By Damien Ruffner, School Programs Manager

June 29th, 2007 changed the world forever: This is not the date of a presidential election, or the start or end of a military conflict. It’s not the day humans first traveled into space, or discovered some profound scientific theory. Think smaller, about 4 inches to be exact. It’s the date the first iPhone was released. And here we are, one decade into the smartphone generation.

The aspect of my position at the Schuylkill Center that takes up the most time every year is the Adventure Treks summer camp program, and specifically the 10-12 year old camp group. This means this upcoming summer, for the first time, I’m going to have kids coming to my most popular program that have never existed in a world without a smartphone. Older generations are in a constant struggle with these kids and their blasted phones. “Put those away!” “Am I going to have to confiscate that?” “No phones will be allowed on this trip.”

I’ll admit that I am guilty of saying a few of these phrases in my career as an educator. But is it the right way? It’s a question I struggle with constantly. If a 10 year-old comes to camp this year with a phone, how can I tell him or her that they can’t have it? Their whole life has been integrated with this device. It’s used in schools. Complicated schedules are logged and tracked. They have pictures of their friends, contact information for their parents or guardians. It’s a 21st century security blanket. Think about it like this: What if you went to a camp and the person in charge said there was going to be no running water or indoor bathrooms at this camp. And it’s simply that way because whoever was in charge didn’t have running water at camp when they were younger, and neither should you. In other words, it’s the “right” way to experience summer camp. Things have changed, and as educators, we have to adapt. Continue reading →

By Elisabeth Zafiris, Acting Director of Education

On February 23rd the Schuylkill Center will welcome Robert Thomas, a founder and principal of Campbell Thomas & Co. Architects and Planners, as our 6th Annual Richard L. James Lecturer. This year we’ll be talking about The Circuit – a remarkable network spanning the region and connecting urban, suburban, and rural communities.

Thomas dedicated over 40 years advocating for parks, trails, and greenways, planning and building the green infrastructure that Philadelphians and visitors are fortunate enough to call their own. Thomas served on the original committee that created the Schuylkill River Trail, and was involved in drawing the first maps of The Circuit, an ever-growing network of regional trails. A lifelong cyclist, Thomas himself knows how important these trails are; for decades, Thomas has biked everywhere he goes, never owning a car. The Circuit Coalition, in turn, brings together 72 organizations to promote these 750 miles of trails. Continuing this work, Thomas advocated for bikes to be allowed on SEPTA trains, working alongside the Bicycle Coalition of Philadelphia. It’s safe to say that he’s a strong champion for the rich trail system we enjoy today.

Thomas brings his rich experience and perspective on trail systems to the annual lecture. He’ll discuss how The Circuit was created and regional vision to “Connect The Circuit” by linking all 750 miles of trails. Turning our attention to the future, Thomas will explore the coalition that has gathered around The Circuit and discuss the trail system’s future.

The Circuit trails are of special interest to the Schuylkill Center – our property borders the immensely popular Schuylkill River Trail. At the James Lecture Executive Director Mike Weilbacher will share details how the Center’s master plan invigorates our connection to the Schuylkill River Trail.

In the meantime, visit us – and come via the River Trail! Thomas recommends taking the Septa Manayunk/Norristown line to the Miquon station, walking the River Trail to the Schuylkill Center’s back entrance, and then walking up the back of the property – it’s route he recently took himself, and one that demonstrates what he thinks is the future for transportation – a linkage of cycling, public transit, trails, and roads that serve all people and places.

Past James lecturers include Kenneth Finch who spoke about the importance of keeping nature play in children’s lives in 2013 – coinciding with the announcement of our Nature Preschool, which opened later that year. In 2014, Dr. Michael Suk discussed the health benefits of nature; and, in 2015, Sarah Wu, of the city’s Office of Sustainability, walked a crowded auditorium through how climate change will affect Philadelphia’s future. The Richard L. James Lecture is an opportunity to think deeply about important environmental and regional issues, and this year’s lecture will be no exception.

This essay first appeared in the Winter 2017 Quill, our members’ newsletter.

By Damien Ruffner, School Programs Manager

Here at the Schuylkill Center, we set yearly themes. It doesn’t necessarily dictate all of our goals and events throughout the year. Rather it is an ongoing conversation that the staff members have that consequently is reflected in our programming. In 2015 we marked our 50th anniversary, working these celebrations into many aspects of our work. In 2016 our theme was climate change. For 2017 the conversation around the Center is “What does environmental education look like in the 21st century?” It’s a simple enough question, but the answer is not so simple. We’re so early into this span, and who knows what kind of advancements in technology will shape the later part of the century?

My biggest goal, and first step, in answering this question is reminding people that nature is not “over there.” It’s easy to think that we live in civilization, and nature is some destination. There has been this separation in the 20th century of nature and people. That has to change if we want to move forward with environmental education. The great outdoors is not a place you drive to, pay an admission price to get into, and then take a few pictures of. It’s all around us, all the time. It’s in the trees planted along Ben Franklin Parkway. It’s in the grass behind your house. It’s in the fields we mow to play baseball.

My first introduction to nature was in my classroom. Our principal, and lead teacher, brought the outdoors into our world. She had animal stations that we were in charge of. She had more plant species than I can remember (all native to the Mid-Atlantic region) and it was our responsibility to care for them. When I was younger, I thought it was busy work. Put a ten-year-old in charge of the plants for this week and he can almost babysit himself. It’ll focus his energy and keep him from disrupting class with his friends, as ten-year-olds tend to do. Looking back now I see the true purpose. It was to foster an appreciation of plants and animals I never would have come in contact with. I began to care for these species even though I was never taught a single fact about them. I’d go home and water the wilting plants my mother had on the windowsills. I’d find box turtles in my back yard and return them to the forest. I caught and showed my mother salamanders, much to her dismay, before returning them to the stream that ran through my neighborhood.

The easiest way to foster an appreciation of the outdoors is to simply introduce a student to the natural world. With limited resources, and ever growing testing schedules, a trip to a place like the Schuylkill Center might be out of reach. So I urge all teachers to bring the outdoors inside. Bring some plants in to decorate your room and assign students to take care of them. Bring in a pet like a hamster or snake and keep it in the room where students can not only see it, but get used to it. Make it a part of their everyday lives and slowly, but surely, nature will not be “over there.”