Pittsburgh, Pa. – September 9, 2022 – The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is accepting proposals for a contract to provide cultural and historical research, reporting, interpretive education and training services for the “Untold Stories of Pennsylvania’s State Parks & Forests” project.
The project is a collaborative effort of the Conservancy, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission and other partners that seeks to discover, interpret and share the untold stories of underrepresented and marginalized groups associated with lands currently operating as state parks and forests in Pennsylvania.
Conventional white, Eurocentric historical information on Western Pennsylvania’s state parks and forests is readily available to the public through onsite interpretive material, published literature and online resources. However, stories of historically underrepresented people and communities related to these lands, particularly stories of women, indigenous people and people of color, are not as readily available.
If researched and interpreted thoughtfully, these stories can help drive change toward more welcoming and inclusive experiences for all visitors to state parks and forests and may broaden interest in and accessibility to these public spaces through conveying a more thorough acknowledgment of land use history and prehistory.
This request for proposals is open to all qualified cultural and historical professional services contractors. Proposals must be received by 4 p.m. September 30, 2022.
The RFP can be downloaded here and must be emailed to:
Jeffrey Bergman
Senior Director, Community Forestry & TreeVitalize Pittsburgh
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
800 Waterfront Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
jbergman@paconserve.org
Funding for this project is made possible by the DCNR Community Conservation and Partnership Program and Richard King Mellon Foundation.
About the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy:
The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) enhances the region by protecting and restoring exceptional places. A private nonprofit conservation organization founded in 1932, WPC has helped establish 11 state parks, conserved more than a quarter million acres of natural lands, protected or restored more than 3,000 miles of rivers and streams, and assessed thousands of wildlife species and their habitats. The Conservancy owns and operates Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List and symbolizes people living in harmony with nature. In addition, WPC enriches our region’s cities and towns through 130 community gardens and other green spaces that are planted with the help of more than 7,000 volunteers. The work of the Conservancy is accomplished through the support of more than 10,000 members. For more information, visit WaterLandLife.org or Fallingwater.org.
Media Contact:
Carmen Bray
Director of Communications
412-586-2358, work
cbray@paconserve.org