Tag: news-import
Dear 2040: Melissa Nase on a greener Philadelphia
November 17, 2015By Melissa Nase, Manager of Land Stewardship
October 10, 2015
Dear Future Land Stewardship Manager,
I hope that you are reading this full of positivity and empowerment. There is a certain developing momentum now - urban gardening, native plants, the value of getting outdoors - and my hope is that these past 25 years have been full of a growing environmental awareness throughout the Philadelphia region and the world, with movements rising up from small community groups as well as developing from our political leaders.
My hope is that Philadelphia will take the lead in emphasizing environmental policies, creating a…
Dear 2040: Diane Burko on art, the earth, and 2040
November 11, 2015By Diane Burko
TIME CAPSULE FOR 2040
What our global environment in general and Philadelphia in particular will look like all depends on how and IF the public heeds the dire warnings about Climate Change all around us now in 2015. Today’s global temperature data keep 2015 as hottest year to date. When surface temperatures are combined with ocean heat content, scientists chart warming continuing at a rapid rate. On Tuesday, March 24, the temperature in Antarctica rose to 63.5°F - a record for the polar continent. More glaciers than ever are retreating throughout the world. Storms and droughts are…
Time + Art: A sculpture Changes with the Forest
November 5, 2015By Christina Catanese, Director of Environmental Art, and Anna Lehr Mueser, Public Relations Manager
Since it was installed in April 2015, Jake Beckman's installation Future Non-object #1 has been changing with the forest around it. Created through the LandLab environmental art residency program, the sculpture was designed to address a local ecological problem. In this case, a lack of woodland fungi. The installation, involving over 1,000 small pieces of wood inoculated with fungi, will slowly decompose into the forest, providing habitat for the fungi.
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By the way, Jake Beckman's going to be…
Dear 2040: From an ecologically-minded artist
November 2, 2015By Stacy Levy
To be Opened in 25 years: A letter from an ecologically-minded artist
Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education Time Capsule
What does your world look like? I am sitting at a table in the rain 25 years ago, writing in pen on a pad of paper— already an outdated method for wrangling words in my day. The rain is falling and it feels natural and normal to hear the pattering sound of the drops on the roof. Will rainfall be considered with such comfort and coziness for you?
These same molecules of water could be raining on you…
Dear 2040: Climate change activist Richard Whiteford thinks about the future
October 30, 2015By Richard Whiteford
Hello. My name is Richard Whiteford. I’m writing to you on August 24, 2015. I’ll turn 69 next month so, if I live to be 94, there’s an outside chance that I can be there when you open this capsule.
In my lifetime I’ve watched humans destroy the world’s biological diversity to the point of increasing the extinction rate to 1000 times the natural background rate from habitat loss and climate change. For instance, fish populations are crashing, agricultural areas worldwide are being decimated by extreme droughts. Many rivers are running dry from the loss of glacial…
Field Guide: October Colors
October 29, 2015By Melissa Nase, Manager of Land Stewardship
Enjoy our October mobile field guide as you walk, hike, and play in the fall forests. See other Field Guide posts here.
Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) and Blue Wood Aster (Symphotrichum cordifolium)
The deep red foliage of the blueberry bush is a great contrast to the lighter, more delicate blue wood aster. Both of these plants have their own unique characteristics. Highbush blueberries produce edible fruit enjoyed by humans and birds and are a nice, sculptural addition to your garden. The blue wood asters provide a mat of tiny flowers throughout the fall season. They…
Seed Counting
October 28, 2015By Shannon Wise, Nature Preschool Manager
Seeds – the beginning of something, the signal of a cycle continuing, a start. With the season of fall upon us, the Schuylkill Center forest has been filled with seeds covering the ground and showing up amongst the trees. For me these seeds symbolize the start of a new school year, the continued pattern of growth and learning for a new set of Sycamores, Sweet Gums, and Sassafras. It is the planting of knowledge and questions for teachers and children here at Nature Preschool.
What happens at the start of each year defines the…
Dear 2040, it’s Maya van Rossum
October 20, 2015By Maya van Rossum, Delaware Riverkeeper
Dear Future Generations,
You are 25 years in the future. Please tell me what my beloved Delaware River is like today. I am hopeful that the work that is keeping me up at nights today in 2015 has resulted in a cleaner and healthier River for you. (more…)
Schuylkill Center Old Fashioned Recipe
October 15, 2015By Anna Lehr Mueser, Public Relations Manager
This past Saturday afternoon was idyllic: the early fall light streamed through the trees golden and green, the air was crisp, but not cold. And 130 friends of the Schuylkill Center gathered in Jubilee Grove to celebrate our 50th anniversary, wrapping up the year of special events. We dedicated Jubilee Grove and it’s new Binney Meigs sculpture, our Nature Preschoolers sang a delightful song for us (“Schuylkill Center Dream”), Judy Wicks and Maya van Rossum both read letters to 2040 (look out for their letters on the blog soon), and our education director…
The Start of the Year at Nature Preschool: Discovery Walls
September 30, 2015By Shannon Wise, Nature Preschool Manager
The Discovery Wall
As you scan the walls in each Nature Preschool classroom, you will find our Discovery Wall. It is a space filled with photographs of animals, plants, or natural objects along with categorization labels. This blend of play, experience, and science tells a story much deeper than what you encounter at first sight.
Being outdoors and exploring in nature is the heart and soul of our Nature Preschool. Each and every day the children travel the trails, open to the possibilities of the environment. It could be a multi-colored leaf, a wiggly…
