Enjoy an evening of fun, food and refreshments starting at 5 p.m. April 19 at Byllye Lanes during the inaugural Bowl-A-Thon, sponsored by the Donald J. Comes Natural Resources Learning Center, located at 9011 Route 46 in Smethport.
“Funds raised will go towards general upkeep of the area, work with the McKean County Master Gardeners putting in some more pollinator gardens and upkeep on the garage the master gardeners use,” noted Rob Dickinson, client relationship manager for Penn State Extension.
Teams of four or five bowlers will be accepted by filling out a registration form which can be obtained at the Penn State Extension office, located at 17129 U.S. Route 6 in Smethport, or by calling 814-887-5613. The cost is $25 per person, which includes pizza, non-alcoholic refreshments and a T-shirt. Those interested in purchasing an alcoholic beverage at the event can do so at their own expense.
The Donald J. Comes Natural Resources Learning Center has been funded through donations from individuals and businesses in McKean County.
“We are a Penn State entity, though we stand alone,” noted Dickinson. “That’s why we are having a Bowl-A-Thon.”
The 41 acres of land the center is located on was generously donated by the late Donald J. Comes of Norwich Township. The intention of the gift was to provide 4-H students and adults in the region with learning experiences in renewable natural resources topics through hands-on demonstrations, study sites, interpretive trails and extension programs.
“The project kind of got off the ground in the 2012-2013 era,” said Dickinson. “They moved forward with it fairly quickly and secured their own funding through local sources.”
Though the project seemed to be going full force, it lost steam around 2017, when Penn State went through a major reorganization. Many of the individuals who spearheaded the movement went on to retire and the project was put on the backburner.
“I was hired about a year ago and picked it up as my cause to move forward with things,” Dickinson explained. “Our biggest push is going to be — we want to build an educational center.”
The educational center has a projected cost of around $300K, and the center will be available for public use.
“We want to do things on our forestry end, 4-H end and master gardeners to create a multi-use facility that will enhance the property,” said Dickinson. “Donald Comes, through his ultimate generosity, has given us all an opportunity now, and in the future, to support learning for youth and adults about North Central Pennsylvania’s abundant and magnificent natural resources.”
Proposed future attractions, as listed in a brochure for the center, include youth forestry and wildlife competitions, walking and interpretation trails, plant and flower identification, geocaches, greenhouse and gardens, a kayak and canoe landing site and fishing, along with a wide variety of educational programming and hands-on demonstrations.
Dickinson hopes people will come out to the center to experience it for themselves.
“I’d like people to come visit it and see where it’s at now,” he said. “The more involvement we can get from the public, the more successful we will be. We currently have the master gardener pollinator gardens and trails that are open that we’ll be cleaning up in the spring.”
For more information about the center, visit the Donald J. Comes Natural Resources Learning Center Facebook page or call 814-887-5613.