Elk grazing in a field, a frog in a pond, a river meandering through forests, sunsets over waterways.

The Susquehanna Greenways Partnership recently announced the winners for its annual photography contest, featured in the outdoors section of the Williamsport Sun-Gazette this past Tuesday.

We hope our audience enjoyed the images as much as we did, and we hope they were left with the same reflections we were: That our region offers not only breath-taking scenery but a rich array of opportunities for outdoors recreation.

As we have noted before, our region offers hunting, fishing, hiking and backpacking, kayaking and canoeing, bicycling and many other forms of leisure.

All of these opportunities — and others — often grace participants with a chance to enjoy seeing Pennsylvania’s rich variety of wildlife. From as small as butterflies and the aforementioned frogs to as large as black bears and the elk herd on the western edges of our region, Pennsylvania’s wildlife is stunning.

This bounty of activities is an economic engine, supporting countless small businesses in Lycoming County and surrounding communities. It should also be a source of pride for everyone who calls our communities home.

We encourage families to learn about these opportunities and to introduce their children to them — enjoying outdoors recreation is both an excellent way to encourage youngsters to be active and an excellent way for those youngsters to learn about the role conservation and related sciences play in our world.

Beyond promoting active, learning lifestyles, outdoors recreation affords families time together, away from many of the distractions of daily lives.