Wetland Engineers - Thursday Night Nature (April 8)
Bogs and swamps are magical places that hold a variety of secret interactions, shaping the way that native plants change over time. Explore the role that small mammals like voles and mice play in changing the habitat around them. Their feeding and dispersal tendencies can make the difference between an area growing into a forest or remaining an open grassland!
Presented by Alicia Shenko, Ph.D.
Alicia Shenko is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Animal Biotechnology & Conservation at Delaware Valley University. She received her Ph.D. in Ecology & Evolution at Rutgers University and her B.S./M.S. in Environmental Science at Drexel University. She is primarily interested in natural interactions and the role that small mammals play in maintaining biological functioning. Much of her research has taken place in the NJ Pinelands but she enjoys spending time anywhere in nature interacting with anything that scurries or slithers.
Advance registration required.
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Additional Information: Online registration for this program closes on Thursday, April 8, 2021, at 5:00 pm; for help with registration please email education@bhwp.org.
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The Forgotten Forest - Thursday Night Nature (April 15) As late as the early 20th century, American chestnuts, butternuts and elms dominated northeastern forests. Today, they are a rare find. What happened? Join Preserve Curator Jason Ksepka to learn why we want to restore these important native trees, what work has been done by others to do so, how the Preserve can help, and what you can do, too! Discover the problems that impact these trees and the actions we can take to help improve our forests for future generations.
Presented by Jason Ksepka
Jason Ksepka ensures that the Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve conforms to the highest standards of museum practices by fully documenting the Preserve’s living plant collections, as well as monitoring the health of the living collections. Jason earned a B.S.F. in forestry and a B.S. in fisheries/wildlife management from the University of Missouri in Columbia. He is a passionate gardener who maintains a bog garden of carnivorous plants.
Advance registration required.
If you are a member and having trouble with using your code, please message development@bhwp.org
Additional Information: Online registration for this program closes on Thursday, April 15, 2021, at 5:00 pm; for help with registration please email education@bhwp.org.
You will receive your email with the Zoom meeting invitation after the registration period closes . Please be sure to keep an eye on your inbox and spam folders.
NOTE: At checkout, you will be required to enter a pickup time. Please scroll through the list and select “Virtual Class.”
Deer-Resistant Natives for the Northeast - Thursday Night Nature (April 22)
THE REGISTRATION PERIOD FOR THIS PROGRAM HAS ENDED
Join horticulturists Ruth Rogers Clausen and Gregg Tepper for an entertaining and informative lecture inspired by their recent book Deer-Resistant Native Plants for the Northeast . Ruth and Gregg will delve into the best native, deer-resistant plants to grow and how to grow them as well as deer repellants they’ve used and effective plant combinations they’ve found.
Presented by Gregg Tepper and Ruth Clausen
Gregg Tepper is a professional horticulturist, lecturer, consultant, and life-long native plant enthusiast. Early on in his career, he held the positions of Wood Path horticulturist and director of horticulture at Mt. Cuba Center in Hockessin, Delaware. He went on to be director of horticulture and board member at Delaware Botanic Gardens, where he was instrumental in developing the garden’s initial horticultural mission and implementing a two-acre meadow designed by world-renowned garden designer Piet Oudolf. He is now the horticulturist at the Arboretum at Laurel Hill and West Laurel Hill Cemeteries in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
British-trained Ruth Rogers Clausen is the author of 50 Beautiful Deer Resistant Plants, and co-author of Essential Perennials and The Proven Winners Garden Book, with Thomas Christopher, and Deer-Resistant Native Plants for the Northeast, with Gregory Tepper. She was horticulture editor for Country Living Garden magazine and a long-time contributor to Country Gardens magazine. Ruth lectures widely at horticultural symposia, to garden societies and clubs. In 2017 she was awarded the Garden Media Award by the Perennial Plant Association. Her interest in deer-resistant plants resulted from moving house to Westchester Co., NY where deer pressure is heavy.
Advance registration required.
If you are a member and having trouble with using your code, please message development@bhwp.org
Additional Information: Online registration for this program closes on Thursday, April 22, 2021, at 5:00 pm; for help with registration please email education@bhwp.org.
You will receive your email with the Zoom meeting invitation after the registration period closes . Please be sure to keep an eye on your inbox and spam folders.
NOTE: At checkout, you will be required to enter a pickup time. Please scroll through the list and select “Virtual Class.”
Evolution of a Garden Habitat - Thursday Night Nature (April 29)
As we look to our home landscapes to cease doing harm, support habitat and head toward a regenerative environmental future, we need to reinvent how we go about crafting them. In this talk, we’ll be discussing the three crucial elements of this crafting: design, installation and maintenance, and how we have had to reinvent decades-old industry practices to head toward this goal. With speakers Michael DeVos, installation director at Indigenous Ingenuities and adjunct professor of horticulture and design at the Barnes Foundation, Lauren Johnson, maintenance manager at Indigenous Ingenuities, and a regular columnist for Edible Jersey Magazine, and Carl Molter, design director at Indigenous Ingenuities and host of WDVR’s Into the Garden radio show.
Presented by Michael DeVos, Lauren Johnson and Carl Molter
Michael J. DeVos is installation director at Indigenous Ingenuities, an ecological landscape design-build company in Doylestown, PA, and instructor at the Barnes Foundation Horticulture Certificate Program. A graduate of Delaware Valley University, his career includes creating community gardens at the Greater Newark Conservancy, and restoration work on the Preserve’s own Founders Pond. He currently resides in Hunterdon County.
Lauren Johnson is maintenance manager at Indigenous Ingenuities and a regular columnist for Edible Jersey Magazine. Her hobby gardening experience includes maximizing her mostly shady yard with a cornucopia of native plants including Sedum ternatum, packera, and native fringe trees, along with a hearty dose of tiarella. She has a wide range of professional gardening experience, ranging from organic vegetable farming to estate maintenance, as well as nursery sales and marketing. When not enjoying the outdoors, she can be found in her studio conjuring up comedic illustrations.
Carl Molter is design director at Indigenous Ingenuities, and host of local FM station WDVR’s Into the Garden radio show. Son of a North Jersey landscape painter and gardener-mother, Carl grew up in an environment where art met the garden. He graduated from Rutgers with a degree in landscape architecture and has been designing area landscapes for over 30 years. When he’s not designing he spends time managing his sylvan acre and tending to his garden radio show.
Advance registration required.
If you are a member and having trouble with using your code, please message development@bhwp.org
Additional Information: Online registration for this program closes on Thursday, April 29, 2021, at 5:00 pm; for help with registration please email education@bhwp.org.
You will receive your email with the Zoom meeting invitation after the registration period closes . Please be sure to keep an eye on your inbox and spam folders.
NOTE: At checkout, you will be required to enter a pickup time. Please scroll through the list and select “Virtual Class.”
Changing Weather Patterns in PA: How does this impact our environmental goals? - Thursday Night Nature (May 6)
The climate is changing globally and our long-term plans should include how these changes impact Pennsylvania and the Northeast US. By knowing these expected impacts, we have the opportunity to improve the resilience of our regional systems, both natural and man-made, to extreme weather events.
Presented by Chris Forest, Ph.D.
Chris E. Forest is a professor of climate dynamics in the department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science at The Pennsylvania State University, where he is part of the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute and is the director of the Center for Earth System: Modeling, Analysis, and Data. His research focuses on quantifying uncertainty in climate predictions for assessing climate risks, and he is a senior research fellow at Project Drawdown.
Advance registration required.
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Additional Information: Online registration for this program closes on Thursday, May 6, 2021, at 5:00 pm; for help with registration please email education@bhwp.org.
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NOTE: At checkout, you will be required to enter a pickup time. Please scroll through the list and select “Virtual Class.”
Tales from the Crypt: Using Dead Plants to Resurrect the Past and Predict the Future - Thursday Night Nature (May 13)
What is a native plant? The most commonly used definition for American plants is any species that were present before the arrival of European colonists. How do we know which plants were growing in a particular area during a given period? Herbaria – collections of dried and pressed plants – provide some of the best sources of information on the history of botanical life on Earth. Specimens spanning centuries of collecting can be used to infer where plant species were in the past, how they have moved in response to different environmental pressures, and which species are most at risk of being locally or globally eliminated. The development of new technologies has enabled research on herbarium specimens that would have seemed impossible to the botanists who originally collected them. In this presentation, Jordan Teisher, Ph.D. will survey some of these applications of herbarium specimens and make a case for ongoing investment in collecting and preserving plants.
Presented by Jordan K. Teisher, Ph.D.
Jordan Teisher is the collections manager for the botany department at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. A native of central Pennsylvania, he received his undergraduate degree in biology from Moravian College. He joined the Academy of Natural Sciences staff in the summer of 2016 after completing his Ph.D. at Washington University in St. Louis, where he studied evolution and systematics in the grass family, Poaceae.
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Additional Information: Online registration for this program closes on Thursday, May 13, 2021, at 5:00 pm; for help with registration please email education@bhwp.org.
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NOTE: At checkout, you will be required to enter a pickup time. Please scroll through the list and select “Virtual Class.”
Forest Bathing: Finding Wellness Naturally - Thursday Night Nature (June 3)
Explore the wellness benefits available to you by spending time in a natural environment. This presentation will highlight the practice of Shinrin-Yoku; also known as forest bathing. Forest bathing is a “natural” wellness activity. Included with the benefits of forest bathing will be suggestions on how to incorporate this practice into your time outdoors.
Presented by Suzann Schiemer
Suzann Schiemer is a certified Pennsylvania Master Naturalist and certified Forest Therapy Guide with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs. Formerly a teacher at the Bloomsburg Area School District for 36 years and an education consultant with the Pennsylvania Department of Education and American Master Teacher Program, her passion for education continues to this day. Suzanne regularly leads guided walks throughout PA for a variety of parks, nonprofits and other institutions and enjoys not only enlightening the mind of participants but rejuvenating their spirit through the healing powers of nature.
Advance registration required.
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Additional Information: Online registration for this program closes on Thursday, June 3, 2021, at 5:00 pm; for help with registration please email education@bhwp.org.
You will receive your email with the Zoom meeting invitation after the registration period closes . Please be sure to keep an eye on your inbox and spam folders.
NOTE: At checkout, you will be required to enter a pickup time. Please scroll through the list and select “Virtual Class.”
Schooled by the Forest: Connecting Children and Nature - Thursday Night Nature (May 27)
At Painted Oak Nature School, the forest is our classroom; stumps are our chairs, plants are our curriculum, birds and minibeasts are our classmates. By moving through the landscape in all types of weather, the children form deep connections to the plants and animals that we share the land with. They build confidence and knowledge to better understand their place in the world and the impact they have on it. This class will share the ethos behind forest school, the how-to’s of teaching children about native plants and wild edibles, and the holistic benefits that such explorations provide.
Presented by Nicole Langdo
Nicole Langdo is the founder of Painted Oak Nature School, a progressive nature-based school, serving children in preschool through 6th grade, located in the Hopewell Valley. Nicole was honored in 2017 with the Richard Rotter Award for Excellence in Environmental Education by The Watershed Institute and was called an “Innovative Educator,” when interviewed by Steve Adubato of Caucus: New Jersey On The Air in 2016. Her school has also been featured in several local publications for its focus on getting children outside and connecting with nature. With over two decades of classroom teaching in the public and private sector, Nicole prefers the wild sector best.
Advance registration required.
If you are a member and having trouble with using your code, please message development@bhwp.org
Additional Information: Online registration for this program closes on Thursday, May 27, 2021, at 5:00 pm; for help with registration please email education@bhwp.org.
You will receive your email with the Zoom meeting invitation after the registration period closes . Please be sure to keep an eye on your inbox and spam folders.
NOTE: At checkout, you will be required to enter a pickup time. Please scroll through the list and select “Virtual Class.”
