Pennsylvania Governors Institute for Environment and Ecology

The last week in July was so fun-filled and interesting that I don’t even know where to start. Jane and I attended the Pennsylvania Governors Institute for Environment and Ecology. There were so many exciting people to meet (none of course as exciting as Jane) and I learned a lot more than I could ever imagine.

The conference was at the Seven Springs resort in Pennsylvania. If anyone has ever been to this resort they will know what I mean when I say it is a beauty. The hotel itself looks sort of like a castle, with a huge tower made of stone walls. The resort is known for its skiing and snow tubing so there are a bunch of slopes surrounding the resort. In the summertime there obviously isn’t any snow but there is a huge slide going all the way down one of the slops and from what I hear is just as fun as tubing or skiing. The food was great and there were many things to do if you didn’t have anything to occupy your time .

The first night of the conference was called “networking night”. There was a huge conference room set up with a whole bunch of tables for the different vendors. All of the teachers had to go around to each vendor and get them to sign a paper all while listening to the speaker. Jane had warned me that the teachers try and fly by but man I wasn’t expecting it to be as crazy as it was. The teachers would quickly walk up to you and ask your table number. Then they would search through their packets to find your page and be like “here, can you sign this!” The teachers wanted to get out of there because it was their only free night. I do understand that but I thought that they would find Jane rather interesting so I made sure they listened to what she had to say before I signed anything. Each person who came to our table got to pick which one of Jane’s books they would like to take home with them. It really seemed like the teachers were fascinated by Jane and her books. I was so surprised at how many people knew exactly who she was. I could hear them whispering when they were walking up, “There is Jane Kirkland she is the author of that No Student Left Indoors book”. And I work for her-I’m just saying that’s pretty cool.

The second day was my favorite. Jane and I didn’t have anything scheduled for that day until nighttime so we went sightseeing. We decided to visit one of the most famous houses in the world located in Bear Run Pennsylvania. The house is called Falling Water (pictured to the right) and was built by Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright built this house in 1936 for the Kaufmann family and friends to use as their summer home. The Kaufmann Family owned a store and was very wealthy so they paid Wright to build their summer home on top of a waterfall. This house is unlike anything I have ever seen. The house was literally built right on top of a waterfall. There are steps that lead right down to the water. This house is so beautiful I would love to buy for myself! The floor of the house is made of rock and it all the decorations are very modern although this house was built quite some time ago.

Not only the house itself is beautiful but the surroundings of the house are outstanding as well. The Kaufmann family would use the property as a summer camp for their friends and family. The Northern Pennsylvania Conservancy took over the house in 1963 and has been taking care of it ever since. There are many different types of tours that you can take of the house and grounds surrounding it. The Barn at Falling Water was also purchased by the Kaufmann family and is now used as a nature center. They also have a very nice gift shop and a museum at Falling Water. I recommend everyone visit this house whenever they get a chance to-it is unforgettable.

We also ventured to a town near Falling Water called Ohiopyle and visited their state park. Jane and I took some really great pictures (there I am on the rocks, top right). We found a little garden and it had a fritillary butterfly (pictured to the right) and a hummingbird moth(pictured to the right) sipping on the flowers. The hummingbird moth is such a cool insect to see because it moves so fast, much like an actual hummingbird. At the state park there was a nice bridge that overlooked a river, it was very pretty.

The rest of the conference was filled with meeting very interesting people, fun workshops, and great speakers. I really enjoyed this conference and I experienced so much. I am really lucky that I get to do these kinds of things for my work. The conference was busting with school teachers and that’s what I’m leaning towards for a profession so it was nice to be surrounded by the people that I might someday be a part of.