Building on our past to create a legacy for our future


Connecting our environmental and social history to today's issues.

Join Us At Our November Speakers Series Event!




SAVE THE DATE! Closing the Food Gap in South Mountain, will both feature keynote speaker Mark Winne, who addresses these issues in his books, "Closing the Food Gap" and "Food Rebels, Guerrilla Gardeners, and Smart Cookin' Mamas". Prior to the evening keynote address symposium participants will have exclusive access to a networking reception featuring locally grown & produced refreshment and the unique opportunity to meet individuals, organizations, and businesses that are committed to working together to improve our regional food system.

As part of a day-long professional symposium, hosted at Wilson College in Chambersburg, PA on Thursday, November 10, 2011, the event will provide participants the opportunity to learn more about food security issues and programs addressing access, availability and usage.

The day program Closing the Food Gap; Connecting Community & Local Food program will feature Mark Winne and also include action planning sessions focused on the needs of the region. These sessions will identify gaps, opportunities, programs, and develop ideas. The ultimate goal of the planning sessions is to aid collaboration in order to better serve the residents of South Central PA.

Keynote speaker, Mark Winne, will provide guidance as we move through the afternoon in both learning and action planning sessions. The program will also highlight many projects connected to the Adams County Food Policy Council and the broader South Mountain Landscape.

This event is sponsored by Healthy Adams County, Wilson College, and the Capital Resource Conservation & Development Council with the generous support of the South Mountain Partnership.

To register for the day symposium visit http://www.tastethegifts.blogspot.com

For questions about participating or providing event sponsorship, please contact Kathy Gaskin (kgaskin@wellspan.org; 717-337-4137) or Cheryl Burns (cburns@capitalrcd.org; 717-241-4361).

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Join Us September 29, 2011 For the Next Speaker Series Event!


FREE EVENT!!! 
At Shippensburg University
Memorial Auditorium 
September 29th, 2011 / 7-9 p.m.


Join Dr. Paul Marr, a professor of geography and earth science at Shippensburg University, at the Memorial Auditorium on campus. 


The history and importance of transportation lines in the region will be the focus of the next free lecture in the South Mountain Speakers Series. 
"When we look closely at the Appalachian Mountains, the central feature is not the many peaks but a central valley running from Pennsylvania to Georgia.  This Great Valley, known as the Cumberland Valley in Pennsylvania, has served as a vital transportation link for many centuries and has shaped the region's history in a wide variety of ways," said Allen Dieterich-Ward, an assistant professor of history at Shippensburg University and the chair of the South Mountain Partnership committee on the Speakers Series.

The relatively flat route funneled settlement to the south and west and attracted the attention of Confederate generals during the Civil War.  Today, the I-81 Corridor is one of the nation's most important north-south routes and plays an important economic role for local communities.   

Dr. Marr's  expertise on transportation issues in the South Mountain region extends from published research on the colonial era to a 2008 report on warehousing and trucking industries in Franklin and Cumberland counties.   

After the lecture, Dr. Marr will be joined for a panel discussion on contemporary land use issues by Steven Deck, who recently served as senior planner for a regional transit coordination study throughout south central Pennsylvania, and Kirk Stoner, planning director for Cumberland County.  

Conserving Treasured Landscapes in the Chesapeake Bay

FREE EVENT!!!  
Thursday, May 12th 2011 at 7 PM At the 
Adams County Agricultural and Natural Resources Center
670 Old Harrisburg Road, Gettysburg, PA 17325 (Click here for a map)

RESTORING THE CHESTNUT: The chestnut’s story is rooted in catastrophe but survives through our hope & work

Join us at our next South Mountain Speaker Series Event!

FREE EVENT!!! At the Penn National Community, Trellis Terrace, 3720 Clubhouse Drive, Fayettville, PA 
Thursday, April 7, 2011 starting at 7 p.m.

Preserving Heritage In the South Mountain Region: A look into innovative partnerships around the mountain

Wednesday, February 9, 2011 
Cumberland County Historical Society
21 North Pitt Street Carlisle, PA 
12:15 p.m., brown bag lunch, bring your lunch and coffee and cookies provided


Speaker: Kimberly Williams, South Mountain Partnership Co-Lead and Landscape Protection Coordinator, Appalachian Trail Conservancy


The South Mountain Region has a complex and rich story worth telling and preserving.  South Mountain of Central Pennsylvania holds in its forested slopes layers of history. It holds stories and remnants which are key ingredients to the region’s sense of place.  Discover overlapping themes of stories and remnants and how they are RELEVANT TODAY, including:


Natural wealth. The mountain’s natural wealth has a direct connection to the surrounding valley’s agricultural abundance and early prospering industries. Today we are learning new ways to profit from our wealth while conserving for future generations.
Refuge. The mountain served as a place of refuge to those fleeing from slavery on the Underground Railroad and those fleeing poor health at the South Mountain Restoration Center. Today, the mountain serves as a refuge of recreation that serves millions with major icons like the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and one of the largest intact forests near D.C. and Baltimore.
Conflict. Human conflict in the past several hundred years has direct tie to the mountain like the Civil War’s Battle of Monterrey Pass and the housing of a WWII Prisoner of War Camp. Today conflict over the preservation of our heritage and natural resources provides chances for new innovative ways to resolve conflict and increase collaboration.


Learn how these themes are relevant today, as they tie in directly into our sense of place and economic progress. Learn what the South Mountain Partnership, a unified group of private citizens, business, not for profit organizations and governmental officials, is doing to promote and preserve our rich heritage.