KANE — A team based in Kane was accepted to the Appalachian Gateway Communities Regional Workshop scheduled for Nov. 5-7 at Steele Creek State Park in Bristol, Tenn.
The workshop is put on by The Conservation Fund and is sponsored by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and the National Endowments for the Arts (NEA).
Applications for the workshop were open to Appalachian communities that are entry points to natural and state parks and forests, trails and other public lands.
“This 3-day workshop will provide teams with skills to capitalize on opportunities related to sustainable drivers for local economic development, cultural heritage and natural resource tourism, public arts promotion, and preservation and stewardship of community character,” according to The Conservation Fund.
Kane is an eastern gateway community to the Allegheny National Forest, which attracts nearly 1 million visitors each year, and is located roughly 15 miles from the Kinzua Bridge State Park and Skywalk, which attracts close to 250,000 visitors per year. The Kane Area Development Center applied because they recognize that tourism is an underutilized economic driver in Kane, with opportunity for expansion through outdoor recreation and the arts.
On Sept. 23, the Kane team was notified that they were selected to attend the workshop.
“We are thrilled to have been selected,” said Kate Kennedy, executive director of the Kane Area Development Center. “This is an amazing opportunity to learn, meet others who live in areas like ours and bring back strategies to continue to benefit the movement and energy happening right now in Kane.”
Team members attending the workshop are Kate Kennedy; Merry Ryding, Artist and Director of ArtWorks on the Summit; Libby Bloomquist, Manager of the PA Wilds Conservation Shop at Kinzua Bridge State Park; Joshua Bridge, Supervisory Natural Resource Specialist of the USDA Forest Service for Allegheny National Forest; Jeremy Morey, Director of McKean County Planning Commission; and Terri Hinton, Workforce Development Specialist of the Northern Pennsylvania Regional College.
