Category: Nature
What’s blooming at the Schuylkill Center?
June 11, 2015By Melissa Nase, Manager of Land Stewardship
Welcome to our new mobile Field Guides! We'll regularly post guides about what's blooming, what animals you can see, and other interesting things to observe in the woods, meadows, and streams. These posts are designed to be easy to read on a phone, meaning you can take this mobile field guide out with you as you walk, hike, and play. See other Field Guide posts here.
Tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipfera)
The most common tree you will see on the Schuylkill Center’s property, this tree has distinct yellow and orange flowers and leaves that look like…
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…
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…
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…
Giants of the Forest: Reading the forest
December 15, 2014By Melissa Nase, Manager of Land Stewardship
Every day at the Schuylkill Center I am reminded of the passing of time, the history of the land, and the immense power of plants to change our landscape. Amazed at how the trees could grow so tall in just 50 years, I stand in awe of the towering tulip poplars (also called tuliptrees) which rise high above old fields once clear cut for agriculture. As winter approaches and vegetation retreats, ruins and farm walls of old homesteads - signs of literally hundreds of years of human occupancy - reveal themselves as markers…
Weaving Art into Nature
November 21, 2014By Ezra Tischler, Public Relations and Environmental Art Intern
LandLab resident artists Kaitlin Pomerantz and Zya Levy, of WE THE WEEDS, have been busy collecting invasive plants like oriental bittersweet, mile-a-minute, wisteria, Japanese stiltgrass, and bush honeysuckle at the Schuylkill Center. These gathered vines are then woven together using hand-built looms, creating beautiful tapestries of varying color and texture. Be sure to check out their guest blog post detailing the process and progress of their botanical weaving project.
Zya, taking full advantage of her resident artist title, recently spent some time exploring the Schuylkill Center's property. Her exploration resulted in some impromptu land art capturing…
Fall of light
November 13, 2014By Anna Lehr Mueser, Public Relations Manager
This morning as I drove down the driveway to the Schuylkill Center, passing the large meadow to the north then the gentle slope of forest where the Pine Grove and Founders Grove stand, I realized the leaves are nearly gone.
Here and there a plume of yellow or red glows against the pale forest. These days I look into the woods to see colors, and instead, I see the fall of light. The trees stand empty, their beautiful forms exposed. A soft fall of light, visible deep in the woods, carries a hazy,…
Restoring Cattail Pond
November 3, 2014
By Melissa Nase, Manager of Land Stewardship
Cattail Pond sits in a serene, sunlit woodland opening at the edge of our forest, just a few quick steps outside our back door. It is a special place, nestled into one of the few areas on the property that is free from undulating topography, naturally protected by a steep slope uphill from it and surrounding trees. Taking all of this into consideration, it’s not surprising that there are also ruins of a barn near the pond, part of a former homestead and a reminder of the rich history of this land. (more…)
5 Reasons Why We Love September
September 3, 2014By Anna Lehr Mueser, Public Relations Manager
1. Melissa, our Manager of Land Stewardship, loves how in September, the smells change. The smells of summer start to change into the smells of fall, leaves drying, falling, last flowers blooming, a shift in the tone of the forests and fields.. There’s an earthy smell, as leaves begin to rot, the forest changes subtly, signaling the new season.
2. Gift Shop Manager and Volunteer Coordinator Claire enjoys how the brightness of the sun changes. Leaves are starting to drop and more light filters through the trees, lighting both forests and homes, offering more…
Gazing upwards to see backwards: A look at local vines and their origins
July 8, 2014By LandLab Resident Artists WE THE WEEDS, Kaitlin Pomerantz and Zya S. Levy
Look up on any summer day and your eyes are bound to come into contact with climbing, clambering vines. Clinging to treetops and fences, tumbling across buildings, these robust and intrepid climbers adventure always upwards, using structures natural and manmade to achieve great heights and lengths.
On the Schuylkill Center premises alone there are dozens of vine varieties. Natives include moonseed, wild yam, grape, green briar, and poison ivy. Even more abundant are the invasives: oriental bittersweet, mile-a-minute, Japanese honeysuckle, porcelain berry, and wisteria. Where did these…
