Category: Events
Find Nature – Philadelphia: Guest Post from Lauren Ferri
March 24, 2014By Lauren Ferri, posted from Finding Nature Philadelphia
Growing up in the suburbs of New York, I had a huge yard with plenty of space to roam and explore. I remember playing outdoors for hours as a child, unearthing rocks and breaking them open hoping to find gems. I would dig through the dirt, pretending to be an archaeologist looking for lost cities and treasures. We had a garden where I would help my mother harvest lettuce, cucumbers, eggplants and tomatoes. Fortunately I didn't have to leave my property to experience the beauty and wonder of nature. These experiences left…
How do you see nature? Schuylkill Center photo contest 2014
February 6, 2014In celebration of the opening of Frost in the Environmental Art Gallery, the Schuylkill Center invites community members to send photos to our Winter 2014 Photo Contest.
Submit your winter photos by February 27!
More about Frost:
It is safe to say, this has been a winter of surprises, with temperatures plummeting well below what we usually expect for this region and snowfall far above. This cold is actually at the heart of our upcoming exhibition, Frost. We’re thrilled to welcome two Philadelphia artists to take on winter with a show that runs from February 15 – April 18. Amie…
Of Sassafras & Spirits
January 6, 2014By Mike Weilbacher, Executive Director
Beer, wine, scotch, tequila, even sake all have at least this in common: they come from plants. In her wonderful book The Drunken Botanist, Amy Stewart explores the dizzying array of flowers, trees, and fungi that we have transformed into alcohol over the centuries.
Join us at the Schuylkill Center on Thursday, January 16 at 7:30 p.m. for a special chat-and-sip event. We’ll talk about and read from the book, and Olivia Carb from Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, that extraordinary Philadelphia distiller, shares their drinks like Root, Snap, and Rhubarb Tea, all…
Goldenrod and Asters in the Last Chance Cafe
October 15, 2013By Mike Weilbacher, Executive Director
Autumn is notable for so many things: crisp weather, colorful trees, birds and butterflies migrating south, and my favorite sign of the season, fields overflowing with goldenrod and aster.
Yes, goldenrod, scourge of those hay fever commercials, the ones with some poor sneezing schmuck standing shoulder-deep in a field of stunning yellow goldenrod, waving the white flag of surrender. Trouble is, goldenrod doesn't give you hay fever. Its pollen is too heavy, dense, sticky—we don't breathe it.
But goldenrod unfortunately blooms at the same time as ragweed, a wind-pollinated nightmare that pumps trillions of pollen spores into the sky, praying one…
Restoring childhood play… and Philly’s first nature preschool
December 6, 2012Gail 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. My street ran along the bottom of 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…
Wellness Walks Even In The Winter
November 24, 2012By Gail Farmer, Director of Education
The temperature might be dropping, and the trees might be losing their leaves, but that doesn’t mean keeping up your exercise routine isn’t just as important.
Winter wellness walks have obvious benefits, but we found some more with a little research. In fact, it has been proven that winter walks may have surprising health benefits.
Benefit #1: Reduces Stress
Walking in the winter offers you a refreshing change of pace, says Alan Mikesky, PhD on Prevention.com, director of the human performance and biomechanics laboratory at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis. The invigorating cold air…
Philadelphia’s Top Trails
November 19, 2012[caption id="attachment_238" align="aligncenter" width="300"] On one of Schuylkill Center's Trails[/caption]
As Thanksgiving is fast approaching, you might be in need of an activity for your visiting family members.
Even as the weather starts to grow colder, the greater Philadelphia area offers many beautiful and relaxing nature trails. Try one of the following trails with your family, your partner, or even just for yourself this holiday season.
Looking for a more active day?
-Wissahickon's Green Ribbon Trail (20 miles): This multi-purpose path stretches along the Wissahickon Creek from Whitemarsh Township to a point near Lansdale Borough.
-Schuylkill River Trail (27 miles): Following the beautiful Schuylkill…
Butterfly Land
June 22, 2012As the mercury hovers around 100, people might wilt and retreat indoors—but the butterflies are having a ball. Summer is high season for butterflies, and the hotter it is, the happier they seem. In fact, driving down SCEE’s long driveway between the nature center and Hagy’s Mill Road, literally dozens of butterflies jump up from the dusty driveway to avoid the car, and dozens more flit across the driveway flying past.
We are Butterfly Land. Come see. Right now.
Just outside our front door, common milkweed is in full glorious bloom, perfect globular bursts that resemble pink fireworks. Smelling unbelievably…
Sex and the Single Firefly
June 5, 2012The male firefly, flashing in search of a female
By Mike Weilbacher, Exec Director
Saw my first firefly just last week, right after Memorial Day. For me, a naturalist who marks the passage of time by nature’s calendar, nothing says summer like an evening of fireflies.
And one of my favorite stories is the secrets of a firefly's flash.
When you see a cloud of fireflies rising from your lawn like liquid lightning, you are witnessing a stag party, a collection of horny males desperately seeking Susans-- every firefly flashing around you is male, the flash used to seduce a…
Tallamy Tabbed to Give the Inaugural Dick James Lecture
March 1, 2012The Schuylkill Center's founding director
Founding director. Outstanding teacher. Sharp wit. Leader. Acclaimed meteorologist. Radio and TV personality. Give Dick his due: he was a force to be reckoned with for decades.
To honor his accomplishments and reconnect to his legacy, the Schuylkill Center happily announces the establishment of the annual Richard L. James lecture. This year’s inaugural edition will be held Thursday, March 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the Cathedral Village auditorium.
Dr. Doug Tallamy, professor of entomology and author of the remarkable “Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants,” provides a visually compelling slide…
