New Environmental Awareness Platform Hosted By Staunton Parks and Recreation

Parks and Recreation providing stage for environmentalists to have their voices heard

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STAUNTON, VA (04/18/2011)(readMedia)-- Another new section from the Staunton Parks and Recreation Department's Spring/Summer Brochure is being disclosed ahead of the printed version reaching Staunton mailboxes on April 25th. The new section "Environmental Awareness Platform" is anchored by instructor Joe Murray. Joe knows trees! Joe's educational background includes the completion of a Master's of Science in Plant Pathology from Virginia Tech, Masters in Teaching from the University of Richmond, and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Radford University. Joe is a certified arborist, certified utility arborist and a certified tree worker/climber specialist. In addition to his "day job" teaching biology at Blue Ridge Community College, Joe is a tree biology educator traveling around the United States teaching and learning about trees and people. We are very fortunate to have him on board.

Joe is joined in this section by author Sarah Hollberg (Better Models for Development in the Shenandoah Valley 2010) , Nesha McRae of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, and B.R.C.C. Instructor Margaret "Maggie" Marangione. Maggie has been living on a small sustainable homestead in the Blue Ridge Mountains for over twenty years and keeps a variety of livestock and gardens. She is an instructor of American Literature and writing at Blue Ridge Community College and researches and writes on the history of the Shenandoah National Park and the families that were displaced.

The Environmental Awareness Platform was created to furnish a raised stage to lift our instructors up so everyone could can see and hear them. Of course that raised stage is our very recognizable brochure and other marketing elements like the networked press release and our blog. We are essentially providing a place for environmental activists and supporters to have their voices heard. We think this community education piece is vital today as we have pushed our global ecology past sustainability. Providing tools and information through our instructors voices to assist our community in the effort to re-balance our natural world is our department's motivation.

Environmental Awareness Platform (see attachment)

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