The congregation of St. John's United Church of Christ in Emmaus has donated $600 to the locally-based Wildlands Conservancy. A check was presented July 20 by Dr. Paul Knappenberger, pastor of the church and Irene Kraft, co-chair of its missions committee. Accepting the check were Christopher Kocher, conservancy president and Jackie Jones, its director of development. Church members contributed money for the conservancy in May, as part of St. John's commitment to being a “green church” that carries out missions to benefit the environment. The church had learned the conservancy needed money to purchase woodland maintenance tools, including a utility vehicle and to feed wildlife. In addition to the $600, about $150 has been collected by the Christian Education department of St. John's during its recent environmentally-themed Vacation Bible School program. That money also soon will be presented to the conservancy. Based in its 78-acre Pool Wildlife Sanctuary right outside Emmaus, Wildlands Conservancy is committed to protecting and restoring natural areas for future generations - including through its educational programs. Since 1973, it permanently has preserved more than 60,000 acres of land. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO