Thursday Night Nature Spring 2024 Discount Bundle

Native edible and medicinal plant species can be integrated into gardens and ecological restoration projects to create habitats that support (and include) humans as part of local ecosystems. We'll consider stewarding edible and medicinal plant species in native habitats such as riparian corridors and glades and discuss how a habitat-based approach translates to yards, parks and farms. We'll explore the prospect of changing our foodways to patterns that favor native diversity, rewarding restoration and stewardship.

Jared Rosenbaum is a field botanist, native plant grower and restoration practitioner. He asks whether we can honor native ecosystems and lifeways as we restore habitats that support humans, other animals and native plants alike.

Program Fee: $15 (Members, enter your code at checkout to receive your 20% discount.)

All lectures will be held virtually using Zoom. They will be recorded and shared with everyone who registers for a short time.

People often plant apples, peaches, pears, cherries and other familiar market fruits that reflect traditionally European heritage. Consider, however, native American fruits—being native, they are better adapted to withstand our pests and climate and often look naturally at home in our landscapes. 150 years ago, there was great interest in native fruits, and it's time to revive that enthusiasm. This slide lecture will explore the beauty, the flavor and the cultivation of persimmon, pawpaw, beach plum, lingonberry and a host of other native delectables—as well as blueberry, one native fruit we have been eating for the last hundred years.

Lee Reich, Ph.D., dove into gardening decades ago, initially with one foot in academia—as an agricultural scientist with the USDA and Cornell University—and one foot in the organic field. He eventually expanded his field to a farmden (more than a garden, less than a farm) and left academia to lecture, consult and write. He has authored nine books and was a syndicated columnist for Associated Press. Besides a year round supply of fruits and vegetables, Reich’s farmden provides a testing ground for innovative techniques in soil care and pruning. It also provides an educational site for workshops and training. Science and an appreciation of natural systems underpin Reich’s work.

Program Fee: $15 (Members, enter your code at checkout to receive your 20% discount.)

All lectures will be held virtually using Zoom. They will be recorded and shared with everyone who registers for a short time.

Learn how installing diverse native plant communities and smart stormwater features can improve your garden’s climate resilience and our ecosystem as a whole. Smart gardeners want to ensure the longevity of their landscapes, but climate change presents many uncertainties. Rising temperatures and changing precipitation patterns will alter which plants can grow in our region 30 years from now. Invasive plant species and tree pests are increasing their range. Extreme weather events are destabilizing stream banks. How do we prepare for these coming changes? In this session, we will discuss some ways to bolster your backyard against an uncertain future.

Dylan Finley is a restoration ecologist with seven years of experience managing natural resources in NY, PA and HI. He has spent several years working with the Student Conservation Association, first at the Vassar Ecological Preserve and then at a national wildlife refuge on the Hawaiian island of Maui. There he directed a volunteer-based restoration program to revitalize an endangered tropical dry forest. In between, he earned a master’s degree in conservation biology from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, focusing his research on streamlining approaches to invasive species management using community science data. Today, he works as an ecosystem restoration specialist with ArcheWild. Inspiring people to learn about and care for the natural world, especially plants, is his passion.

Program Fee: $15 (Members, enter your code at checkout to receive your 20% discount.)

All lectures will be held virtually using Zoom. They will be recorded and shared with everyone who registers for a short time.

The Nurture Nature Center (NNC) is a non-profit organization in Easton, PA created in 2007 in response to the repetitive flooding in our community on the Delaware River in 2004, 2005 and 2006. NNC’s early mission and work was centered on educating the public about flooding and developing a model of community dialogue about environmental hazards, called From Risk to Resiliency. Since then, NNC has expanded its programming and efforts with a mission to build community resiliency to environmental risk by leveraging the power of informal science education, art-centered approaches to learning and community dialogue and networking. NNC’s physical building includes art galleries, a Science on a Sphere exhibit and an urban recycle garden. NNC has continued its work in the local Lehigh Valley community through a series of programs called CREATE Resilience which serve to connect municipalities, resiliency experts, artists, youth and residents in an engagement model using science, art and community dialogue. NNC also leads some local efforts in the climate action space, hosting an annual Youth Climate Summit and helping the City of Easton create and implement its Climate Action Plan. Nationally, NNC has become a leader in issues related to flood risk communication and education, with experience conducting social science research for over a decade about how individuals and professionals use weather forecast and warning information in decision-making. This presentation will give an overview of the many efforts NNC leads and discuss our plans for future community engagement around climate and resiliency.

Kathryn “Kate” Semmens, Ph.D., is the science director of the Nurture Nature Center. She helps lead NNC’s science education, climate action and community resiliency projects and is involved in numerous social science research projects. She holds a Ph.D. in environmental and earth sciences from Lehigh University, a master’s degree from the University of Delaware and a bachelor of science in environmental studies from Ursinus College. Semmens is passionate about the integration of science and art and enjoys working with youth on important issues like climate action. She is a mom to three young children and in the little free time she has you can find her hiking in nature.

Program Fee: $15 (Members, enter your code at checkout to receive your 20% discount.)

All lectures will be held virtually using Zoom. They will be recorded and shared with everyone who registers for a short time.

A new environmental issue has quickly grabbed public attention: microplastics, found everywhere from the bottom of the ocean to our bloodstreams. Amazingly, each of us ingests a credit card’s worth of plastics weekly—to unknown effect—and microplastic particles in the ocean now outnumber the stars in our galaxy by a factor of 500. What do and don’t we know about microplastics? What surprising ways do they get into the ocean—and into us? And most importantly, what do we do about it?

Program Fee: $15 (Members, enter your code at checkout to receive your 20% discount.)

All lectures will be held virtually using Zoom. They will be recorded and shared with everyone who registers for a short time.

Join Pennsylvania Bat Rescue to learn more about bats, their habits and how they are important to the health of our ecosystem. We will also learn how to protect bats in your area, meet some ambassador bats and hear about the role of Pennsylvania Bat Rescue in helping bats in our area.

Stephanie Stronsick volunteered at Project Wildlife based in San Diego, California. There she helped initiate rescuing bats as part of their protocol. Soon after, Stronsick began volunteering at the San Diego Natural History Museum as a collection data analyst for the San Diego Mammals Atlas and field assistant. In 2012, she founded Pennsylvania Bat Rescue. Stronsick is a 2022 graduate of Kutztown University with a B.S. in environmental science, minoring in biology. She volunteered as an assessor for the IUCN Red List for old world bats.

Program Fee: $15 (Members, enter your code at checkout to receive your 20% discount.)

All lectures will be held virtually using Zoom. They will be recorded and shared with everyone who registers for a short time.

Beyond illnesses like Lyme’s or rabies, most people rarely think about wildlife diseases. Ian Gereg will provide an overview of some of the wildlife diseases of concern in Pennsylvania and how the public can help protect wildlife, pets and themselves. In addition, he will cover some of the current wildlife disease research being conducted in the state.

Ian Gereg is one of seven wildlife health technicians in Pennsylvania. He works for the Wildlife Futures Program at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine. Wildlife Futures' main office is located on the campus of New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, Chester County. Currently, he divides his time between responding to wildlife disease concerns and wildlife disease research sampling. Before working for Wildlife Futures, he was in the zoological field. Gereg holds an undergraduate degree in environmental science from Unity College in Unity, ME and a graduate degree in wildlife management from the State University of New York's School of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, NY.

Program Fee: $15 (Members, enter your code at checkout to receive your 20% discount.)

All lectures will be held virtually using Zoom. They will be recorded and shared with everyone who registers for a short time.

Craighead House, located on the banks of the Yellow Breeches Creek in Cumberland County, PA is one of the few native plant gardens that provide various immersive educational programs in south-central Pennsylvania. Built in 1886, it includes an outdoor educational area, accessible parking, a comforting facility and access to Yellow Breeches Creek. The master gardeners of Cumberland County worked with local volunteers to revitalize and expand the native plantings on the property. Now, adults and children walk through the gardens and want to know more about native plants and gardening. The Craighead House received the Preserve’s Land Ethics Award for Best Community Effort in 2024. Join us and learn more about this exceptional organization.

Heather Andrews is a published author, photographer and speaker who routinely works with homeowners and businesses to create high-yield gardens with native pollinator habitats. She combines her background in research to enable gardeners to attract pollinators to grow more food sustainability.She has won multiple state awards for pollinator garden design. Her award-winning photographs and articles have been featured in magazines, PA state publications and on Medium. During the growing season you will find her in her monarch waystation, Cat-a-pillar haven, and videoblogging on her YouTube Channel, Garden Thoughtfully.

Program Fee: $15 (Members, enter your code at checkout to receive your 20% discount.)

All lectures will be held virtually using Zoom. They will be recorded and shared with everyone who registers for a short time.