Black Faces, White Spaces Book Club: Week 3 Summary

Last week, the book club met for its last content discussion. We used the second half of Black Faces, White Spaces as inspiration for this session, however, the conversation carried similar themes as last week. In the short time that we had, we dove deeper into topics such as representation, intention, and fear.

Black Faces, White Spaces Book Club: Week 2 Summary

Our book club recently met over Zoom for its second session. We dove into the book, using our reactions to the stories it shared as inspiration for our conversation. Although the book offered a strong basis for starting the discussion, participants were quick to lean into the personal experiences present in the room.

Black Faces, White Spaces Book Club: Week 1 Summary

This month, Shaver’s Creek is hosting a book club featuring Black Faces, White Spaces by Dr. Carolyn Finney, which focuses on the underrepresentation of African Americans in the outdoors. Every Thursday of this month, we will meet on Zoom to discuss our reactions and personal connection to the content of the book.

Learning with Matilda

Working with Matilda, the Black Vulture, has been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of working at Shaver’s Creek for me! I began my journey with Matilda when I first started working as a Shift Leader for animal care. She was known for being very high-strung and difficult to work with because of…

Somewhat Dark and Rather Cliffy

As a volunteer and then work-study “Nature Filmmaker” at Shaver’s Creek during the summer of 2020, I began work on a series of “sense of place” videos about each of the eight LTERP (Long Term Ecological Reflections Project) locations around the Creek and Stone Valley. Now in its 15th year at the Creek, LTERP seeks…

Photo-a-Day: A Retrospective

“Equinox, do you want to take the camera and snap some photos?”  A Friday evening at Summer Camp, 2019. Families were gathering around for ice cream and I, a first-time Naturalist having just graduated from Penn State (with a Journalism degree, which is beside the point), didn’t have anything in particular to do until campfire…

To Reach the Spring

On December 9, 2020, we will be joined by environmental activist and writer Nathaniel Popkin to discuss his new book, To Reach the Spring: From Complicity to Consciousness in the Age of Eco-Crisis, newly released on December 1, 2020. You can read the preface of To Reach the Spring in this post to familiarize yourself with Nathaniel and his work prior to the event.

Animythology: Spiders

Have you ever noticed animals in media acting a certain way? There are the wise old owls such as Owl from Winnie the Pooh and friendly heroic dogs such as Lassie. But have you ever wondered why we give these traits to certain animals? “Animythology” hopes to compare the mythology of animals to their actual…

The Challenges, Surprises, and Joys of Keeping Chickens in Your Backyard

Suddenly, the loud, packed bustle and strikingly bright colors of the New Delhi market started to fade like a vignette for the beautiful animal now in my focus. Tomato red wattles and a comb contrasted starkly with soft, white feathers. As I marveled at the pillow-like tufts, dry, scaly feet emerged from beneath them. I’d…