Hey there. It's still summer in the northern hemisphere, which means those of us in the US are still seeing a great many climate impacts firsthand. As always, I've collected news about a few (hardly all!) because I think it's important to know and try to understand what climate change looks like in different parts… Continue reading Climate Roundup: Dog days of summer
Category: Environmental awareness
Walking the Wissahickon
On Sunday, June 25, my ecology class visited the Wissahickon Valley Park, situated in northwest Philadelphia along the Wissahickon Creek. The park is located in the Upland Piedmont region of the Piedmont province; the creek runs through a gorge characterized by schist and gneiss, crystal-flecked metamorphic rocks used for building materials in many historic structures… Continue reading Walking the Wissahickon
From the Mount Holly summit to the Rancocas tidal freshwater marsh
On Sunday, June 18, my ecology class visited three sites in the Inner Coastal Plain: Mount Holly, a forested cuesta; Timbuctoo, a historic settlement founded by free Blacks in 1826; and Rancocas State Park, a protected area along the North Branch of Rancocas Creek. The day was sunny and warm, although comfortably cool in the… Continue reading From the Mount Holly summit to the Rancocas tidal freshwater marsh
Climate Roundup: Air, water, fire
Buckle up, it's a long one. Summer in the Northern Hemisphere always sees an uptick in climate reportage, almost a climate panic, because the impacts are so visible and inarguable: higher temperatures, more wildfires, more intense storms, floods. Homes are damaged; lives are lost. We see this every summer. And since summer happens every year,… Continue reading Climate Roundup: Air, water, fire
Paddling the cedar waters of the Pinelands
On Sunday, June 11, my ecology class went to the Pine Barrens. Although Philadelphia and New Jersey had been experiencing high values of particulate matter due to the wildfires in Quebec, the air seemed to have improved by the weekend, and it was a sunny and clear day. Although the forecast predicted temperatures in the… Continue reading Paddling the cedar waters of the Pinelands
The Jersey Shore I’ve never seen before
I am taking a regional field ecology course this summer, so nearly every week my class takes a trip to a nearby park or preserve. I've enjoyed this so much and learned so much from these excursions that I've decided to post my field reports (lightly edited), for my records as well as for anyone… Continue reading The Jersey Shore I’ve never seen before
Sara Davis 