Author: news
Bird is the word at the wildlife clinic
June 4, 2015By Anna Lehr Mueser, Public Relations Manager
When we say the baby birds have been pouring into our clinic, we mean it. Earlier in May we were receiving as many as 40 patients a day at the clinic. So, we wanted to share a few of the baby birds we’ve been caring for:
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PLAY Manayunk: The Way-Way-Back Story
May 7, 2015By Guest Contributor Melissa Andrews, Destination Schuylkill River
PLAY Manayunk is happening on Saturday, May 16 in Manayunk and celebrates outdoor recreation, fitness, and healthy living in our area. Did you know that this event is inspired by major changes to the neighborhood over multiple decades, and that Manayunk’s own canal towpath is a major character in that story?
A walk on the towpath on a beautiful day feeds the senses. All along the path, there are views of the canal and adjacent Schuylkill River, but patience and repeat visits yield more unusual sights. Turn around the bend near the…
Nature Preschool loves Earth Day
April 30, 2015By Shannon Dryden, Nature Preschool Manager and Sweet Gum Classroom Lead Teacher
At Nature Preschool, our children are immersed in outdoor experiences daily, connecting them to their surroundings and the Schuylkill Center in a meaningful way. At events like Naturepalooza, the children show their expanding knowledge and the bonds created through open-ended exploration. Learning through play and touching, feeling, smelling, tasting, and hearing is what these children do best and it brings joy and happiness in many ways. Just look at the smiles! Below, some highlights from Earth Day and Naturepalooza with our preschool.
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Children Need Nature is…
Earth Day and the Green Tsunami
April 22, 2015By Mike Weilbacher, Executive Director
On Wednesday, April 22, 1970, 45 years ago today, more than 20 million Americans participated in the largest mass demonstration in American history, some 1 million in New York City alone. They marched wearing gas masks and buried cars in mock graves protesting polluted air, threw buckets of dead fish into the lobbies of corporate offices to protest polluted water, and carried signs with grim messages like “RIP: Earth.”
It was the first Earth Day. Reflecting back, it’s too easy to forget how angry people were about a polluted planet back in 1970.
In Philadelphia,…
The First Wildflower of Spring
April 16, 2015 By Mike Weilbacher, Executive Director
All kinds of extraordinary things happen in a springtime forest: animals like woodchucks and insects emerge from of their long winter’s naps, birds return from migration, tree buds pop open, and wildflowers begin blooming on the forest floor.
And those flowers appear in an elegantly orchestrated parade, blossoming in a predictable order. The parade always begins with skunk cabbage, in full bloom now in several wet spots in the Schuylkill Center’s woods.
Except their flowers are not quite as colorful as tulips and crocuses, and they are very differently scented.
While many of us know…
Has it really been 15 years?
April 2, 2015By Mary Salvante
Editor’s note: 2015 marks the Schuylkill Center’s 50th anniversary along with the 15th anniversary of the art program. As part of our ongoing celebration of this milestone, we invited Mary Salvante, the founder of the art program, to write a reflection on the past 15 years.
Where does the time go? Seems like just recently I was visiting the Center for the first time. My first impression then was the notion that it would be a perfect location for an art program, and more specifically, an installation at the front entrance.
In 1999, the Schuylkill Center had…
Open-ended learning in nature
March 31, 2015By Shannon Dryden, Nature Preschool Manager and Sweet Gum Classroom Lead Teacher
Crack, splash, plop, and snap – followed by sounds of children laughing as they explore the melting ice at Polliwog Pond. “Look at this piece, I can see through it!” Next up, “I’m selling ice. Who wants a piece?” as an ice display is quickly assembled. A group of nearby preschoolers responds, “I do. I do.” Then, the adventures begin as the children carefully select the perfectly shaped piece of ice for their next escapade. A natural material provides inspiration and imagination amongst the children. (more…)
Nature in the City Photography Contest Winners
March 26, 2015This winter we had a blast with the Nature in the City photo contest. Dozens of pictures were submitted, from Philadelphia's skyline, framed by dried coneflowers in a field, and the glory of those late-seasons now storms. It was quite a challenge to choose the winners. Thank you to everyone who submitted a photo.
Winners
Hard & Soft, Richele C. Dillard
Taken in the East Oak Lane section of Philadelphia, Richele Dillard’s photograph captures the intimate level at which winter can interact with the world around us. Not even these fuzzy, spent wildflower heads could escape the clutches of winter’s…
Wildlife Clinic Rescues Owl Tangled in Net
March 19, 2015By Ezra Tischler, Public Relations and Environmental Art Intern
As the seasons transition from winter to spring we are fortunate enough to witness the flora and fauna of our region busily prepare for warmer weather and new beginnings. This time of year also brings many patients to the Schuylkill Center’s Wildlife Clinic, sometimes harshly illuminating the clash between our own activities and those of the natural world. Over the weekend the Wildlife Clinic dealt with one of those clashes when a great horned owl was brought in after being tangled in a soccer net.
[caption id="attachment_266156" align="aligncenter" width="377"] Michele with…
Terranean drama
March 12, 2015By LandLab Resident Artist Jake Beckman
Spring is just around the corner and with its arrival comes the fragrant, earthy smells of thawing soil. As my residency investigating the myriad aspects of soil formation at the Schuylkill Center enters its final phases, I ‘m finding myself reflecting on the terranean dramas that will begin unfolding in earnest as the temperatures rise.
The rock cliffs on the southern border of the property will shed their icy tentacles, exposing to sun and rain new fissures pried apart during the winter months. After a long winter of freezing and thawing, boulders will have…
