Learn & Discover

On rainy nights in early spring, thousands of frogs and salamanders embark on an ancient journey to their natal vernal pools. Learn about these charismatic forest dwellers, the important role they play in our ecosystem and the simple steps we all can take to help protect them. Carolyn Klaube, the Sourland Conservancy’s stewardship director, will share surprising details about spotted salamanders and the Conservancy’s Amphibian Crossing Guards program.

Carolyn Klaube is the stewardship director for the Sourland Conservancy. She has over 15 years of experience in the ecology field studying a diverse array of ecosystems from the Mojave and Sonoran deserts to the NJ Pine Barrens and of course, the Sourlands. She joined the Sourland Conservancy to protect the Sourland Mountain Region and work with her community to promote ecological stewardship. Carolyn oversees the Sourland Conservancy’s amphibian crossing guard program, stream monitoring and native habitat restoration efforts. She is passionate about involving the public in restoration ecology and building partnerships with other organizations, municipalities and counties to collaborate on projects to protect the Sourlands.

Plants began their existence on land nearly 500 million years ago, and from humble beginnings, new species and landscapes evolved on the Earth, eventually creating the world we know today. In this talk we will take a journey through time to explore the evolution of ecosystems and the plants that define them, beginning with the earliest marshes to coal age rainforests and swamps and to a drying world with gymnosperm forests and deserts. With the dawn of flowering plants, 130 million years ago, we will explore the origin of temperate deciduous forests, the dawn of grasslands, the recent ice ages and the dawn of the tundra and boreal forests ecosystems.

Jamie Boyer, Ph.D. is a botanist, paleontologist and educator in the New York City area. He earned an M.Sc. in plant biology from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, where he reinterpreted some of the earliest trees known from the fossil record. Fossilized stumps of these “Gilboa trees” are located in the Catskill Mountains. Boyer later earned a Ph.D. in plant biology from the State University of New York, Binghamton, where he investigated the evolutionary changes in plants during the Silurian and Devonian Periods. Currently, he is a vice president at the New York Botanical Garden, where he oversees all aspects of the Garden’s student, teacher, teen, family, special needs, service-learning and veterans’ programs.

An old-growth forest is one that has formed naturally over a long period of time with little or no disturbance from humankind. They are increasingly rare and largely misunderstood. This evocative and accessible program defines old-growth and provides a brief history of forests. It offers a rare view into how the lifeforms in an ancient, undisturbed forest—including not only its majestic trees but also its insects, plant life, fungi and mammals—differ from the lifeforms in a forest manipulated by humans. What emerges is a portrait of a beautiful, intricate and fragile ecosystem that now exists only in scattered fragments. In this program, Joan Maloof, Ph.D., director of the Old-Growth Forest Network, makes a heartfelt and passionate case for the importance of these ecosystems.

Joan Maloof is a writer, ecologist and conservationist with a unique voice. She is a professor emeritus at Salisbury University, where she taught biological sciences and environmental studies. Maloof has published numerous research articles in publications such as Ecology, American Journal of Botany and the International Journal of Environmental Studies. Maloof’s books include Teaching the Trees (2005), Among the Ancients (2011), Nature’s Temples: the Complex World of Old-Growth Forests (2016), The Living Forest: A Visual Journey into the Heart of the Woods (2017) and Treepedia: A Brief Compendium of Arboreal Lore (2021).

Maloof is the founder and executive director of the Old-Growth Forest Network, an organization dedicated to creating a network of at least one protected forest in every U.S. county where trees grow. With nearly 4,500 supporters, the network now includes 147 preserved forests in 28 different states—including Bucks County’s Hart’s Woods, which is jointly protected by Doylestown Township and the Heritage Conservancy.

Join us as we look at the ways that you can help Eastern bluebirds and other native cavity nesters remain numerous in our communities. This program explores proper nest box construction and placement for Eastern bluebirds. We will also discuss nest box predators, other birds that will use your boxes, how to care for the boxes and nesting behavior and timetables.

Diane Allison is a member of the North American Bluebird Society’s speaker’s bureau and has built over 2,000 bluebird boxes with school children and scouts. She has been the nestbox monitor for Giving Pond State Park, a part of Delaware Canal State Park, for nearly 15 years. A Tinicum Township resident for 40 years, she has served on the boards of Bucks County Audubon, the Tinicum Conservancy and the Palisades School District. A graduate of Delaware Valley University, she recently retired from a career in microbiological quality assurance for Johnson & Johnson. Her interest in birds has taken her to all 50 states, Europe, Central America, South America, the Galapagos Islands and the Caribbean. Locally, she has been the compiler for the Central Bucks Audubon Christmas Bird Count and the compiler for all of Bucks County for the Pennsylvania Migration Count for over 20 years.

Looking forward to welcoming the migratory birds and butterflies that will be returning to Pennsylvania in early spring? Join Heather Andrews, The Thoughtful Gardener, as she shares practical tips guided by the latest scientific research to help you create a pollinator paradise in your own backyard.

Heather Andrews is an author, photographer, traveler and speaker who works with homeowners and businesses to create sustainable native pollinator habitats. She grew up as one of 12 grandchildren in North Carolina, and often took walks in her Granddaddy Andrews’ garden, where she learned about pollinators and increasing yield. During the growing season, you will find her in her monarch waystation, Cat-a-pillar Haven, video blogging on her new YouTube Channel, Garden Thoughtfully. She routinely creates actionable video content to enable gardeners to create a pollinator paradise in their own backyards. Andrews is a two-time recipient of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s “Garden of Distinction” Award by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society for her monarch waystation and for a pollinator garden she designed for the historic Craighead House in conjunction with the Master Gardeners of Central PA. Her award-winning photographs and articles have been featured in magazines and on the online publishing platform Medium.com. Her proposal “The resurgence of pollinator hedgerows—using science to create a pollinator oasis in your own backyard,” was accepted at the 2021 International Master Gardeners Conference.

Learn how to grow happy, healthy native plants in clay pots, wooden boxes or even plastic bags. From planning and potting to maintenance and overwintering, you’ll be ready for a successful adventure in native plant container gardening.

Noah Ratzan is an amateur gardener based in Brooklyn, NY. He has spent the last two years cultivating his Brooklyn rooftop native plant garden, which now is home to over 50 native plant species. Noah’s favorite thing about his small garden is the life it brings and the many pollinators and insects that now and then call the place home.

Plants as a group are generally overlooked by our society. With the exception of food, garden beauty or possibly building material, many don’t realize the deep connection we have with plants each and every day. In this program, we will examine the rich history of some of our native species and explore how each has shaped the world.

Santino Lauricella has served as the education coordinator for Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve since 2019. He is responsible for the Preserve’s educational programming, which helps visitors to be inspired by our natural world. Originally from central New York, he received his B.S. in wildlife management from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. An avid lover of the outdoors since his childhood spent just outside the Adirondack Park, he relishes all opportunities to share his passion for nature and science with others.