Game Commission’s Lauren Ferreri Named 2019 “Woman of the Environmental Education” Award Recipient

Congratulations to Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Middle Creek Wildlife and Management Area Manager Lauren Ferreri for recently being named PennFuture’s 2019 “Woman of the Environmental Education” award recipient!

The award honor’s Lauren’s dedication to educating her community about sustainability and environmental policy. At Middle Creek, a popular tourist and wildlife watching destination, located in Lancaster and Lebanon counties, Lauren oversees the Visitor’s Center and museum, she also manages the controlled waterfowl hunts and the collection of biological data at the area.

Lauren is also the one who counts all the snow geese and waterfowl present at Middle Creek during the species’ annual migration, which typically occurs in the late winter months. We’re talking sometimes more than 100,000 birds she’s counting at one time! Click here to learn more about how she completes that task.

If you tuned into the HDonTAP livestream of the recent snow goose migration, Lauren helped with the installation process and provided daily updates for the Game Commission’s website and social media channels.

In addition to designing trail signs focused highlighting wildlife and the habitat they need, Lauren has helped to develop audio used for the wildlife driving tours visitors can access by radio while visiting the area. She has also been instrumental in re-energizing the National Hunting and Fishing Day event in September at Middle Creek, which now includes more than 30 conservation agencies or outdoor-related groups. More than 2,000 people attended the events in 2017 and 2018.

In response to learning she would be receiving this award, Lauren said, “I am extremely humbled and grateful to win this award. Not only does the award recognize women in conservation, but hopefully sheds light on the importance of the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area to the public. Women in the conservation field are reaching positions where they have an ability to impact many people, not just in the state of Pennsylvania, but nationwide and worldwide. I am honored to be part of that movement.”

Lauren will accept her award at the PennFuture’s 5th Annual Celebrating Women in Conservation Awards program in late April. PennFuture is a Pennsylvania organization that promotes clean air, pure water and a healthy climate in the Commonwealth. The 2019 Awards are designed to encourage continuing excellence in conservation and to forge a stronger network of exceptional women working to protect the Commonwealth’s environment.

Bruce Metz, director of the Game Commission’s Southeast Region said, “Lauren is always taking advantage of training opportunities and recently graduated from the year-long Governor’s Emerging Leaders Program. She is well-respected in the agency and deserving of this award.”

Congratulation, again, Lauren! We’re proud of the work you’re doing.