This Silver-Spotted Skipper was one of many butterfly species that were documented during a July count around Bryn Mawr. | Photo by Jen Britton
Volunteer efforts across the region keep track of our fine fluttering friends
The flashy colors of butterflies are matched only by their names: red admirals, great spangled fritillaries, tiger swallowtails, painted ladies
Haddington Woods is the first place students of a free land management class will test what they've learned. | Photo by Jen BrittonFree land management course teaches citizens to take care of their forests
Twenty-five Philadelphians gathered this past June to learn how to manage their forest. But many of those who met at the Haverford
MorePhoto by Christian Hunold
John Janick plans to hit the 100 species mark in his backyard this year. In 2010, after consulting with Audubon Pennsylvania, he ripped up the car pad behind his West Mount Airy house. Since then Janick has planted 70 varieties of trees, shrubs and other plants—all native to Pennsylvania—in an effort to
Rain meets a forest or a meadow at the leaves, glancing and dripping on its way to the underbrush and cushioned floor. It is a gentle trip to the ground, where the raindrops can soak into the ground slowly if they're not sucked up by roots. Rain meets a building at its roof and is
MoreTemple University students walk past windows decked out with bird-saving decals designed by Molly Denisevicz. Photos by Christian HunoldA four-inch smudge marked the spot where, last fall, a zipping bird smacked into a window on Temple University’s campus. Today, birds flying toward the same window in the corridor connecting the Paley Library and the Tuttleman
MoreHow can you help local birds at breakfast? Think beyond the chickens that laid your eggs, and look at what’s in your coffee mug. Many of Philadelphia’s local birds spend their winters where I would if I had wings: in the lush forests of northern Latin America’s coffee country. Unfortunately, many of these migratory songbirds
MoreThe first snow of winter sits heavy and wet as photographer Christian Hunold and I explore Morris Park by the rich light of dawn. The snow clings to every branch and twig, surrounding us in a tunnel of glowing white as we walk the path along the west branch of Indian Creek.
Overbrook’s Morris Park follows
As I write this, the philadelphia eagles could actually win the NFC East, which makes every Sunday an emotional hazard. For my emotional self-defense, I hedge with other, more reliable activities—like picking up a pair of binoculars and checking out some real Philadelphia eagles. The eagles that have actual wings and talons start building or
MoreZONE A: Upper Riparian/Upland: above daily tidal inundation, flooded by larger storms. Habitat for migratory and resident songbirds and raptors, small reptiles, small mammals and invertebrates. ZONE B: Lower Riparian: occasional tidal inundation and flooded by smaller storms. Habitat for migratory and resident songbirds and raptors, small reptiles, small mammals and invertebrates. ZONE C:
MorePhoto courtesy of Delaware Riverkeeper NetworkMaya van Rossum has been passionate about the environment since she grew up playing in and around Ithan Creek in Villanova. But it wasn’t until she was studying law in college and asked a professor if there was any career path that could combine her two passions—law and the environment—that
More