Pennsylvania Legacies

In Pennsylvania and beyond, the food industry's economic importance is rivaled only by its environmental and climate impacts. Pittsburgh-based Chef Christopher Galarza has made it his mission to green up the food system by building more energy-efficient commercial kitchens, promoting environmentally friendly and community-supporting food production, and educating restauranteurs and their customers about why culinary sustainability matters.

Building collisions kill more than a billion birds each year in the U.S. and Canada. A product-testing program at Powdermill Avian Research Center in southwestern PA is helping manufacturers make windows more visible and less hazardous to birds, but what will it take to implement bird-safe design throughout the built environment?

Leaders and experts from across the country gathered in Pittsburgh to discuss the potential for outdoor recreation to grow rural economies. What can Pennsylvania learn about their challenges and successes?

For the first time since its 2019 launch, this year the PEC Public Lands Ride was a sold-out event. PEC's Derek Maiolo joins 150+ happy cyclists on the trails and gravel backroads of Black Moshannon State Park and Moshannon State Forest.

The outdoor industry employs thousands of Pennsylvanians in bike shops, outfitters and retailers, hospitality services, and even manufacturing. It also produces niche products like maps, guides, and information resources to help users make the most of their outdoor experience. We talk with Mike Hermann of State College-based Purple Lizard Maps, PA's homegrown publisher of beautiful and rugged maps geared for outdoor recreationists.

The Great Rivers Greenway is advancing its mission to make the St. Louis region more vibrant by developing a network of trails and greenways. We learned all about it from our hosts at this year's Collaboration of Regional Trail Initiatives. PEC played an instrumental role in launching CRTI several years ago on the premise that trail professionals around the country can learn a lot from one another and can be more effective in their missions by coordinating efforts.

In that spirit, we speak with some of the people behind the Great Rivers Greenway to understand how the successes and lessons learned can inform other trail projects.

Pittsburgh’s bike share organization launched a new adaptive rental program this summer to provide riders of various cognitive and physical abilities the chance to enjoy local trails. We speak with the people behind POGOH to learn more about the program and bike share in Pittsburgh.

Landslides are occurring more frequently in Pennsylvania, and projected increases in the frequency and severity of rain events will only compound the problem. But vulnerable property owners can’t get landslide insurance because commercial insurers don’t offer it. A state-run program proposed by two state representatives from western PA would provide not only coverage, but also resources to help communities prevent and mitigate problems. We speak with the bipartisan team behind the bill, Rep. Valerie Gaydos and Rep. Emily Kinkead of Allegheny County.

As competing legislative priorities battled it out in the state budget endgame, one measure sailed through the House and Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support. The newly enacted Solar for Schools program leverages federal funding to cover up to 100% of installation costs for solar arrays at PA public schools -- delivering major cost savings for school districts, new educational opportunities for students, improved climate resiliency for communities, and reduced carbon emission for Pennsylvania. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler of Philadelphia, says this is only the beginning.

Penn State Extension's Master Watershed Stewards program celebrated its tenth anniversary last year. PEC's Derek Maiolo, a member of the most recent cohort to complete MWS training, shares his experience in the program.