Youghiogheny Sojourn Cancelled
In case you haven't noticed, the listing for the Youghiogheny Sojourn has been removed from the Sojourns page recently. The Yough Sojourn, originally scheduled for June 20 - June 26 has been cancelled for this year. It is an unfortunate occurrence, though as I've mentioned before, these trips don't make much profit at all (if any), and with a reduction in funding from the state level this year, we've seen the first toll taken.

The state has indeed made a high priority of "building community conservation partnerships with local governments and nonprofit organizations to conserve rivers, develop greenways and trails, protect critical natural areas and open space, provide quality park and recreation opportunities and to improve the quality of life in Pennsylvania's communities" (River Sojourns 2004 Grant Award Letter to POWR). And we can only hope that the funding in future years will return to the level it was at previsouly which allowed us and numerous River Sojourn organizing groups around the state to bring this program to the successful level it has reached. Now we need to keep it there, and that means getting the Youghiogheny back as a participant next year. The Yough is one of the East Coast's premiere recreational rivers, and by not having a River Sojourn on the Yough this year, Pennsylvania misses out on a chance to showcase this gem.
- posted by frank cetera @ 10:12 AM

 
How Do Sojourns Work?
I get lots of calls and emails asking about how Sojourns work? These are from people who want to take one of the trips, but after checking out the basic info on our site, don't have a clear grasp of the concept. So here are five pointers:

1) Sojourns are meant to be educational trips, so expect to take part in numerous group activities such as naturalist presentations, hands-on learning activities, and service projects. Don't expect to just be along for the ride, these are participant active events.

2) All Sojourns are organized and coordinated by seperate organizations at the local level. So the requirements for registration, fees, boat use, etc. vary from Sojourn to Sojourn, sometimes slightly, sometimes by alot. For example, most trips let you bring your own boats, but some have required the use of boats provided by outfitter partners. Another example, some sojourns require a seperate one-time registration fee in addition to daily fees, others do not.

3) Due to #2, you must contact each group individually for registration and schedule information. This information along with web links, is available on POWR's website.

4) Sojourns are very much all skill levels inclusive. If you are a hardcore paddler, and unwilling to stay with the group, re-think your motivations for coming. This is one instance where you need to be willing to work with the full cadre of Sojourners, and enjoy the trip together, this includes following all safety personnel orders, such as running small rapids single file, and not negotiating down sections of the river that the safety crew deem off-limits.

5) If you are a novice or beginning paddler, then you will find no shortage of willing teachers on the Sojourn. Most are more than happy to share techniques, gear tips, and more, like maybe letting you try out their new paddle.


- posted by frank cetera @ 3:25 PM

 
Earth Day
HAPPY EARTH DAY ! ! !
- posted by frank cetera @ 4:26 PM

 
Registration Now (or at least soon)
Being the administrator at POWR for the PA River Sojourn Grant program, I get to attend a number of Sojourns (or at least part of them) throughout May and June, for the purposes of checking out the trips. I have no doubt that things are going swell, while I enjoy myself along the way, promote POWR and the Sojourn program, and interact with our constituency.

Last year I attended the full 2-day Swatara, one day on the Chartiers, the full 4-day French Creek (since it was River of the Year), and the last two days of the Susquehanna. After looking over my calendar recently, it looks like my schedule this year can entertain the full 2-day Clarion on May 21-22, the final day of the Alle-Kiski-Cone on May 23, the first two days of the Schuylkill on June 5-6, the last two days of the Juniata on June 18-19, the first two days of the North Branch Susquehanna on June 23-24 (even though I attended part of the Susquehanna last year, it's important to participate again this year due to the River of the Year designation for 2004), and a final fun filled whitewater day on the Lehigh June 27.

Now I need to get my registrations in to hold spaces for me. And a major point of this post is to remind you to do the same as soon as possible. Yes, days on various Sojourns do fill up to capacity, and you don't want to miss out on the days you have identified as your first choices. Especially vulnerable are weekend dates. So to get paddling, get filling out your registartion forms now.
- posted by frank cetera @ 3:59 PM

 
Susquehanna Sojourn Youth Art Contest
The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay is holding it's popular Susquehanna Sojourn Youth Art Contest once again this year.

"The 2004 Susquehanna Sojourn needs an illustration to place on boat decals, banners, posters, and other promotional material. We are seeking colorful images 8.5 by 11 inches that in some way depicts the spirit of this event and Susquehanna’s North Branch."

In addition to having the winning image used for Sojourn promotional materials, the winner will recieve a free trip on the Sojourn along with one adult family member. 2nd and 3rd place winners will receive one free day on the Sojourn along with one adult family member.

Last year's artwork was a multi-colored panorama scene that included canoeists, a large soft shell crab, and trail hikers along the river. The design quickly made the Susquehanna River Sojourn's 2003 commemorative T-shirt my favorite out of all the events I attended. I was a little disappointed when I had to settle for a size Large shirt (when I wear X-Large) due to my joining the trip quite late in the week, but my wife sure enjoys it now.

Read the full announcement here: Susquehanna Sojourn Youth Art Contest
- posted by frank cetera @ 3:40 PM

 
Try a Sojourn .... Virtually
Perhaps not surprisingly, many people still do not know what a sojourn refers to when they come across the term. Simply put, to sojourn is "to live for a short time in a place; stay temporarily" according to wordsmyth.net. So a PA River Sojourn is a temporary stay within the boundaries of one of Pennsylvania's waterways. Living, traveling, eating, playing, learning, and doing while a part of a watershed and an ecological and social community.

If you'd like to experience that firsthand, but are not yet sure about taking part in an actual Sojourn trip, why not check one out virtually? Greentreks.org has produced a wonderful webpage full of multi-media explorations and experiences from Sojourns in Pennsylvania.

Audio clips, video clips, still photos and more are available to entice you out onto the waterways of PA. One of the newest productions, Sojourns, A River Adventure, is a 26 minute video (available on VHS or DVD) that "illustrates how recreational activities like sojourns motivate people to protect the rivers by showing them just how valuable our resources are."

- posted by frank cetera @ 3:32 PM

 
Sojourn Marketing
This year we made our first real attempt at expanding the exposure of Pennsylvania River Sojourns, as I mentioned in the last post, with our magazine ad runs. You can now take a look at the ad as it will appear by clicking on the following link and viewing the ad PDF at our website.

http://www.pawatersheds.org/sojourn04/SojournAd.pdf

We then went and used this ad layout to do double-duty as a promotional mailer postcard as well. We sent approximately 285 of these out this year to past Sojourn participants. If you didn't receive one and would like to be included in next year's mailing please drop me a line. Oh yeah, and even though the magazine ads are being carried out in b&w, the mailers went out in full-color, so only those on the list get that special treat.

We'll probably increase the number of mailers going out next year as we increase the breadth of our contact lists, and hopefully focus on paddling clubs and watershed groups as recipients as well.

- posted by frank cetera @ 4:13 PM

 
Hitting The Newstands
POWR took its first foray into advertising the PA River Sojourn program in magazines this year. Two periodicals were selected based on subject matter and circulation numbers, Canoe & Kayak magazine and AMC Outdoors magazine. We had hoped to hit a few others too, maybe Pennsylvania regionally based, but our drop in funding just would not allow that this year.

It's nice to get the word out about our Sojourn program past Pennsylvania borders though. This was undoubtedly already happening as some of our waterway's watersheds overlap into neighboring states (The Delaware, the Susquehanna, for example), but now folks from all over the country can take a look at the cool trips and that are being coordinated here in PA.

Look for our ad in the May issue of AMC Outdoors, and the June/July issue of Canoe & Kayak.
- posted by frank cetera @ 11:24 AM