Missy Horrow: “I Feel Like I Have Come Home”
August 31, 2021[caption id="attachment_273174" align="alignnone" width="640"] Missy Horrow, Director of Early Childhood Education[/caption]
Last Wednesday, the teaching staff of Nature Preschool at the Schuylkill Center gathered to begin preparing for the post-Labor Day opening of the school. Starting its ninth year, our staff will again immerse three-, four- and five-year-olds in the natural world in all seasons. And once again, for the third school year, our staff will try to steer their students through pandemic whitewater-- but that’s a story for another day.
That evening, Missy Horrow, the school’s new director, wrote in her Facebook feed, “today was the first day of…
Schuylkill Center Intern Redesigns the Entrance Garden
August 23, 2021[caption id="attachment_273125" align="alignnone" width="640"] A masked Schuylkill Center intern Jamel Shockley weeding the front entrance garden with volunteers.[/caption]
“It’s the first thing people see when they walk in the front door. It’s like the first word of a play or the first note of a song-- if it catches your attention and draws you in, you’re already off to a good start.”
Hearing the Schuylkill Center’s intern, Jamel Shockley, talk about redesigning the gardens in front of our main entrance, it is easy to share his enthusiasm. A lifelong Philadelphian and recent Drexel graduate with a degree in environmental science,…
Schuylkill Center Mandates Vaccines for Staff
August 16, 2021On July 3, Philadelphia reported all of 177 cases of COVID-19 across the city, the lowest number since the pandemic’s beginning in March 2020. It seemed-- felt, hoped-- we were FINALLY crawling out of the pandemic’s pit.
Then the highly transmissible delta variant struck, the fourth wave ramped up, and for the week ending August 7, the city reported 1,238 cases, a 700% increase in only one month. $%$#@!
So last week, to almost no one’s surprise, Mayor Jim Kenney reestablished a masking mandate in the city.
The Schuylkill Center decided we needed to respond to this disappointing wrong-way bend…
Creativity inspires curiosity
August 12, 2021[caption id="attachment_273081" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tina Plokarz and Deenah Loeb[/caption]
The Center’s Board of Trustees bid a fond farewell to Deenah Loeb, who completed three consecutive three-year terms. For most of her tenure, Deenah chaired the environmental art committee working very closely with that department’s director. She has been a tireless advocate for our environmental art program and guiding the use of our land as a living laboratory for how an art program enhances an area’s natural habitat.
Fellow board member, Leah Douglas, appreciated Deenah’s legacy and said, “her dedication, thoughtfulness, and commitment to the art committee has been inspirational. She…
New Mystery Illness Killing our Birds
August 2, 2021[caption id="attachment_272993" align="alignnone" width="880"] A robin that has passed away from the new mystery bird illness sweeping across the country. Photo courtesy of Tamarack Wildlife Center.[/caption]
Listen to Chris Strub, Director of Wildlife rehabilitation on WHYY's Radio Times discussing this disease (starts at 32:00)
For bird enthusiasts, this spring had an ominous touch of COVID deja vu. Young birds were falling ill with alarming symptoms and dying-- and no one knew the cause. Most commonly impacting starlings, blue jays, and grackles, the illness typically shows up with weeping, crusted-shut eyes and neurological symptoms. And like COVID, some birds are asymptomatic,…
Something wicked this way comes
July 26, 2021[caption id="attachment_272978" align="alignnone" width="300"] Severe Storms Bring Damaging Winds, Hail and Power Outages to Region[/caption]
Last Wednesday, I was standing in the parking lot of a nature preserve in Blue Bell, wondering what to do-- should I stay and gut it out, or get the heck out of the way?
I was looking up and west, and the sky above me was dark and getting darker, the angry sky of a powerful storm quickly moving in. I thought of a witch’s line from Hamlet that became a Ray Bradbury novel that morphed into a Jason Robards movie: something wicked this…
Iraqi refugee brings a piece of his culture to Philadelphia
July 19, 2021[caption id="attachment_272963" align="alignnone" width="300"] Artistic team of Al Mudhif at the Schuylkill Center (Yaroub Al-Obaidi, Sarah Kavage, Mohaed Al-Obaidi). Photo: Rob Zverina.[/caption]
A house built of five crossing arches made of reeds spanned over knotted joists and lattices. Columns and walls strung together with rope and twine, encompassing a breezy and light-flooded space. A shelter in the middle of the woods at the Schuylkill Center. Upon entering, the reed structure offers a shady sitting area with carpets and pillows, inviting guests to gather and relax. Al Mudhif - A Confluence is the new art installation by Iraqi designer Yaroub Al-Obaidi…
Typical Summer Camp at the Schuylkill Center
July 12, 2021Now that summer is here and covid-related restrictions have loosened, summer camp at the Schuylkill Center is in full swing giving many kids their first taste of freedom in over a year. This summer follows an atypical school year, when most students spent all or part of the academic year learning from their desk, bed or dining room table. They adjusted to long school days in front of a computer screen, without recess or the opportunity to socialize with their classmates. For those that attended school in-person, connecting with friends was a challenge with face masks, reduced class sizes, physical…
Unknown Illness Affecting Songbirds
July 7, 2021Following up on our post last week about the unknown illness affecting songbirds, the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PAGC) has released more information on cases in Pennsylvania. The full news release can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/3rax5s36
We’ve had several questions about this outbreak, and hope we can help clarify a few points for our bird-loving friends:
Where is this happening? To date, reports of ill birds have come from 27 counties, including Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery and Chester. While not all reports of ill or deceased birds may be related to the same unknown illness, we advise the public to follow all…
This Independence Day, Plant A Liberty Tea Garden
July 5, 2021[caption id="attachment_272919" align="aligncenter" width="768"] New Jersey tea in full bloom[/caption]
Independence Day is one of the quintessential summer celebrations, replete with good food, (hopefully) enjoyable company, and citywide displays of fireworks.
Here at the Schuylkill Center though, and indeed in many wild corners of our city, a very different kind of fireworks display has been happening for the past few weeks.
Milkweeds burst with pink globes and sprays of orange. Red and lavender beebalm florets arc across the meadow. Yellow sunchoke flowers shoot up and fade into brown seedheads. Fields progress from lush spring green to a crescendo of summer…
