Tag: news-import
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,…
Fall Festival at Nature Preschool
November 10, 2014By Shannon Dryden, Nature Preschool Manager and Lead Teacher
October and November are a time of transition and growth here at Nature Preschool. The leaves are changing, the children are growing and bonding, and the environment is preparing for the colder temperatures to come. This is the time when I hear, “Does my friend John come today?” or “Miss Shannon, look what I found, it’s the fur from a milkweed plant!” The children are becoming more aware of each other and even better observers when it comes to the outdoor world.
Perhaps one of the times when this is most…
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…)
Botanical Weaving with WE THE WEEDS
October 30, 2014By LandLab Resident Artists Zya Levy and Kaitlin Pomerantz, WE THE WEEDS
For our Landlab Residency project, the process of its creation is of great importance. As we work towards the installation of a large-scale sculpture created from woven plant material in Spring 2015, we invite Schuylkill Center visitors to participate right now in creating the tapestry panels which will comprise it. In this way, the exploration of global plant migration, and the ecological and cultural roles of non-native plants, becomes a hands-on, engaging experience, with a cumulative, archival result. The following photos show some moments in the process-- from the…
All About Apples
October 24, 2014By Shannon Dryden, Preschool Manager and Sweet Gum Classroom Lead Teacher
The beginning of the year at preschool means apples! For most preschools, this is also the case, but at Schuylkill Center Nature Preschool, an interest in apples developed from enjoying apples snacks to the preschoolers’ observations along the trails. Playing and exploring outside led to a deeper association with apples.
As both classes walked along various trails (getting to know our outdoor community), they started classifying the types of trees with their teachers’ help, by looking at the shape of the leaves, the bark, and branches. Inspired by the…
Trick-or-Treating Through the Years
October 9, 2014By Ezra Tischler, Arts and PR Intern
[caption id="attachment_123980" align="alignleft" width="150"] Halloween hikers gather before heading out on a night walk (1977).[/caption]
The forest can be a scary place at night. Its unfamiliar sounds reach out from the darkness, telling a nocturnal tale we humans seldom hear. However, the nighttime forest is full of much more than fright. By the light of moon, the forest comes alive. Owls screech and hoot; frogs croak; skunks, raccoons, and opossums forage through the forest floor; bats flap about in search of something to eat. A wondrously active forest is born each night.
At the…
Nature Preschool, Community-Building, and Responsibility Rocks!
September 24, 2014By Shannon Dryden, Nature Preschool Manager and Sweet Gum Lead Teacher
The first few weeks of Nature Preschool have started off with a busy buzz and hum as the two classrooms, Sweet Gum and Sycamore, have filled with children, conversations, artwork, lunch boxes, water bottles, and more. It may seem silly but every September I am reminded how the beginning of the year reinvigorates teachers and classrooms as new personalities come together to build a community. It is loud (as it should be), it is busy (many moving bodies), it is messy (children’s hands at work), it is full of…
The Biggest Day in 50 Years
September 17, 2014By Mike Weilbacher, Executive Director
This piece was originally published in the Roxborough Review on Thursday, September 10 in the column Natural Selections
Saturday, September 27 might just be the biggest day in the Schuylkill Center’s storied 50-year history. On that day, we’re offering the first bird seed sale of the year, the last native plant sale of the year, and launching the University of Nature, a full day of outdoor learning for adults. We’re beginning the day by presenting the ninth annual Henry Meigs Award for environmental leadership to Ann Fowler Rhoads, and ending the day by unveiling a new show in our…
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…
