The+Schuylkill+Center+for+Environmental+Education

-Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education-
//http://www.schuylkillcenter.org//

__**Navigation**__ : Local Invasive Species ||| Local Native Species ||| Riverbend Trip ||| Personal Reflections ||| Invasives Around the World


 * < **__Student Goals:__**
 * Students will encounter nature first hand in an intimate setting.
 *  Students will discover the impact of invasive species on the local environment.
 *  Students will be educated about nature and native species.
 * Students will educate the community about the impact of invasive species on the ecosystems around the world.
 * Students will remove invasive species from the Schuylkill Center.
 * Students will plant and protect the native species at the Schuylkill Center. ||

**- - - - - - -** <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, located inside the city of Philadelphia has a goal of restoring Pennsylvania's native flora and fauna. The 300 acre property has a vast variety of wildlife and habitats. While there, we do several different things to help the environment: planting, raking, cleaning, and several other tasks. However, the one thing that we do the most is working towards the removal of "invasive species." Invasive species are exactly what they sound like. Species of life (plants in this case) that are not native to the area, and therefore, take over the native species and overpopulate. Invasive species tend to grow fast, so that is why we want to get rid of them, so the native species can be the dominant plant again.

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> **- - - -** **- - -** Group Members for the 2010-2011 Schoolyear

Logan Howe Michele Umlauf David Jackson Jay Jay Colyar Isaiah Cain Graham Doughty

Voices from the Team:

Jay: "My favorite part is being in nature. It feels good to work outside and learn about the different trees, plants, and animals in our local ecosystem."

David: "I really enjoy this community service because it's very physically demanding and also educational. The job that I hated the most was had to be taking the "sewage swim" where we had to put on rubber pants and go into a swamp to pull out plants that were harming an aquatic ecosystem. The pond did not smell fresh."

Isaiah: "I enjoy the task of cleaning trails and cutting down devil's walking stick. The most challenging thing was cleaning the swamp. I mean really... how do you clean a swamp. I love that we help the environment. I do not dislike anything we've done...so far."

Logan: "My favorite part of the Schuylkill center was cutting down the devil's walking stick because it tests your strength to cut down the big one's and agility to get out of the way when it falls toward you."

Graham: "My favorite part is actually feeling like I'm making an impact on the environment and helping nature."

Michele: "The Schuylkill Center is really an amazing place. Right now they are displaying art exhibitions which are cool to check out. We get to catch frogs in the pond and chop down invasive plants like devil's walking stick. Once we collected seeds from native plants so that they could then be replanted in another part of the Center."
 * ~ [[image:IMG_6807(2).jpg width="399" height="512" caption="Our main invasive enemy, the devil's walking stick. These can grow over 10 feet tall"]] ||~  ||~ <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;">

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 * ~ [[image:IMG_5249.jpg width="400" height="488" caption="Wineberry, another red, pointy invasive. They tend to grow in groups that tangle native plants."]] ||||~  ||~ [[image:IMG_5249(2).jpg width="400" height="495" caption="It is better to pull a wineberry instead of cutting it. (Gloves recommended)"]] ||

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> **__More things we have done:__** <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> - Planted new trees all throughout the woods which are growing very healthily and well. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> - Helped rake plies upon piles of leaves out of the way of a deer fence, so it does not collapse. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> - Helped set up mulch and move plants for their annual plant sale, which was a great success. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> - Collected seedlings from several blooming plants for later planting.

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">__**More about the Schuylkill Center**__

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> - Home to several animals including: deer, turtles, frogs, turkey vultures, and even some foxes. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> - There are trails all throughout it leading to 8 different ponds and many other interesting sights. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> - There is a school connected to it, which Jory used to go to. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> - There is an animal rehab clinic there for wounded animals.




 * Links**:

Invasive Species

Native Species

Devil's Walking Stick

Wineberry

Riverbend Trip