Camphill Kimberton receives DEP Grant for Environmental Education and Stewardship

Camphill Village Kimberton Hills  is pleased to announce that it has received a grant of $7,356 from the Department of Environmental Protection. This award will help fund an Educational Outreach Program on Sustainable Forestry Management, a three-phase project incorporating hands-on experiential learning and educational tours.   

To be truly responsible stewards of the land, Camphill Kimberton’s goal is to educate others of what sustainability really means. There are 100 acres of forest in Camphill Kimberton which are in need of care and stewardship to continue to thrive and protect the air and water.  As the depletion of American native woodlands is ever increasing, along with the destruction of riparian buffers that protect the rivers and streams, it is more important than ever to educate others about why and how to preserve woodlands.  This sustainable forestry program can become a unique and important demonstration model within the region and educate hundreds of students of all ages for years to come.

The three-phase project will incorporate the help of local college students, who will be invited to participate and learn about a wide range of environmental topics.  They will learn how to identify and rid the forest invasive species through strictly manual and biological removal, without any use of chemical pesticides or herbicides. They will learn to identify invasives and how best to remove them, restorative plants, and where they best grow, and how to plant them, and how to test soil and what to look for.  Topics covered may include point and non-point source pollution; soil, tree and plant identification; biodiversity vs. monoculture; native eco-systems and human impact on destroying them as well as restoring them; different microsystems that include soil, animal and plant variation; riparian buffer and its effect on the watershed; habitat loss vs. preserving “interior forest”; and forests as natural resources. 

Phase 1: Fall 2012 - College students will participate in a two-day workshop to have hands-on experience of sustainable forestry management and watershed protection led by environmental experts.

Phase 2: Winter 2013 - Fall workshop participants will have the opportunity to apply their recently gained knowledge by creating three educational, interpretive signs about sustainable forestry to place along the trails in the forest.

Phase 3: Spring 2013 - Workshop participants who would like to share their unique experiences can lead walks with younger primary and secondary school students who visit the village.

The new Educational Outreach Program on Sustainable Forestry Management will allow Camphill Kimberton to provide experiential learning opportunities, providing students a deeper appreciation of the material and more tools to apply and share later in life.

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Camphill Village Kimberton Hills residents, living and working side by side, create a dynamic and caring community for people of all ages and varied abilities.  Located on 432 acres of farm, gardens and woodlands in Chester County, Pennsylvania, Kimberton Hills is also a local center for culture and a model for sound ecological living.  Founded in 1972, Kimberton Hills is part of the international Camphill Movement which has created communities where the values of service, sharing, spiritual nourishment, and recognition of each individual’s gifts can offer a model of renewal for the wider society. 

The DEP grant program was established by the Environmental Education Act of 1993, which mandates setting aside five percent of the pollution fines and penalties DEP collects annually for environmental education in Pennsylvania.

For more information on Camphill Kimberton, visit www.camphillkimberton.org.

For more information on environmental education, visit www.dep.state.pa.us and click “Environmental Education,” or call 717-772-1828.

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