Bees and Pollinators Workshop in the Reserve, Sat., April 7
People depend on plants to live, and plants depend on pollination to survive and reproduce. Eighty percent of plants rely on other creatures to help pollinate them.
On Saturday, April 7 at 10 a.m., the Conservancy’s Joe Bayer, a local bee keeper himself, will lead a Bees and Pollinator’s Workshop in the Reserve focused on these fascinating critters and the $230 billion annual service that they provide. Participants will review the importance of pollinators and ways to provide for them around their homes. If there are flowers in bloom or insects, we will also investigate some hands on work.
Pre registration for this program is appreciated; e-mail Joe at 19bayer@gmail.com. Meet at the fire circle in the Reserve.
(NOTE: The Bradford Woods Reserve is located at 156 Bradford Road, in Bradford Woods, PA 15015)
Join us for the Spring Equinox, Yoga and Mindful Walk
March 24, 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Come celebrate the spring equinox in the Bradford Woods Reserve with a simple yoga sequence and a mindful walk to clear out what isn’t serving you in your life anymore and make room for what will.
We will be doing basic yoga stretches in the beginning, then learn how to do a mindful walk in nature, and finish with basic yoga stretches. All levels of experience will be able to follow along.
The session is free, but we will be taking donations for the Conservancy
Check the weather forecast. We will be there Rain or Shine. Wear comfortable clothes for stretching. We will be doing only standing poses so you don’t need a mat. Bring water.
For registration, please contact Diana Berendowski, Certified Yoga Instructor, at dberendowski@gmail.com.
(NOTE: The Bradford Woods Reserve is located at 156 Bradford Road, in Bradford Woods, PA 15015)
Become a Conservancy Member for 2018!
The Conservancy’s membership has been up and down through our 24 years, but usually including somewhere around 20% of Borough households.
In terms of typical nonprofit organization averages, that’s fantastic, and thank you all for your support – but we’d love to reach even more!
This being our first newsletter of the year, I’d like to direct your attention to Page 7, where you will find our membership form. Please consider renewing or becoming a new member in 2018.
Memberships from 2017 will expire on March 15, so please join or renew today!
A Letter of Thanks from a Long-Time Conservancy Member
Following are excerpts from a letter to the Conservancy Board from long-time borough resident and Conservancy co-founder Sandy Murray after reading about our upcoming programs for 2018.
I am so excited by the participation & wonderful programs for the coming year. One of our founding goals was to offer the vast resources of the Reserve & Conservancy to the school for pond and science studies, nature drawings, speaker workshops, animal tracking, nesting and habitats, catch and release fishing skills, ice skating & winter activities, etc. Because children are the future stewards, our educational programs included them.
The annual Storytelling Night in the Reserve is just one of the outcroppings of this thought process. Our young singer for that event (Sarah McGuire) is now a freshman at Duquesne & aspires to study law. The children love the Monarch release & learn about milkweed, habitats and life cycles. These programs have a very direct impact on their appreciation of nature & the oasis they have at the Reserve. Because of the education & the respect they see adults exhibiting for that space and nature in general, they tend to internalize those qualities and pass them on to others rather than participating in vandalism. Children respect the spaces they love and where there are fond memories. Thank you for being great role models for children and providing experiences that they may not otherwise have.
Bravo for sharing your time, talent and enthusiasm.
Greeting the new residents at their homes, as the Conservancy plans to do in 2018, is key to an engaged community. Several residents did that with us 47 years ago with the ulterior motive of getting new, young residents involved in Women’s Club and Couples Club, even while Bob and I were expecting our second child. The fact that we knew no one, Bob was travelling a lot, and we had never heard of Bradford Woods soon changed through the kindness of our neighbors. I can still name those who reached out to us & we in turn gave our time & held offices in every organization here.
You make a huge impact when you greet your neighbors.
This is a community where you can have total privacy if you choose, or people will be at your home in minutes, if you invite them. I remember telling my mother when she asked me if I liked living here that it was a haven. When we drove through the pillars, it felt like we left all the hustle and bustle of the world at the entrance and a calmness engulfed us. She was hoping we wouldn’t like it & move closer to home. This quickly became our forever home, as it has for many others.
There will be times when you wonder if anyone cares and why don’t more of our neighbors get involved with the Conservancy. Reach out to every resident you see everywhere you go and be a towncrier for this Borough. I had all the excuses at first: “We are new, we don’t know anyone, we don’t have time, maybe later, we have small children, we are expecting …”
But there is an answer for all of those objections: Pick them up and take them to a meeting or an event. You could be grooming a future president, mayor, fire chief, or council member.
That is what Ellie Kyes did when she picked up the phone & changed my life when she said, “Sandy, there is a piece of property that the owners want to preserve, and you have to do it.” I thought she was crazy and begged her to find someone else with expertise in acquiring and preserving land. I had only bought 1 acre in my life and was living on it. But she would not take no for an answer. I followed Ellie’s example & called Amy Atkinson & said, “I need your help and it is not going to be easy.” Fortunately, she did not hang up & the rest is history!
You are making history, too, by your daily giving to this wonderful place that we call home. Bradford Woods just gets better every year through people who care enough to pass it on to the next residents in better shape than they found it. We are all blessed by your efforts.
Our Speaker Series Presents
FRACK GAS: A Bridge Too Far…
Tuesday, March 20, 7 p.m.
Bradfordwoods Community Church
Larry J. Schweiger
President Emeritus and past CEO of PennFuture
Past President of the National Wildlife Federation
The presentation will include discussion of the Impacts of Fracking, Ethane Cracker Plants and Petrochemical Development on our air quality and potential hazards; our water and food supply and safety; community seismic activity; occupational hazards, noise levels and the psychosocial tolls of boom and bust cycles.
Allegheny County is still ranked among the most unhealthy air quality locations of all counties in the United States. While we, at the northern edge of the county have been somewhat spared from the industrial portion of these air quality problems, things are about to change. Soon, the Shell ethane cracker plant in Monaca, PA will go into service. This is just 13 miles, as the crow flies, from Bradford Woods.
The presentation is free and open to the public. Please come join us in discussion of this important topic.
Bird Your World: Take the Pledge
Never mind the dog: 2018 is the Year of the Bird, according to National Geographic, Audubon, and more than 50 other organizations. The groups are joining to celebrate the centennial of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act by rallying people to work toward a healthy planet filled with the beauty of birds. To join the effort, visit BirdYourWorld.org, take the Year of the Bird Pledge, and you’ll receive a monthly e-mail suggesting a simple step you can take to help birds.
Interviews with Neighbors
See the entire interview here: The Beavens.
My Backyard Woods: Invasive Plant Watch
Thickets of Privet Threaten Native Plants and Wildlife
Background: Privet was originally imported for use in landscaping around 1860. They are still often used in hedges and landscaping.
Range: The various privets are originally from Japan, China and Europe. They have spread through the eastern United States, from New Hampshire and Michigan in the north to Florida and Texas in the south.
Description: Privets are deciduous or semi- evergreen shrubs that often form dense thickets. They have opposite or whorled stems that are brown to gray with slightly rough bark. Privets produce white flowers from April to June, which are followed by green drupes from July to March. These fruit gradually ripen to a dark purple or black color in the winter.
Biology and Spread: Privets mainly spread to new areas via their seeds. Often, these are distributed by birds, which have eaten the fruit. Once introduced to an area, privet can regenerate from root and stump sprouts, making it difficult to eradicate.
Ecological Threat: Privets can form dense thickets, which reduce light and moisture availability for native shrubs and wild- flowers. This decreases plant diversity and impacts the animals which depend on them for food and shelter.
Habitat: Privets are often found in bottom-land forests, fence rows, fields and right-of-ways. They seem to prefer disturbed areas with rich soil.
How to Control this Species: Once established in an area, privet can be difficult to control or remove.
With smaller populations, hand removal can be used. However, fragments of root that are left behind in the ground can re-sprout.
Larger areas can be treated with herbicides such as glyphosate. Herbicide can be applied to the leaves, or painted on cut stems or stumps. Once the herbicide is applied, disturbances to the privet should be avoided for approximately one year, in order for the herbicide to travel through the privet’s root systems.
No biological controls are currently known for privet. Studies show that controlled burning does not appear to have a lasting effect on privet populations, so it is not recommended as a control option.
Kids’ Korner
Deer are known for being calm and gentle animals, commonly seen around Bradford Woods, slowly eating plants or leaping through the tall grass, and are recognized by their fluffy white tails and big antlers. Here are some interesting facts about these creatures who share our habitat.
Quick Facts: Deer
• Male deer are called bucks, female deer are called does, and baby deer are called fawns.
• Deer are herbivores, which means that they only eat plants and grass. They are not picky eaters and will snack on almost any kind of plants they can find. Most anybody in Bradford Woods can tell you that!
• Predators (killers) of deer include bobcats, coyotes, and mountain lions.
• Deer can run up to 30 miles per hour.
• They can also jump over 30 feet.
How do deer protect themselves?
Deer have many ways they can protect themselves from other animals that are trying to hunt them. Deer have excellent camouflage and use this to hide from threats. They are very fast runners and use this as their first choice of protection. They are also good swimmers and can go through streams or other bodies of water to get away.
Deer Riddles
Why do male deer need braces?
Because they have buck teeth!
What do you get if you cross Bambi with a ghost?
Bamboo!
Which side of a deer has the most meat?
The inside.