website, they have already protected over 60,000 acres of land and currently maintain 14 nature preserves in Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, Lackawanna, and Carbon counties. While protecting the Lehigh Valley’s wilderness, Wildlands Conservancy also assists in maintaining hiking and biking trails to ensure the landscape is accessible to locals. It’s important to the organization that the Valley’s natural areas are able to be appreciated and utilized.
In order for Wildlands Conservancy to maintain its success in protecting Pennsylvania’s natural areas they need the support of and enthusiasm of the local community. Wildlands Conservancy educates locals about the environment and encourages them to make steps to preserve the land in the valley. Those involved at the organization firmly believe that a deep understanding of the outside world enhances our appreciation for it. They work towards this goal by providing multiple opportunities for the community to get immersed in nature. One major way that they involve and educate youth is through Wildlands Conservancy summer camp, which spans 10 weeks in the summer. At camp, local children are encouraged to play outside and learn about their environment. A second opportunity for both younger and older community members is to volunteer with the Stream Team. This group restores vegetative areas along local waterways in order to support the health of waterways, to preserve native plants, and to support wildlife. Finally, a third way the Conservancy brings community members to the great outdoors is through the Get Out for Wellness series, which is hosted in partnership with the Lehigh Valley Health Network. These free hikes are an especially accessible way to get involved with Wildlands Conservancy, learn about Pennsylvania’s natural areas, and prioritize your health.
Wildlands Conservancy organizes more than 40 Get Out for Wellness hikes each year. Through each season the organization takes groups to explore nature trails at the D&L Trail, Trexler Park, Mount Psigah, and many more. These hikes range in skill level from easy and flat trails to much harder, steeper climbs. Regardless of the skill level, Wildlands Conservancy emphasizes that these hikes are open to all. In addition to the promise of a fun hike, the organization also provides a passport to all newcomers. These passports are meant to be stamped each time you attend a Get Out for Wellness hike. After receiving 10 stamps on your passport, you are automatically eligible to win a prize from Wildlands Conservancy at the end of the year.
In an effort to capture how informatively detailed, educational, and community centered the Get Out for Wellness series is, Southsider attended one of their hikes on July 7th, and hiked at Glen Park in the Poconos. The following account is just one example of the experiences that the Conservancy offers.
Upon arriving at the trail location, the group gathered in the shade to check in with guide Christine Murray. Most of the attendees were Get Out for Wellness regulars and chatted comfortably with one another after getting their passports stamped by Murray. Before starting the hike, Murray had the group gather in a circle. She gave quick tips on how to protect yourself from microplastics, advising the group to use reusable water bottles and reliable water filters. She then had everyone in the group introduce themselves by stating their name and the hottest place that they had ever been to. Murray easily made everyone in the group, including newcomers, feel at ease with the others.
The Glen Park trail parallels the Brodhead River. The area used to be a part of the New York and Susquehanna railroad bed, which can be seen along some areas of the tail. The trail is lined with rhododendrons, which Murray was excited to show the group. The regulars were equally excited to see the rhododendrons, in part because of Murray’s genuine appreciation for them. As the hike went on, Murray often stopped to give the group short rests as well as to educate them on the plants that surrounded them. There were quite a few invasive species, such as Japanese Barberry, that Murray explained were harming the native ecosystem. Many in the group, hearing about the invasive species around them, instinctively wanted to tear them out. Murray encouraged their passion by explaining that some invasive plants are able to reroot and therefore spread if they are pulled up without care. In taking time to address the concerns and interests of the group, Murray helped to prevent the continued spread of invasive plants.
The hike lasted for about an hour, and ended with the group discussing the next Get Out for Wellness event. These hikes allow for Lehigh Valley locals to get outside and be active, learn about Pennsylvania’s natural areas, and make new friends. The summer hike described here is just one example of the many hiking adventures that Wildlands Conservancy offered over this past summer. While Southsider highlights these hikes in our best of summer series, we want to encourage readers to check out their fall hikes on their website. Assuredly, Wildlands Conservancy programming will provide many opportunities to see the beauty of the Lehigh Valley as leaves change and fall.
To check out future Get Out for Wellness hikes and learn more, visit Wildlands Conservancy.
