Greater Carlisle Project

Type: Education

  • United Way of Carlisle and Cumberland County

    United Way of Carlisle and Cumberland County

    United Way of Carlisle LogoThe United Way of Carlisle and Cumberland County is a branch of the national United Way of America. Its mission is to “improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities around the world to advance the common good.” The United Way of Carlisle and Cumberland County provides a sustainable framework for assembling financial resources for the advancement of community needs. The coalition creates lasting connections between organizations whose missions are interconnected and who can mutually benefit from the maintenance of long-term relationships.

     

     

  • Kings Gap Environmental Education Center

    Kings Gap Environmental Education Center

    Kings Gap

    Sitting astride South Mountain, Kings Gap offers a panoramic view of the Cumberland Valley. Sixteen miles of hiking trails interconnect three main areas and are open year-round. Kings Gap offers environmental education programs from the pre-school environmental awareness program to environmental problem solving programs.

    The grounds are open to the public year-round from 8:00 a.m. to sunset. Sixteen miles of hiking trails connect with three main day use areas of the center: Pine Plantation Day Use Area, Pond Day Use Area and Mansion Day Use Area. A 32-room stone mansion on the mountaintop houses the center’s office and the training center. The office is open weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and weekends and evenings when a public program is scheduled. A schedule of programs is available from the center office or at the three day use areas.

    The mansion serves as the William C. Forrey Training Center for the Commonwealth, providing meals and overnight lodging for government agencies. The comfortable surroundings make it an ideal location for productive work sessions and meetings. The training center has a maximum day use capacity for 45 people and accommodates 23 people overnight.

  • Bent Pine Alpaca Farm

    Bent Pine Alpaca Farm

    Doris and Darwin, owners, breaders, and caretakers at Bent Pine Alpaca Farm,  are enthusiastic about their friendly herd of alpacas and offer a variety of goods made from their alpaca’s fiber. They enjoy visitors and can provide educational seminars for groups of all sizes. You can arrange an educational tour ahead of time by giving them a call.

    From their website
    “16 acre historic farm (circa 1770) that is home to 25 – 30 alpacas and 3 llamas located off the road in a quiet setting. We are located half way between Carlisle and Mechanicsburg, 1/2 mile off Rt 641 (West Trindle Rd.) on Old Stonehouse Rd. South. Note: most GPS units want to send you up the hill to North Old Stonehouse Rd.) Look for our sign at the intersection of Rt 641 and follow the arrow on the sign. Bring your camera for pictures!”

    Our farm store is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons after our open house the second week in October until Christmas. Other times of year, the farm store is open by appointment.

  • Central Pennsylvania Research and Teaching Laboratory for Biofuels

    Central Pennsylvania Research and Teaching Laboratory for Biofuels

    “The Central Pennsylvania Research and Teaching Laboratory for Biofuels serves as a center for the study of second- and third-generation biofuels, with the goal of bringing environmentally friendly energy alternatives to the marketplace. Located on the west side of the Penn State Harrisburg campus, the center provides biotechnology equipment and greenhouse space for science and engineering classes and student and faculty research at Penn State Harrisburg, and also accommodates partnerships with other higher education institutions, schools and other organizations.”

  • Project SHARE

    Project SHARE

    psMISSION: In response to God’s call to love one another, Project SHARE (Survival Help And Recipient Education) provides food, clothing, nutritional education, and links to programs to empower people in need within the greater Carlisle Area.

    Project SHARE  is an interfaith cooperative effort, begun in 1985, involving over 66 local congregations, schools, and civic organizations. Contributions of food, money, and volunteerism provide essential basic assistance to more than 1000 families each month. Of those needing assistance, about 20% are seniors and nearly 30% are children.

    Project SHARE’s sustainability programming includes:

    • Growing vegetables in a high tunnel on the grounds of the Carlisle High School; mainly tomatoes, squash, herbs, and peppers. Recipients learn to nurture and harvest these and other annual crops.
    • Recycling cardboard using a baler that was donated around 2005. They receive cardboard from many different community locations and raise about $20K a year from this resource.
    • Teaching canning and other forms of food preservation to those who come for food or people in the local churches to encourage food preparation and the best use of resources.
    • Gleaning fresh fruit and vegetables at approximately 3 dozen local locations; harvesting whatever the farmer can’t use or sell. They also make use of the 2 local produce auctions in Shippensburg and extras from area CSAs.
  • LeTort Regional Authority

    LeTort Regional Authority

    letortThe mission of the LeTort Regional Authority is “to protect and preserve the LeTort Spring Run and its watershed by promoting flood control and developing access and recreational opportunities within the watershed.” Goals include the minimizing flooding, improving water quality, restoring the natural conditions of the watershed, and providing opportunities for public involvement and education regarding the use and understanding of the watershed’s resources. The group was established in 1973 by citizens of the area who wanted to preserve the LeTort Spring Run.

    LeTort Regional Authority supports the sustainability and livability of the Greater Carlisle Area in the following ways:

    • Minimizing storm water flooding and protecting and enhancing water quality.
    • Providing public education and involvement opportunities in the use and understanding of the watershed’s resources.
    • Engendering a sense of community responsibility for all resources within the watershed.
    • Improving short and long-term financial viability of the Authority.

    letort 2

     

  • Clean Air Board of Central Pennsylvania

    Clean Air Board of Central Pennsylvania

    cabSparked by a rise in respiratory problems in Carlisle, the Clean Air Board (CAB) was established in 2005 by a group of community members who were interested in monitoring the air quality in the Cumberland Valley and educating the community on the human health impacts of this air quality.

    The Clean Air Board has since worked on a series of projects to better the air quality in Carlisle. They began with school bus idling because of its intimate impact on Carlisle children, teachers, and bus drivers.

    air quality

    Next, the CAB worked to pass a state law which regulates truck idling. Prior to the passage of this law, thousands of trucks idled overnight every night in Middlesex County alone. The law states that trucks cannot idle for more than five minutes in any part of Pennsylvania. Although enforcement has proven to be an issue, this law does improve the air quality, and thus the livability, of the greater Carlisle area.

    The Clean Air Board works with the Sentinel to release the information collected by their air quality monitor in real time on The Sentinel website.

    The CAB runs an education project in conjunction with the EPA called the School Flag Program. Participating schools raise an air quality flag each day when they raise the American flag and the Pennsylvania flag. This serves to alert parents and community members of the air quality every day.

  • Carlisle Arts Learning Center (CALC)

    Carlisle Arts Learning Center (CALC)

    CALCThe Carlisle Arts Learning Center (CALC) serves and enriches the community by encouraging creativity and self-esteem through exploration and appreciation of the visual arts. It does this via classes and workshops, exhibits, and participation in community events. Since its founding in January 1992, CALC has offered a variety of courses for children and adults in a number of settings, including the Carlisle YWCA, Carlisle Community Center, One West Penn, Cumberland Crossings, and Memorial Park Train Station. Disadvantaged children and adults may participate in CALC classes at reduced charges via its scholarship program. In 2001, CALC began offering customized workshops at the request of organizations like the Girl Scouts and the YWCA summer day camp program. Since 1998 CALC has also mounted a variety of arts and craft exhibits that are free to the public.

    CALC’s Signature Programs:  CALCpaint

    • ArtWORKS!: An after-school program for middle school students that promotes self-esteem and giving back to the community through the arts.
    • Works in the Windows: A partnership that provides artwork in vacant storefront windows.
    • Art Classes, Camps, and Lectures: Educational opportunities for both children and adults in a variety of mediums.
    • Hope Station and CONNECT Summer Art Camps: Full scholarship-based camps that provide all children the access to art.
    • Empty Bowls: A fundraising event organized by CALC to benefit Project S.H.A.R.E.
    • Exhibitions: Opportunities for local and regional artists to exhibit their work in CALC’s gallery, sales gallery, and off-site locations throughout Carlisle.
    • Art on the Farm: A partnership with Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture to showcase Central Pennsylvania’s unique agricultural resources through art, education, and food.
    • Scholarships: CALC provides financial aid to assure all children and adults have access to art classes and camps.
  • Dickinson College

    Dickinson College

    Dickinson is committed to educating for a sustainable world, reducing our ecological footprint, cutting our net emissions to zero, and advancing sustainability goals globally, nationally, and in the communities in which we reside, work, and study. Our commitment follows from our long-standing mission – to prepare young people, by means of a useful education in the liberal arts and sciences, for engaged lives of citizenship and leadership in the service of society.

    Our founders intended a revolutionary education designed for a revolutionary age, one that is innovative, forward-looking and ultimately useful to citizens of a new democracy. Now, more than two centuries since our founding, in an age of human-caused climate change, widespread environmental disruption, and widening inequality, fulfilling this commitment requires that we make far reaching changes in what and how we teach, how we use resources, and how we interact with the world around us.

     

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