Blog Archives

The Dime Bank Supports Lacawac Sanctuary

2/26/2019

The Dime Bank donated $6,000.00 to Lacawac Sanctuary to support the nature preserve, environmental education center, and biological field station. $5,000.00 was donated through the PA Department of Community and Economic Development’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit program to support Lacawac Sanctuary’s mission to educate the next generation of environmental stewards and scientists and strengthen academic achievement by providing hands-on, indoor and outdoor STEM, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math education programs for Preschool to 12th grade students.

$1,000.00 was donated as a corporate sponsorship to help with the Sanctuary’s mission to promote environmental understanding through education and conservation – a worthy mission that aligns with the values of many organizations devoted to improving quality of life in the communities where they do business. The Lacawac Sanctuary is a non-profit conservation, research, and education center providing the community with a host of quality environmental, historical, and cultural programs.

Lacawac Sanctuary president Craig Lukatch-Setser stated, “The financial support offered by The Dime Bank makes it possible for Lacawac to educate over 2700 students each year with hands on STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) opportunities both in the classroom and at Lacawac' 550 acre outdoor classroom. We are grateful for the bank's continued support and their partnership to make education a priority in our region and communities we live in.” For more information, visit www.lacawac.org.

The Dime Bank is dedicated to supporting education in our school districts and to bringing the arts to our communities through the sponsorship of many different programs and venues. The Dime Bank has been participating in the EITC program since 2001. If you are passionate about your future, choose The Dime Bank as your financial partner. Serving its primary market of Northeast Pennsylvania since 1905, the bank offers a full array of financial services and solutions. Community banking yields community benefits. For more information on The Dime Bank, visit www.thedimebank.com. Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender.

Pictured left to right: John F. Spall, Esq., The Dime Bank Board Member and Lacawac Sanctuary Trustee; Craig Lukatch-Setser, Lacawac Sanctuary President; Cassandra Box, The Dime Bank Teller; Amanda Ferris, The Dime Bank Teller; Viktoria Thompson, The Dime Bank Customer Service Representative.

Spotted Lanternfly: What you need to know!

2/26/2019

The Spotted Lanternfly (SLF), Lycorma delicatula (White), is an invasive planthopper native to China, India, Vietnam. It was first discovered in Pennsylvania in Berks County and has spread to other counties in the southeast portion of the Commonwealth. This insect has the potential to greatly impact agricultural crops such as grape, hops, and hardwoods. It is also reducing the quality of life for people living in heavily infested areas.

What Is Being Done
Penn State University and Extension, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and PA Department of Agriculture (PDA) have joined forces to control and contain the spread of SLF. Penn State University is leading the research efforts currently underway to answer the many questions we have about the insect’s biology, pesticide studies, and the ability of the insect to adapt to the environment in Pennsylvania. USDA and PDA are actively treating locations where SLF has been reported. USDA is treating on the outer edges where the populations are small and will begin to move inward towards the center of the quarantine. PDA is treating areas where the population numbers are high and is targeting high risk pathways which may contribute to moving the insect to other locations. As funding is available, both USDA and PDA will work on properties for treatment. PDA is also surveying all counties in the state outside the quarantine looking for SLF.

What Can Be Done
Spotted Lanternfly can be controlled with a combination of physical removal of life stages and host trees, as well as pesticide applications. Penn State Extension has developed information for homeowner management as well as a management calendar. Use of these management techniques are important to assist PDA and USDA in control of the spread of this invasive pest.

Businesses also play an important role. Business owners should incorporate pest management into their vegetation management plans and work to minimize the possibility of this insect hitching a ride on products they produce and ship. Businesses who ship products within and out of the quarantine zone are required to have or hire companies who have a Spotted Lanternfly Permit.

How You Can Help
This insect is easily moved if no one is looking. If you are in the quarantine area, please “Look Before You Leave.” Inspecting your vehicles, trailers, or any outdoor items before you move around or out of the quarantine is important. If possible, don’t park in tree lines and keep windows rolled up when you park your vehicle. Know the life stages of the insect and when to look for them.

Using the recommendations developed by Penn State Extension, take control measures on your own property. Any efforts you make in destroying the Spotted Lanternfly or it’s egg masses helps your property and community.

Report sightings of the Spotted Lanternfly. All reports of SLF outside of the quarantine are taken seriously and will be investigated. Reports within the quarantine are registered in a database for USDA and PDA. The database is used to help determine properties for treatment. Treatment is based on location, risk, and available funds.

Please join the effort to control and prevent the spread of Spotted Lanternfly. We need everyone to protect their properties, communities, and the Commonwealth from this invasive insect that has the potential to change our landscape and quality of life.

Report Spotted Lanternfly
Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm:
1-888-4BAD-FLY
(1-888-422-3359)
Report Sightings Here

2019 Summer Day and Residential Camps Announced

2/21/2019

LAKE ARIEL, PA (February 2019) –Join Lacawac Sanctuary Environmental Education Center for its 2019 Summer Day and Residential Camps. Lacawac’s 550-acre field station has meandering trails, open fields, lakes and wetlands in which to explore. Experience nature through hands-on activities, artistic expression, thematic games, scientific experiments, and environmental observation. E-STEM (Science, technology, engineering and math taught through environmental education) is incorporated into all of our camps in order to foster problem solving, innovation, self-reliance, and logical thinking. Campers will be fully immersed in our living laboratory and discover how they fit into the complex web of our diverse ecosystem.

Weeklong Day Camps are open for children ages 5-12 and take place at Lacawac Sanctuary’s Environmental Education Center. For information regarding themes and dates visit www.lacawac.org/summer-camps.html.

Lacawac’s residential camp, Conservation Leadership Academy is a weeklong experience for middle and high school students ages 13-17. Participants will be immersed in STEM and Conservation activities at the beautiful and historic Lacawac Sanctuary and Field Station. Students will experience hands-on science programs along-side local conservation professionals and resident university researchers. Enjoy a day kayaking the upper Delaware River. Additional program highlights include water quality sampling on Lake Wallenpaupack, conducting tree surveys, canoeing on Lake Lacawac, fishing on Heron Pond, assisting with aquatic research in the field and in the lab, participating in bird banding, and gaining leadership skills!

For more than 50 plus years Lacawac Sanctuary Field Station and Environmental Education Center has inspired a love for nature and ecology among families, researchers, and students throughout Pennsylvania and beyond. Lacawac offers signature programs throughout the year including: PLEON (Pocono Lakes Ecological Observatory Network) and K-12 Education Programs.

For more information on our day and residential camps, contact Jamie Reeger, Director of Environmental Educaton at [email protected]. Additional information can be found at Lacawac.org.

Wayne Bank Donates to Lacawac's Education Programs

2/18/2019

Honesdale, PA – Lewis J Critelli, President and Chief Executive Officer of Wayne Bank, is pleased to announce that the Bank will support the Lacawac Sanctuary Foundation with a donation through the Educational Improvement Organization Program in 2019.

Lacawac Sanctuary President, Craig Lukatch-Setser, accepted a check in the amount of $5,000.00 from Mr. Critelli.
The gift was made possible as a result of the Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program offered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, acting through the Department of Community and Economic Development.

“Wayne Bank is proud to continue to support the Lacawac Sanctuary Foundation through the EITC program,” stated Mr. Critelli. “The Sanctuary provides wonderful opportunities for local students to participate in numerous environmental education programs, and we are so pleased to be able to contribute to these valuable courses.”

This contribution will benefit Lacawac Sanctuary’s Youth Engaging Science (YES) program by providing opportunities for students, in kindergarten through twelfth grade, to participate in hand-on environmental programs both in and out of school. The YES program allows students to explore collegiate pathways and careers in environmental education, including ecology and environmental fields, by offering first-hand experiences and connections with professionals. The YES program also supports opportunities for students to participate in environmental education projects and experiences. Much of Lacawac’s YES program focuses on low and moderate income, rural, and other populations that are traditionally underserved or underrepresented. The program serves youth throughout a multi-county region of Northeastern Pennsylvania and, in 2017, supported over 2,500 local students.

Wayne Bank is a subsidiary of Norwood Financial Corp., Member FDIC, and is located in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. The Bank has 26 Community Offices serving Wayne, Pike, Monroe, and Lackawanna Counties in Pennsylvania, along with Delaware and Sullivan Counties in New York State. The stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol— NWFL.

PHOTO CAPTION - LEFT TO RIGHT: Lewis J. Critelli, President and Chief Executive Officer, Wayne Bank; Craig Lukatch-Setser, President, Lacawac Sanctuary; and Bonnie E. Rutledge, Assistant Trust Officer, Wayne Bank.

Snowman Challenge 2019

2/15/2019

Join the Lacawac Snowman Challenge 2019 by building your best snow person or sculpture this winter. It's simple, its fun and snow people from anywhere in the world are eligible to win prizes that will be awarded in two age groups; those under 15 and 15 to 99.

How can you join the fun?
1. Build: build a snowman, snow woman, or snow sculpture. Your snowman must have been made between January 1st and March 31st, 2019.
2. SNAP: snap a picture of your snow masterpiece.
3. POST: post a picture of your snow creation on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram. Be sure to include the hashtag: #LacawacSnowman19 in your post. Also include a note saying the creator was 15 or under. No note is needed for over 15 yr old participants.

Prizes will be given for the most creative snow creation:
-15 yrs old or less: one winner will get a free pass to a Lacawac summer event.
-Those 15 yrs and older: one winner will get a signed comic by Bob Eckstein, a New York Times Best Selling Author, author of The Illustrated History of the Snowman, and creator of numerous funny comics.

For more information, visit: https://www.lacawac.org/lacawacsnowmanchallenge.html
#LacawacSnowman19, #LacawacSanctuary

Lacawac Announces Signature Programming in 2019

2/8/2019

Lacawac Sanctuary’s mission is to educate the next generation of environmental stewards and scientists and strengthen academic achievement by providing hands-on, indoor and outdoor STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math)education programs for Preschool-12th grade students.

For more than 50 plus years Lacawac Sanctuary Field Station and Environmental Education Center has inspired a love for nature and ecology among families, researchers, and students throughout Pennsylvania and beyond. Lacawac offers signature programs throughout the year including: PLEON (Pocono Lakes Ecological Observatory Network) and K-12 Education Programs.

What is PLEON?
The Pocono Lake Ecological Observatory Network is a regional lake monitoring program focused on educating the public and lake associations on water quality and lake management.

Why PLEON? Lakes are ecological treasures that form the economic backbone of tourism in the Pocono region. They provide both recreational enjoyment as well as critical habitat for a variety of wildlife, including plants and animals.

Lakes are complex ecosystems, and effective management requires good data as well as an understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of lakes and their surrounding catchments.

Despite their aesthetic, recreational, and environmental importance, we know little about water quality in our Pocono lakes. Neither the state nor regional counties offer regular surveys to provide data essential for good management of these complex ecosystems. Increasing concerns about harmful algal blooms throughout the region make responsible lake management of central importance to the health of these ecosystems and the people, pets, and wildlife that depend on them.

PLEON works to accomplish the following: Empower the public to better understand and manage their fresh waters; cCreate a community of scientists, students, environmental educators, and landowners to work together in improving the ecological state of Pennsylvania’s lake ecosystems and complement a traditional lake consultant by providing ongoing monitoring data on lakes and ensuring that land owners fully understand the advantages and limitations of different lake management approaches

Nature-Based STEM Education
Direct experiences with nature provide relevant learning that equips students with critical thinking, creative approaches, and problem-solving skills.

WHY STEM? STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education is an interdisciplinary and inquiry-based method of learning. It goes beyond the mere transfer of knowledge; it creates connections between school learning, the community, and the world beyond.

Lacawac delivers STEM programs that utilize nature as the foundation of learning. When nature-based curriculum is used, students are three times more likely to find the material interesting and create lasting memories.

Both nationally and in Pennsylvania, the focus has been to increase STEM proficiency at the high school and post-secondary levels. As Lacawac works with school districts in our region, we see a need to direct effective STEM resources all the way down through elementary school. Grades K-5 are a critical period in which student interest can either be deeply engaged or lost in respect to science and technology. Students who have positive experiences through high-quality science teaching and who have opportunities to participate in hands-on science are the ones most likely to pursue STEM paths.

Lacawac strives each year to take our inquiry-based science programs to the next level, transforming the way teachers teach and students learn environmental education.

Field trips are available to public and private schools, scouts, day care centers, home school groups, and after school programs as part of the YES (Youth Engaging Science) Program. Trained environmental educators lead each class/group on trails through diverse habitats as students participate in hands-on, minds-on activities. Each program connects the ecological research conducted at the field station with age appropriate activities. All environmental education field trip programs are aligned to Pennsylvania Department of Education Science Curriculum Framework with a focus on STEAM content.

For more information on our PLEON Program contact Dr. Beth Norman at [email protected]. To find out more on our nature-based STEM programs, contact Jamie Reeger at [email protected]. Additional information can be found at Lacawac.org.