American Holly and Canada Hemlock: Important Wildlife Food and Habitat Autumn oranges, yellows and reds are not the only colors on the Preserve this November. Check out a couple of our native evergreens!
History of the Preserve 1930s At a chance meeting in a wooded area on state park land in Bucks County, two conservation-minded people struck up a conversation, sharing their mutual appreciation for the peaceful, natural setting that surrounded them. It …
Learn all about how and why to foster native plants in your landscape Per Class: $30 in-person with guided walk; $25 virtual only The Knowing Native Plants series is an annual seasonal deep dive into the native plants of the …
The orchid family (Orchidaceae) is one of the largest and oldest flowering plant families on earth, with about 28,000 species, and developed about 100-125 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous Period. This lecture will help you understand how orchids have grown and flourished. Basic orchid culture, major types of orchids, and types of orchids grown at home without a greenhouse.
Anne is a retired CPA whose love for orchids started after finding the Central Jersey Orchid Society nearly 15 years ago. She is currently the immediate past President of the organization. She maintains a 200 square foot greenhouse at her home in Ewing, NJ, with over 400 orchids with many species represented. She loves presenting her class “Orchid Culture” to various garden and civic associations.
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.
Chief Barbara Bluejay, keeper of culture and vice president for the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania, will briefly discuss the past and present of the Lenape people. Chief Bluejay will explain how Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania is revitalizing Lenape culture and continuing their role as caretakers of their homelands. Chief Bluejay will encourage ways that nurture a peaceful relationship with the environment. Open discussion and questions are welcome.
Chief Bluejay, aka Barbara Michalski, was given the name by her grandfather, Bill Thompson, late Chief Whippoorwill of the Unalachtigo (people near the ocean) Tribe of the Turkey Clan. A member of Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania, she has immersed herself in their activities, such as serving on the tribal council and as tribal secretary and participating in educating the public by attending events or festivals in the Lenapehoking (Homeland of the Lenape). Most importantly, Chief Bluejay teaches children the history of the Lenape Nation through crafts, storytelling and artifacts. She has also been involved in environmental causes, particularly clean water protection. Recently, she has seen a rising interest in medicinal plants and has been working to learn more about them.
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.
Birds have been colliding with buildings and other human structures since the 19th century and much of the research that’s been conducted historically to help us understand the phenomenon was conducted in Pennsylvania. This includes pioneering research conducted by the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club during the 1890s. This talk will review what we have learned about the problem over the last 130 years and what’s been done recently in Philadelphia to address it.
Keith Russell is the program manager for Urban Conservation for Audubon Mid-Atlantic. Based in Philadelphia, he works on a variety of bird conservation issues including bird collisions with human structures, birds and nocturnal lights, non-native plants and migration stopover habitat. He is also a research associate of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, and he has received a number of awards including the 2016 American Birding Association’s Ludlow Griscom Award for Outstanding Contributions to Regional Ornithology.
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 the fun and make a festive holiday wreath out of natural materials and native plants, including Eastern juniper (Juniperus virginiana), white pine (Pinus strobus) and American holly (Ilex opaca). In this festive workshop, follow a step-by-step demonstration and hands-on instruction to help you create a work of art you’ll be proud to display during the holiday season. Space is limited for this program, so register early. For ages 14 and up.
The registration fee includes all materials.
Advance registration with payment is required by Dec. 05, 2024.
This is an all-outdoor event and will take place at the Moore Pavilion. Participants are encouraged to bring their own backyard, garden and decorative materials (like ribbons) to add as personalized accent pieces if they wish.
Winter is a tough time for many organisms, especially ectotherms–animals that rely on external sources to regulate body temperature. Learn about the diverse strategies that ectotherms use to regulate their body temperature and survive months below freezing.
Lynne Beaty is an assistant professor of Biology at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. As a professor and behavioral ecologist, Beaty, Ph.D., teaches undergraduate classes on ecology, conservation biology, wildlife behavior and experimental design. She also conducts research on the behavior and population dynamics of native and invasive snails, salamanders and frogs.
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.
Having a passion and sharing it with others can be one of the most rewarding experiences. As gardeners, nature lovers, and environmental stewards, we relish those moments when we see that twinkle of wonder across a student’s eyes. In this age of technology, it seems like these moments of natural wonder are getting harder to find, but it is more important than ever to connect, even in a small way, with the environment. Join us for a look at how environmental interpretation has changed over the years, what inspired our journey, and methods and techniques you can use to share your love of nature and native plants with others.
Shannon and Anthony Trimboli have loved nature and the outdoors since childhood. Despite growing up hundreds of miles apart, they had similar childhoods, exploring the “wilder areas” of their yards and neighborhoods, chasing critters, and playing in the dirt. Like anyone passionate about something, they loved to share their love of nature with anyone who would listen. This passion followed them into college, where they obtained degrees in wildlife biology and then into their careers with both holding multiple conservation and environmental education positions. Eventually, both went back to college, while working part-time to obtain their Masters’ degrees, Shannon in ecology and Anthony in agriculture. Despite all the starts and stops of life, their passion for education never wavered. Today, they operate Backyard Ecology™ to help you avoid some of the mistakes they’ve made so you can achieve your own habitat dreams even faster and easier, guided by the principles of Curiosity, Balance, Science Informed, and Stewardship.
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.
Purchased in 2014, David Hughes’ woodland area, once overbrowsed by deer and overrun by invasive plants, is now a thriving forest-floor community of native plants. The monoculture of lawns has been replaced with warm-season grass meadows, native wildflowers and forest communities. Vernal pools and rain gardens have been created to add a thriving wetland community. Join the Preserve for a private tour of this inspirational property and listen to Hughes give inspired information on healing our degraded landscape reflecting on rich communities of native plants and the creatures that call it home.
David Hughes is a registered landscape architect and owner of Weatherwood Design LLC that specializes in native plant-based garden design, ecology and indigenous habitat conservation. He has worked in the green industry for 34 years designing landscapes that focus on bringing back ecological functions to the site and its surrounding community. Hughes’ designs improve the pathways in which ecological services are revived or restored to a site.
Find out more on his website.
Program Fee: $45 (Members, enter your code at checkout to receive your 20% discount.)