Paul Krupski from Washington state saws a
tree stump while Tennessean Colin Campbell
rakes mulch alongside a tributary of the Wissahickon.
by JAMES STURDIVANT A group of young volunteers from around the country converged on the Wissahickon Valley last week as part of a 10-month-long series of service projects undertaken through the National Civilian Community Corps, a division of AmeriCorps.
The work — hauling dirt and rocks, sawing tree stumps, rebuilding trails, removing invasive plants and repairing fences — would be daunting for anyone, but is nothing new for these 11 recent high school and college graduates. The group did work for FEMA in Florida after last year’s hurricanes. They then went to West Virginia for a park project before moving to York, Pa. to work with Habitat for Humanity and Washington, D.C. to help set up a charter school. In Philadelphia for the past six weeks, they have become intimately acquainted with of one of the world’s largest city parks, learning its history and enjoying the urban wilderness.
by MICHAEL J. MISHAK With the resignation of its sole wildlife rehabilitator, the Schuylkill Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic, part of the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education in Upper Roxborough, has closed.
Since the state issues wildlife rehabilitation permits to individuals, not institutions, the clinic, which treats between 3,000 and 4,000 sick and orphaned animals a year, was essentially left without a license to practice its work. The clinic is charged with treating native wildlife with a few exceptions, including bears, deer and poisonous snakes.
Founded in 1987, it is one of a handful statewide operating under the umbrella of a nature center. Most wildlife rehabilitation is done by licensed individuals, many of whom run operations out of their homes.
By ANDREW LAZOR The Friends of the Wissahickon (FOW) held their annual membership meeting on June 7 at the Valley Green Inn. Members reviewed some of the past year’s most notable accomplishments and looked ahead to the organization’s plans for the future. Dr. Gary Alt, the former head of deer management at the Pennsylvania Game Commission, was the guest speaker. He delivered a presentation about the highly controversial deer population issue that directly affects the Wissahickon Valley, along with the rest of the state.
The wildlife ecologist has found himself embroiled in controversy over his proposed deer management plans; the debate was one of the major motivations behind Alt’s recent retirement from the commission after 28 years of service. “Basically, we moved the programs as far as we could move them, and I reached the point where I wasn’t effective anymore,” he said. “I resigned from the agency because I didn’t want to have my credibility destroyed.”
Chestnut Hill College is partnering with Philadelphia’s Arts and Spirituality Center to present an interactive, interfaith, interdisciplinary event: an arts, spirituality, and justice festival to be held Sunday, June 26 from 6 to 9 p.m.
The evening will include poetry, dance, and music, along with a presentation by Reverend Susan Teegen-Case of the Arts and Spirituality Center.
