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Recreation for all.

Grant Workshop Registration Open
Registration is now open for DCNR’s free annual grant workshop.
The virtual workshop will take place on Thursday, November 7 from 9:00 AM to noon. Anyone interested in applying for Community Conservation Partnerships Program grants in 2025 is strongly encouraged to attend.
The 2025 grant round will open on Tuesday, January 21 and close on Wednesday, April 2.
The workshop will take place virtually via a Microsoft Teams Live Event. Videos of workshop presentations will be made available on the DCNR YouTube channel for those who cannot attend.
The workshop will explain:
  • Who can apply
  • What can be funded
  • When funding will be available
  • How to make project applications more competitive
Attendance is free, but pre-registration is required to ensure participants receive needed materials.
To register, visit the DCNR Events Calendar. Click “Register” to begin the registration process. Follow the prompts to complete your registration.
Infographic promoting open registration for DCNR's annual grant workshop

Featured Project: New Inclusive Playground Opens in Dauphin County's Largest Municipality

Dignataries gather to celebrate opening of inclusive playground at Brightbill Park
DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn recently visited Brightbill Park to celebrate a new inclusive, multi-part playground and picnic plaza.
Brightbill Park covers 41 acres in Lower Paxton Township, the largest municipality by area in Dauphin County.
“This new inclusive playground and picnic plaza is a prime example of how we can be more mindful of opportunities for all in the future,” Dunn said.
In addition to the new playground that features sections for children 2-5 and 5-12, the upgrades at Brightbill Park include:
  • A “sound garden” with a variety of outdoor musical instruments that allows children to explore various sounds and tones, expanding their sensory play
  • Creation of a small outdoor plaza with new benches and picnic tables, including a wheelchair-accessible table
  • Replacing the existing outdoor grills with two new units on a cement pad for easier access
  • Creating a paved path from the parking lot to an existing path in the nearby wooded area
“We understand that our parks are important investments in our residents' well-being, encouraging a healthier and happier community,” said Lower Paxton Township Supervisor Chairman Robin Lindsey.
DCNR supported the $1 million project with a $520,000 grant. Funding came from the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund.

Active Transportation, Safe Routes to Parks Provide Close to Home Recreation
people walk and ride bikes in a park in a city
people walk and ride bikes along a trail
Quality, close-to-home recreation is essential to individual and community health. Parks are a critical part of that recreation, but how people get to those parks matters too.
By considering active transportation, those journeys can themselves offer mental and social health benefits as well as positively impact air quality.
Safe community walking and biking networks provide opportunities for everyone to regularly engage in outdoor recreation. Yet communities often struggle with pedestrian and bicycle safety issues, crumbling infrastructure, and a lack of funding to maintain what exists.
Here are a few resources to help improve bike and pedestrian connections in your municipality:
  • DCNR helps communities examine park access through Community Conservation Partnership Program grants. Check out our planning grant options for Master Site Development Plans and Comprehensive Park, Recreation and Open Space Plans.
  • The PA Downtown Center and Department of Health’s WalkWorks Program offers grants to develop active transportation plans.
  • PennDOT offers municipalities free assistance and training through their Local Technical Assistance Program.
  • The Department of Community and Economic Development offers community planning technical assistance.
For more information and resources on active transportation, check out Pennsylvania’s Active Transportation Plan.

Pennsylvania Trails Advisory Committee to Host Public Forum
bicycle parked alongside a concrete wall with graffiti
Do you enjoy walking, biking, and riding on trails? If so, the Pennsylvania Trails Advisory Committee wants your input.
The Trails Advisory Committee will host a public trails forum on Wednesday, August 14 from 5:30–7:00 PM at the eCenter@LindenPointe. The address is 3580 Innovation Way, Hermitage, PA 16148.
Attendees will learn about trails in Mercer County and northwest Pennsylvania and share feedback on the update to the 2020-2024 Pennsylvania Land and Water Trail Network Strategic Plan.
Those wishing to attend can register using the online registration form.

DCNR Seeks Input from Trail Managers and Providers
Calling all trail managers and providers! DCNR would like your input to help shape recommendations and action steps in the 2025-2029 Pennsylvania Land and Water Trail Network Strategic Plan.
The agency is seeking input through both a survey and trail gap data collection.
The survey is intended for trail managers and providers and should take about 15 minutes to complete.
The deadline to complete the survey is Friday, August 9.
DCNR is also asking trail managers to provide data on gaps in their trail systems. DCNR, in partnership with the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC), is trying to establish a statewide spatial dataset for trail gaps.
This dataset will help measure the needs of trails in Pennsylvania while helping state agencies focus trail funding.
To advance this goal, DCNR is asking trail managers to use PEC’s online Trail Implementation and Management tool to submit trail gap data.
Follow the instructions to complete the “intake form” for each of your trail gaps along the sections of trail your organization manages.
If you have questions about how to submit trail gaps, please contact Ryan Kurtz, PEC’s Mapping and Program Coordinator, at rkurtz@pecpa.org.

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