Training & Events

The 2021 Greenways & Trails Summit will be held at the Erie Bayfront Convention Center in Erie, PA on September 19-21. The Summit seeks to inspire improvements and expansion to Pennsylvania’s trail system, build peer networks, and celebrate successful projects connecting the public to land and water trails throughout the state. Taking inspiration from our host location, the theme this year is Blue, Green & Everything in Between: Connecting PA’s Land and Water Trails. Over the course of 3 days, the summit will offer dozens of educational sessions, 4-5 mobile seminars, keynote presentations, discussion panels, and various social and networking opportunities to our attendees.
The Summit is financed in part by a grant from the Pennsylvania Recreational Trails Program, Federal Highway Administration, administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation.

Early Registration end: July 23
Regular Registration ends: August 27

In the 1980s, Japanese scientists began looking for ways to combat the negative impacts that urbanization was having on individuals and society as a whole. They discovered that a two- to three-hour immersion in the natural chemistry of a forest, can

lower blood pressure
reduce stress levels
improve mood
increase restfulness, and
boost the immune system.
They called the practice “Shinrin-yoku” which literally translates “forest bath,” the art of taking in the atmosphere of the forest.

Steve Ruelke, an ANFT Certified Forest Therapy Guide, will offer you the opportunity to experience the forest in an American version of Shinrin-yoku through a series of invitations designed to reconnect you with the forest, allow you to bathe in her healing atmosphere, and rewild your relationship with the rest of nature.

Steve will open the doors; the Forest will do the rest.

About Steve: Steve Ruelke is a forest bathing enthusiast, naturalist, and woodland wanderer who lives in the northern Poconos of Pennsylvania not far from one of his favorite state parks. He has been trained and certified as a forest therapy guide by the Association of Nature & Forest Therapy Guides & Programs, whose aim is to ignite and reignite our love for the more than human world.

​ The PAEE Annual Conference is an opportunity to celebrate and grow in the ​fantastic environmental education field in Pennsylvania!
​We look forward to being back in person in 2022! Join us in Harrisburg March 21-22, 2022 for our Annual Conference. More details will be available soon!

Join us March 29-April 1, 2022, and rejoice at our in-person event after two long years away from colleagues and friends! With even more to celebrate as PRPS and its members mark 75 years of this amazing event. More details coming soon!