Space Explorers

 

No matter how old you are, looking up at the stars at night always seems to put things in perspective.  How many stars are out there?  What do those planets look like through a telescope? What if I’m just a tiny speck inside a giant vacuum…?

Well, if you like stars, planets, and existential questions, (or even if you want to skip the existential part), then you might like to explore the night sky with us on Friday, February 10^th!  Astronomer Jason Young, a friend of Shaver’s Creek and an expert on the night sky, will bring his telescope and a wealth of knowledge on to Shaver’s Creek. For only $5—or free if you’re a member—you can join us in wondering, oogling, and imagining the world of space. It's a steal either way.  There will activities for kids ages 8 and up, as well as guided sky viewing and a chance to look through the telescope.

If you’re interested, give us a call to register ahead of time: (814) 863-2000.

Please dress for the winter weather!  We'll have a fire going, but it gets cold out there!

Friday, February 10^th from 5 to 7 pm
$5 for non-members, free for members
Thank you to our members for making this program possible.

-Johanna "Juniper" Jackson
Spring 2012 Intern

Fun at Farm Show

Here at Farm Show many of the Shaver's Creek staff past and present have come together for a week long affair to teach about Pennsylvania's native creatures. Farm Show is a week long annual event in Harrisburg celebrating the state's agriculture, diversity and culture. Families, farmers and many more gather to watch livestock competitions, enjoy scrumptious food, explore exhibits and of course to check out the Shaver's Creek booth!

Shaver's Creek has been present at Farm Show for twenty years now. Each year we bring many of our educational animals including turtles, frogs, snakes and birds of prey. We also have a special monarch butterfly exhibit this year with monarch caterpillars, chrysalises and adult butterflies! You may also get the chance to see and learn about these animals up close during one of our animal presentations!

If you are in the neighborhood be sure to visit the 97th annual Farm Show and stop by the Shaver's Creek booth!

~ Chrysalis, former Shaver's Creek intern

Chip Bag Brigade!

Cassi "Twister" Reimer's discovery of TerraCycle's "how to make a fancy bow out of food wrappers" has inspired three things, to date.  A lively craft session, full of Middleswarth and Utz and Toll House cookie wrappers, documented in a previous post, was the first.  Second was an appearance on Central PA Live, where the process is explained on video in under five minutes (bookmark it for the next time you want to make a fun bow!).  Third, due to these prior events, we have attracted the attention of TerraCycle - who has kindly offered us a spot on their Chip Bag Brigade, which we've been pining for since joining!  Thanks, TerraCycle!

If you don't know what TerraCycle is, it's a great way to to send unwanted materials like candy bar wrappers, chip bags, and juice boxes off to a better life than one crammed in a landfill.  These materials are "upcycled" into products like tote bags, wallets, toys, and office supplies. You can even earn some credit for each item you send.  But TerraCycle currently only has the resources to process so many shipments, so there are waiting lists for joining many of the different material "brigades."  (All the more reason to check it out sooner, rather than later!)

So, for all you TerraCyclers out there - keep it up, and post your upcycled craft projects to the 'net!  You never know who might come across it.

Photo-a-day in 2012

You might imagine that we have a multitude of photos archived here at Shaver's Creek - after all, we've been around for over 35 years, offer many diverse programs, and there's a lot of history in this place even before Shaver's Creek Environmental Center was created.

Winter Solstice Sale! Have a stroll and peruse our bookstore/gift shop!

Birds Galore - Christmas Bird Count, Project Feederwatch, and more!

Suet, suet, fat and seeds
Pad his keel, that's what he needs
Dinky Downy hang on tight
Just keep eating into the night!

Project Feederwatch 2011 is in full swing, and here at Shaver's Creek, it's not uncommon for a staff member to set up their work for the day in front of our lower classroom window, where the birds visiting our feeders are in plain sight.  Whether it's black-oil sunflower seeds, thistle, or suet, birds do love feeders, and we love watching them.  And you can too!

Project Feederwatch is a citizen-science initiative.  It empowers anyone to collect data on the number of species that visit a bird feeder, and submit it to an online database operated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.  Researchers can then use that data to examine things like how acid rain affects bird populations, how clutch-size is affected by latitude, and more. 

Citizen-science is not a new concept - it dates back to the Christmas Bird Count, starting in the year 1900.  It began as an alternative to a holiday hunting competition, and has grown to a hugely popular level today.  In fact, it's underway right now!  Teams of people tackle "circles" of 15-mile diameter land, and report all of their sightings to a compiler.  Whether it's owling at night or mid-day sightings, it's an intense 24-hour period for birders.  Different circles have been designated different days over the coming weeks, so check out this pre-registration list to get in touch with a compiler near you.  And here's ten tips for a happy and successful count.

The internet has certainly expanded the ability of nearly anybody to report data quickly and easily.  There's a wide range of projects out there - whether you like birds, squirrels, galaxies, or snowfall, there's something for everyone.  Or, check out the OpenScientist blog for an updated stream of projects as they happen.  There's also lots of projects to try over at SciStarter, where you can even view categories like "Things to do in the car" - Project Roadkill, anyone?

Whether you prefer to collect data on a trusty pen and pad or a mobile-internet-toutin' tablet, there are plenty of reasons to get outside this winter!  (Or, at least, glued to a window!)

CHIP In During the Holidays

With even less coercing, Rutabaga was talked into yet another creative holiday craft! With slight patience, we created beautiful fancy bows out of non-recyclable chip bags and you can too!

Terracycle is a national recycling system for previously non-recyclable or hard-to-recycle waste. Anyone can sign up for these programs, called the Brigades, and start sending Terracycle your waste. Since Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center is a zero waste facility, we do send Terracycle our non-recyclable items to lessen our impact on the environment even further. Presently, we are on the waiting list for the Chip Bag Brigade. As you can imagine, chip bags have been piling up at the center until we can send them off. In the meantime, we rinsed those bags out and put them to holiday use.

You can make them out of any color of chip bag or turn them inside out and use the silver part of the bag for a bow. You can make them in different sizes and styles. Most importantly you can make them with friends! I encourage you to give it a whirl, and if you don’t find time in the coming weeks, you could try again next year as I hope that bow making will become a small part of wreath making.

The instructions to the bows and other do it yourself projects are found on Terracycle’s website - http://www.terracycle.net/en/do-it-yourself-projects.html It looks like Terracycle’s latest DIY project is a drink pouch ornament! Tree décor here we come!

Cassi "Twister" Reimer
Fall Intern 2011

Click here to download:

Fancy Bow.pdf (365 KB)

(download)

Click here to download:

Fancy Bow.pdf (365 KB)

Click here to download:

Easy Bow.pdf (558 KB)

(download)

Click here to download:

Easy Bow.pdf (558 KB)

(download)

Click here to download:

chip-in-during-the-holidays-oLLzwGmOguHDPLaBXuYr.zip (2.24 MB)

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I admit it, wreath making is fun

It was with a tiny bit of hesitation that I agreed to make a wreath.

It is with no hesitation that I can now say, an hour later, wrangling a 15 foot grapevine into a compact circle, tying Spruce and Pine needles around it, and adorning the thing with additional herbal accessories is really quite fun.

You, too, can experience the joy of wreath making here at Shaver's Creek!  This Saturday, December 3, from 10 AM to 3 PM, join us for some hands-on plant twisting, poking, and gluing, and head home with a wonderful wreath.  Although we have plenty of materials, we have a limited number of glue guns and hand pruners, so please bring those tools if you have them.  The fee per wreath, bouquet or swag is $7.50, and $5.00 for members.

If you're still not convinced, check out this video of our very own Matt Marsden on Central PA Live!

http://wearecentralpa.com/libraries/nxd/media/index.php?data=media_player&v=652127

Happy Wreath-making!

-- Rutabaga, Fall Intern 2011

What Comes After Thanksgiving

Here it is again, friends.  Arriving as planned.  Winter is coming, it has inched its way in, starting with a few overnight frosts and cold rains.  The daylight hours grow scarce, the sun gets a little weaker.  Old leaves sink a little further into the ground.  The hiking trails around Shaver’s Creek have become lovely shades of brown and soft gray.  The salamanders, caterpillars, all the winter birds are preparing themselves for the next good freeze.

 

Even the indoor animals here at the Creek are getting ready for winter.  Three toads live here, in the Discovery Room, all of whom have started burrowing down under the woodchips to stay warm.  The snakes and turtles are eating less, sometimes just once a week.  Even inside a room that holds a constant 70 degrees, they still follow that ache for hibernation. Instinct wins once again!

 

Actually, the same could be said for us—the human folk.  Just like every other animal, our bodies are getting ready to settle in a bit, to rest awhile.  It is time to slow down.   No matter what you’re doing this season, you could use a break.  A bowl of hot soup and an early bedtime starts to look really good.  And, so, here it is again, friends. Thanksgiving approaches; the daylight hours grow scarce.  Maybe you’ll find some way to channel your inner toad, burrow in and rest during the Thanksgiving season.

 

Happy Harvest wishes from the staff at Shaver’s Creek,

 

Johanna “Juniper” Jackson
Fall 2011 Intern

Zero Waste Czars mandate no trash at THIS festival!

The Green Team here at Shaver's Creek is dedicated to finding ways to conserve resources and divert garbage that goes to landfills.  This year, we got rid of our trash dumpster in favor of sorting ALL of our commodities so that they can be recycled or composted.  The results of our efforts are obvious from this photograph of Rob Andrejewski, leader of zero waste efforts, single-handedly holding the entirety of our "trash" generated Saturday at our Fall Harvest Festival: