Tag: news-import
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…
Winterfest with Nature Preschool: Winter, Stars, & Nature Crafts
December 18, 2014By Shannon Dryden, Nature Preschool Manager and Sweet Gum Classroom Lead Teacher
Stars are a practical and magical symbol for children and adults alike. They are a mystery of the sky, full of gas, providing us with light, and are still something that we don’t yet fully understand. They are a symbol of hope, something to wish upon, or a picture to represent many holiday celebrations this time of year. With the dawn of the winter season upon us and the upcoming winter solstice, Schuylkill Center just held its annual Winterfest, a star themed family event welcoming Schuylkill Center Nature Preschool…
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…
Drunk Cedar Waxwing at the Wildlife Clinic
December 8, 2014By Michele Wellard, Assistant Wildlife Rehabilitator
The woman who brought the waxwing in said he seemed "tame." He just sat on her finger and wouldn't move, and that's what prompted her to call the clinic. She was convinced the bird had been raised by humans. When she brought him to me, perched on her finger, I thought he had a sort of 'faraway' look about him - like he wasn't entirely present. There was just sort of an odd affect about him. Additionally, he also was in absolutely PERFECT feather, and he was in great body condition - upon palpating…
#StormSnakes Update – Wriggling Through Change
December 5, 2014By LandLab Resident Artist Leslie Birch
Right now I've been experiencing some interesting emotional connection to my LandLab project. This may seem odd, as my project is probably the most tech oriented of the bunch! I can only describe it as this feeling of letting go of attached ideas and really just observing and listening, both to nature and the people that know it well. That is different for me, because most of the time my projects are conceived ahead of time so they can be "pitched" to the people that may green-light them. The process for LandLab is very…
