Western Pennsylvania Conservancy

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The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC), headquartered in Pittsburgh (40°27′51.73″N 79°58′37.10″W / 40.4643694°N 79.9769722°W / 40.4643694; -79.9769722), has been around for more than 80 years (Established in 1932) and exists to protect the water, land and life of Western Pennsylvania. Half of all the land that has been protected by land trusts in Pennsylvania has been conserved by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and the organization organization is responsible for community gardens in 20 counties. This nonprofit organization has been entrusted with preserving Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright's masterwork in Mill Run, Pa. The house was called the most important building of the 20th Century by the American Institute of Architects recently voted the most important building of the 20th century.

Charity Navigator listed WPC in the Top 10 Charities in 2012.

Fallingwater, maintained and preserved by The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, is open to visitors

Activities

Since 1932, WPC has protected more than 233,000 acres (94,000 ha). Most of that land is now publicly owned and makes up some of Pennsylvania's premier parks, forests, gamelands, and natural areas - visited by millions of residents and tourists. WPC's work enables protection of important natural resources and creates economic benefits - from tourism in the Laurel Highlands, recreation in the Clarion River and Loyalhanna Gorge, to forestry in the Allegheny National Forest and Forbes State Forest in Westmoreland County.

WPC plants more than 135 community gardens each spring in 20 western Pennsylvania counties.

The Frank Lloyd Wright designed Fallingwater house, perched over the Bear Run waterfalls at Mill Run, is an internationally renowned architectural landmark. Public tours are offered.[1]

Nature Preserve

Bear Run flows within the Bear Run Nature Reserve, protected and administrated by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. Hiking trails in the nature reserve give access to enjoy Bear Run and the pristine Laurel Highlands in this region of the Allegheny Mountains.

Projects

WPC acquired land for the creation of ten state parks, including:

WPC's Community Gardens and Greenspaces Program and its more than 13,000 volunteers plant a quarter of a million flowers every spring and have created greespaces at 66 Pittsburgh schools. It is the managing partner of TreeVitalize Pittsburgh, which will plant 20,000 trees in the Pittsburgh region by the fall of 2013.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.fallingwater.org/

External links

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