Jennings Environmental Education Center

Many thanks to our wonderful volunteers who complete a tremendous number of projects in the park each year, including caring for the native gardens around the center and prairie entrances!

Help us to study the prairie! Look for our four new photo stations located in the prairie and prairie expansion area, and take pics each time you visit. By taking and sending/hashtagging pics over time, you can help us see how our management techniques, like fire and cutting, are working to improve diversity in these areas. We'll create timelapses from visitor photos that will help us understand changes as years go by and as our management, the weather, and the climate change.

"You're standing in a sea of color, so alive and vibrant it's like the first time you've known color." - the perfect description of our prairie in bloom from this just-released documentary on the Jennings prairie from Wild Excellence Films! Check out the flim here: http://bit.ly/LastPrairie and learn more from recent coverage on PennLive.com here: https://www.pennlive.com//pennsylvanias-only-priarie-featu

UPDATE: The prairie side parking area and driveway are now fully open! Paving will take place in spring, so be aware there is a small unpaved section near the entrance.

CLOSURE ALERT: The Prairie side parking lot and driveway will be temporarily closed to vehicles AND pededstrians beginning Sunday night, December 13, through Friday, December 18. Intrepid hikers wishing to access the Prairie side trails will need to park on the Center side and take Black Cherry to Ridge Trail to Glacier Ridge Trail (see yellow lines on map). For shorter hikes, we highly recommend sticking to the Center side trails during this time. So why the closure? We...ll, sometimes park projects are not so "sexy" but are very necessary! The 40+ year old culvert that carries a small stream under the prairie side driveway has finally given out. Water flowing under and around this pipe is causing te driveway to collapse, and it will soon not be driveable if left unattended. The bank is also slumping in and causing erosion. With more frequent and intense storms due to climate change, this process has been accelerated in recent years. To accomodate these increased flows, the culvert will be replaced with a larger pipe, and the driveway rebuilt . Thanks for your understanding! See more

In response to the continuing rise of COVID-19 cases across the state, DCNR has canceled all in-person events and programs organized by its staff and volunteers in all state parks and forests, beginning Sunday, December 6. Learn more https://bit.ly/37CpdcD

Today's the last day to vote in the Viewer's Choice for the Westminster College Virtual Student Symposium on the Environment! Check out two categories today - Environmental Education and Policy and Society: https://www.youtube.com/playlist and https://www.youtube.com/playlist

It's Tuesday - time to check out the Business and Economics entries in the Westminster College Virtual Student Symposium on the Environment! This playlist includes student projects and research in Maple Sugaring, Christmas tree farming, industrial hemp, solar power, and more! Comment, share, or like a video to vote for your favorite to win the Viewer's Choice.

One of our amazing partners in science, Westminster College, has created a virtual version of this year's Student Symposium on the Environment! This Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, check out videos of some amazing student research, and comment on, share, and/or like your favorite videos so they have a chance to win Viewer's Choice! Here's the link to the Ecosystems Investigations playlist for today: https://www.youtube.com/playlist

Unfortunately, Jennings, Moraine, and the surrounding area have recently had a rash of "smash and grabs" from vehicles. These are being investigated, and the park and local authorities will certainly be on guard for additional suspicious activity. However, please remember to secure your valuables out of sight, always lock your vehicle, and report any suspicious activity to the park office. Thank you for your cooperation!