Author: news
Dreaming of Springtime
March 11, 2015By Claire Morgan, Volunteer Coordinator & Gift Shop Manager
As warmth begins to creep into the air, many of us are dreaming of spring. With this in mind, I recall the fond memories of the Schuylkill Center’s Community Gardens and the 80-plus families that soon will be preparing their garden beds for planting in the spring. There’s nothing like beating the winter blues with thoughts of warm days working the soil, seeing new seedlings emerge from the ground, watching bluebirds swooping down, red-winged blackbirds cackling in the tree tops, and toads croaking in the ponds.
The five acre property comes…
Nature Above the City
February 25, 2015By Ezra Tischler, Public Relations/Environmental Art Intern
The sun was starting to set as we stood on the 8th floor rooftop looking at the rising towers of Center City just a few blocks to our east. A breeze swirled across the helipad, weaving through massive HVAC units, across a garden of ornamental grasses and perennial natives. It was mid-September and the low-growing succulents of the PECO Green Roof created a nice contrast with the yellow blooms of Coreopsis ‘Crème Brulee’ and the pinkish-red Gaura lindheimeri. Bees and butterflies buzzed and fluttered about the varied vegetation. It was hard to believe a city…
We’re thinking about renovation a lot these days
February 19, 2015By Anna Lehr Mueser, Public Relations Manager
We’re now 18 days into our building renovations, with the entire east wing of our visitor center closed off. On the first day, a wall went up to keep noise and dust down. Behind that wall, floors and bathrooms are being replaced, some classrooms renovated while others refreshed, windows updated with more energy-efficient versions, and the antique HVAC replaced.
So here, six things we’re looking forward to about the new spaces:
Elisabeth, our public programs manager, is looking forward to the new aesthetic, with modern colors and an auditorium scaled up for big events…
What does a photo of nature in the city look like?
February 18, 2015By Anna Lehr Mueser, Public Relations Manager
As submissions come rolling in for our "Nature in the City Photography Contest" this month, we wanted to share a few examples of what nature in the city means to our community. From images of the traffic through the trees to wildlife in an urban forest, the images show all sorts of things.
Want to share some of your own? Send us up to three photos! All the details are here.
[gallery type="circle" ids="254756,254757,254758,254759,254760"]
The Next Mayor of a Great American City
February 12, 2015By Mike Weilbacher, Executive Director
It’s still deep in the winter, so it’s not too surprising that the city’s mayoral race has barely begun heating up, and candidates are still sorting themselves out. As of this writing, the May Democratic primary features quite a range of experiences: former DA Lynne Abraham, former Common Pleas judge Nelson Diaz, former councilman James Kenny, former senior VP at the Gas Works Doug Oliver, state senator Anthony Williams, and possibly even former state senator Milton Street, a former mayor’s brother.
On the Republican side, while both newly retired Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice Ron Castille…
2015 photo contest looks at nature in the city
January 29, 2015By Anna Lehr Mueser, Public Relations Manager
This year we’re thinking about what the idea of “nature in the city” means. We’ll be exploring what it means to find nature in urban environments, in human environments. It could be a strip of weeds teeming with insect life, an urban geology nature walk, or a nature center located in the city; the concept of nature in the city means many things to many people.
In honor of this cold season, when snow drifts down on our city, bringing out beauty among trees and buildings alike, it’s time for our 2015 photography…
Wetlands and WetLand in the city
January 19, 2015By Christina Catanese, Director of Environmental Art
Often, when I fly into Philadelphia International Airport, I imagine what a bird’s eye view of the area must have looked like back before Philadelphia became the bustling metropolis it is today. If I squint just the right way, I can almost see how the flat expanse of skyscrapers and rowhomes transforms to green, how South Philly and even the airport itself melt into the freshwater tidal wetlands that were once in their place (the last remnant of which is still visible at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge). (more…)
Of Soil and Seeds
January 16, 2015By Melissa Nase, Manager of Land Stewardship
With ice on the ground and some remnants of snow lingering in the shadows, it is hard to believe the growing season at Schuylkill Center will begin in just a handful of weeks. For gardeners like me, these cold days are the perfect opportunity to leisurely browse the glossy, colorful seed catalogs and dream about what to add to the garden this year, the bounty of the harvest, and warm summer days spent among blooms. I hope to add some more shade-loving native plants to my back yard, and stave off the continual…
Fifteen Years of Environmental Art at the Schuylkill Center
January 13, 2015By Christina Catanese, Director of Environmental Art
In 2000, Mary Salvante had an idea that the Schuylkill Center could be the perfect place to showcase environmental art. Nearly 15 years later, I’ve been reflecting on the past decade-and-a-half of environmental art at the Schuylkill Center: 20 outdoor exhibitions, 11 artist residencies, and dozens of shows in our gallery. Over the years, artists have grappled with issues and wonders in our ecosystem and shared their responses in diverse media. This post shows just a smattering of highlights of the art program going back to our very first gallery show and first artist-in-residence.…
Introducing Nature in the City
January 8, 2015By Anna Lehr Mueser, Public Relations Manager
When I stepped outside yesterday the morning air was chilly and damp, the sky overcast. A bus rumbled by me and pulled up to the corner, as I walked by I heard the announcer call out the stop and route number, and listened to my shoes make soft thumping sounds on the pavement. All around me stood buildings, some only a few stories tall, others much larger. Everywhere I looked, I saw concrete, glass, steel, and plastic. But there is more here, in the city, in Philadelphia.
When I look closer, I see…
