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Reflections in Nature: Perfect time to watch birds gather nesting materials

I recently filled our bird feeders for the first time in quite a few years. We have a neighbor that supposedly loves cats and believes that her neighbors feel the same way is planning to move. We quit feeding the birds because her cats would sit at our feeders, waiting for a meal. We would find tell-tale signs of dead birds and feathers The filled feeder immediately attracted a pair of chickadees and after feeding, they began checking out a nearby bird house. It was late April, and I thought this was early for nesting. The chickadees made many trips to the bird house, but after ...

Community Outdoor calendar for week of May 20

REMAKE LEARNING DAYS: HABITAT HIKE WHERE: Hyner Run State Park and Little Pine State Park WHEN: Friday, May 23 at 3:30 p.m. (Little Pine) and 7:30 p.m. (Hyner Run) NOTES: Join the environmental education specialist for “Remake Learning Days: Habitat Hike” on the Hyner Run Nature Trailor Button Ball Trail (Little Pine) to explore some different habitats. Plant and animal species and habitat are among and topics that are going to be discussed. This is designed to be an informal program. All children must be accompanied by an adult in order to participate. The program may be ...

Williamsport company uses insects to prevent food waste

Inside a large aquarium, a ten-inch-deep mass of caramel-brown maggots eats and eats and eats. While the army of black soldier fly larvae might alarm some, to Aubrey Fornwalt, owner of Full Circle Bioconversion, this is just business as usual. Based in Williamsport, Fornwalt’s company ...

Plenty of reasons to support our local wardens, WCOs

The internet is a wonderful tool and can also be great entertainment. But there are times when I wish I never turned it on, usually after reading something that frustrates or infuriates me to no end. One such topic is the unrelentless badgering that our game wardens and waterways conservation officers receive for simply doing their jobs. In a recent post by the Fish and Boat Commission announcing a recent event having nothing to do with law enforcement, it only took a few comments before the trolls came out. First, some said the officers are nothing more than pirates. Then another ...

Reflections in Nature: There’s plenty of medical use for various plants

No matter if the flowers a mother receives on Mother’s Day are bouquets of dandelions, violets, lilacs or roses, each will be lovingly received. I hope the abundance of pollen does not keep you from spending time outside during the month of May. No other month — except for September — gives us more wildflowers. May has more varieties of wildflowers than September; however, September’s flowers are more abundant. While May’s flowers are small and fragile due to their short growing season, September’s flowers have had the whole summer to grow tall, with heavy stems, will ...

DCNR resources opens grant applications to protect at-risk wildlife and native plants

HARRISBURG — Applications are now open for the 2025 Wild Resource Conservation Program, which offers grant funding to support research and conservation projects that protect Pennsylvania’s native wildlife, plants, and ecosystems, announced the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The WRCP, overseen by DCNR, provides critical support for conserving non-game animals, native plants and fungi, and invertebrates such as insects — species often left out of traditional conservation programs but vital to the Commonwealth’s ecosystems. “These grants fuel the kind of ...