Welcome to the Shaver’s Creek blog! The entries here are posted by staff, interns, and volunteers, and aim to keep you informed about the programs, updates, and natural history happenings here at the Creek. Enjoy!
February’s Sweetheart Owl Prowl at Shaver’s Creek was another resounding success! Over fifty people attended the program (thank you to those who attended!). Nobody heard any owls out on the trails or in the woods; however, I did have another terrific opportunity to help teach people how to call out for owls. For those of…
When a new neighbor moves onto your block, it can be appropriate etiquette to welcome them with baked goods and warm regards. Other times, all they may desire is a fresh dish of water and a safe place to rest. The latter may not be something we have all experienced — that is, unless you…
“But why is it like that?,” he asked, pointing to a spider web on our walk around the block. He was always asking, always questioning, always wanting to know the answer even if he didn’t understand. He didn’t get to go outside much, and then only spent time playing on the concrete. When I babysat…
As people, we are bound to who we are by two powerful influences on our lives: nature and nurture. Nature being our genes and chemical make-up and nurture being how we are raised and the environment we are raised in. As we grow up, our lives are shaped by our nature and how our environment…
Monday began with a morning meeting, heavy eyelids, and the prospect of a rainy week. As I walked through Silvi classroom, passing by the cushy chairs of the bird-feeder watching station, my eyes caught a glimpse of the colorful cover of a book I had never seen before, Keeping a Nature Journal: Discover a Whole…
Shaver’s Creek is putting the finishing touches on what has been the biggest renovation and expansion in its history, and with it has come lots of small adjustments. But it’s easy to point to one thing that has remained constant: people love birds, and they love supporting them. The Birding Cup is Shaver’s Creek’s annual…
I feel incredibly blessed to be working at a place that encourages me to take time to connect with nature every day. One of my favorite feelings in the world is that first big breath you take when you walk outside and the weather is spectacular. The second that fresh air hits my lungs, I…
With the next equinox just a month away from today, spring is beginning to make promises outside. The sun is setting later, the days are feeling warmer — like the 70 degrees we’re experiencing in central PA today — and the soundscape is getting a little more noisy. These longer days encourage change in the natural world around us,…
It’s midday, I’m standing on a long pier and the wind against my face is uncharacteristically warm for the middle of winter in New England. Gazing through my borrowed pair of binoculars, I watch several seemingly unidentifiable birds bob over the gentle waves. “Ah, it just dove. Looked like a Surf Scoter to me,” muttered…
At the end of every week of Outdoor School, we have a Community Meeting for the campers, during which a fictitious business person comes and draws a map of “improvements” for Camp Blue Diamond and Outdoor School. The camp as we know it gets decimated, which is upsetting for many campers. One way we help…