Author: news
Dear 2040: Damien Ruffner wonders about the future
December 2, 2015By Damien Ruffner, Program Coordinator: Camps & Afterschool
October 2, 2015
Dear Future Program Coordinator: Camps & Afterschool,
I hope this letter finds you well. As I sit here wondering what 2040 will look like at the Schuylkill Center, I can’t help but wonder if even the position will exist in that year. I have been here exactly three years as I write this and my title has changed three times in as many years. So I imagine it will continue to grow and evolve as the programing we offer moves forward.
I’m not sure if compensation time will still…
Children Need Nature
December 1, 2015By Gail Farmer, Director of Education
I was born in 1975, part of Generation X, probably the last generation whose parents felt comfortable sending their kids out into the neighborhood after school. “Go outside and be back by dinner,” was a common directive from my mother. Behind my house was an undeveloped hill, and “The Hill” was where my sisters and I went when my mom sent us outdoors. My childhood was also filled with Girl Scouts, dance classes, and community soccer, but my best memories and my most formative experiences come from the times my mother wanted nothing more than…
Dear 2040: From Judy Wicks
November 25, 2015By Judy Wicks, founder of the White Dog Cafe
Dear citizens of the world in 2040,
If you are able to read this letter, I am relieved. I have been worrying about you - you the children of our children’s children – because today’s humans, your ancestors, are endangering your future by destroying the natural systems your lives will depend upon. When I watch how other species care for their young – from gorillas to penguins to whales – I see how willing they are to give their very lives to secure a safe future for the next generation. Yet…
Environmental Art at Nature Preschool
November 20, 2015By Rebecca Dhondt, Sassafras Lead Teacher
When people think of a preschool experience, art almost always comes to mind. Children need art, not only for the development of their creativity, but as a support for growing cognitive, social, and motor abilities.
All high quality preschool programs incorporate art daily. Walking into a typical classroom, parents will see evidence of painting, gluing and sculpture. Hopefully there will be a well-developed art center with various supplies that are easily accessible to the children. Also, completed works of art will be clearly labeled and prominently displayed around the room and in the halls.…
Dear 2040: Melissa Nase on a greener Philadelphia
November 17, 2015By Melissa Nase, Manager of Land Stewardship
October 10, 2015
Dear Future Land Stewardship Manager,
I hope that you are reading this full of positivity and empowerment. There is a certain developing momentum now - urban gardening, native plants, the value of getting outdoors - and my hope is that these past 25 years have been full of a growing environmental awareness throughout the Philadelphia region and the world, with movements rising up from small community groups as well as developing from our political leaders.
My hope is that Philadelphia will take the lead in emphasizing environmental policies, creating a…
Dear 2040: Diane Burko on art, the earth, and 2040
November 11, 2015By Diane Burko
TIME CAPSULE FOR 2040
What our global environment in general and Philadelphia in particular will look like all depends on how and IF the public heeds the dire warnings about Climate Change all around us now in 2015. Today’s global temperature data keep 2015 as hottest year to date. When surface temperatures are combined with ocean heat content, scientists chart warming continuing at a rapid rate. On Tuesday, March 24, the temperature in Antarctica rose to 63.5°F - a record for the polar continent. More glaciers than ever are retreating throughout the world. Storms and droughts are…
Time + Art: A sculpture Changes with the Forest
November 5, 2015By Christina Catanese, Director of Environmental Art, and Anna Lehr Mueser, Public Relations Manager
Since it was installed in April 2015, Jake Beckman's installation Future Non-object #1 has been changing with the forest around it. Created through the LandLab environmental art residency program, the sculpture was designed to address a local ecological problem. In this case, a lack of woodland fungi. The installation, involving over 1,000 small pieces of wood inoculated with fungi, will slowly decompose into the forest, providing habitat for the fungi.
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By the way, Jake Beckman's going to be…
Dear 2040: From an ecologically-minded artist
November 2, 2015By Stacy Levy
To be Opened in 25 years: A letter from an ecologically-minded artist
Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education Time Capsule
What does your world look like? I am sitting at a table in the rain 25 years ago, writing in pen on a pad of paper— already an outdated method for wrangling words in my day. The rain is falling and it feels natural and normal to hear the pattering sound of the drops on the roof. Will rainfall be considered with such comfort and coziness for you?
These same molecules of water could be raining on you…
Dear 2040: Climate change activist Richard Whiteford thinks about the future
October 30, 2015By Richard Whiteford
Hello. My name is Richard Whiteford. I’m writing to you on August 24, 2015. I’ll turn 69 next month so, if I live to be 94, there’s an outside chance that I can be there when you open this capsule.
In my lifetime I’ve watched humans destroy the world’s biological diversity to the point of increasing the extinction rate to 1000 times the natural background rate from habitat loss and climate change. For instance, fish populations are crashing, agricultural areas worldwide are being decimated by extreme droughts. Many rivers are running dry from the loss of glacial…
Field Guide: October Colors
October 29, 2015By Melissa Nase, Manager of Land Stewardship
Enjoy our October mobile field guide as you walk, hike, and play in the fall forests. See other Field Guide posts here.
Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) and Blue Wood Aster (Symphotrichum cordifolium)
The deep red foliage of the blueberry bush is a great contrast to the lighter, more delicate blue wood aster. Both of these plants have their own unique characteristics. Highbush blueberries produce edible fruit enjoyed by humans and birds and are a nice, sculptural addition to your garden. The blue wood asters provide a mat of tiny flowers throughout the fall season. They…
