Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education

Thanks to Time Out for mentioning the Schuylkill Center as one of their great places to hike near Philadelphia!

Call For Volunteers: Join our team of Schuylkill Center Volunteers to help out during Halloween Hikes & Hayrides on October 25th & 26th. This two-day event features hayrides, toasting marshmallows, crafts, nocturnal animal hikes, and much more. No prior event experience is necessary, as all training will be provided. Halloween Hikes & Hayrides event volunteers help connect hundreds of people with nature by celebrating the autumn season and bringing awareness to native wildlife. With multiple time slots offered on both Friday and Saturday, you can sign up for whichever shift(s) work best for you. Learn more or register online by visiting https://lnkd.in/emXdzM72 Have a question? Contact volunteer@schuylkillcenter.org

While our online plant sale is closing this Thursday, you can still shop with us by visiting our Visitor Center! We will have a small selection of native plants available for purchase at the front of our Visitor Center. Come by to browse a selection of perennials, shrubs, and trees, and stay to explore our beautiful trails full of fall colors! Shop: https://lnkd.in/eUZX-QmR

This Thursday is the last day of the season for our volunteer native planters! By tending to the Courtyard Garden and Front Entrance Garden at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, native planters enhance beauty and biodiversity of this important landscape. Sign up: https://lnkd.in/eHqUYW_e

Iris versicolor, or blue flag iris, is a beautiful native perennial with striking foliage and dazzling summer flowers. Their bright purple-blue flowers have splash of yellow on their inner petals, creating delicate, eye-catching contrast great for any damp or moist parts of your garden. These flowers also attract hummingbirds and butterflies. They are hardy species to add into any habitat garden or pond! Shop for this and other native plants online: https://lnkd.in/eUZX-QmR

We are thrilled to invite all Schuylkill Center members to membership appreciation day on October 5. Join us for a light breakfast and refreshments to mingle with fellow members, meet our new Executive Director and hear about her vision for the Center. We look forward to celebrating with you! This event is free for Schuylkill Center members and registration is required: https://lnkd.in/eeGuWpJw

By far one of the most misunderstood plant species... prickly pear cactus! The east coast's only native cactus species, and this sweet perennial has so many ecological services, despite their prickly spines. Prickly pear's have big, bright, and beautiful yellow flowers every summer, that cover the plant and attract numerous pollinators. These flowers turn to fruit, which makes delicious jams, and eastern box turtles love to eat them! They grow in incredibly tough conditions, so they are great for that tricky spot in your garden where you've had trouble getting something established. They even make an evergreen ground cover through the winter. We can't recommend them enough. Available now in our online shop: https://lnkd.in/eUZX-QmR

Our Fall Online Native Plant Sale is still open! Bring vibrant winter color to your garden by planting winterberry holly, Ilex verticulata. Not only will you love the bright red berries that line the stems all winter long, but the local wildlife will love them too! Winterberry holly berries support birds, like cedar waxwings and eastern bluebirds, and provide an important nutritional boost to migrating birds during the fall, and keep birds energized through the winter. Winterberry Holly is a great species for habitat hedgerows. Their attractive, lush leaves are present all summer long, and into the fall, till they drop in the winter to reveal all their beautiful berries! Their bark is a beautiful mottled white, which adds to a stark winter contrast. Winterberry holly goes well in full to part sun, with average to wet, well-drained soils. Shop online for this and many other native plants while supplies last: https://lnkd.in/eUZX-QmR

Ever wonder how you can take your garden to the next level? How do professional designers achieve such balanced, multi-seasonal and interesting gardens that flourish year round? Following a few key concepts, like incorporating species with interesting seed heads, adding grasses, and choosing species with a wide array of bloom times, are a few ways to achieve great results. All of these species, and more, are available at our Online Native Plant Sale! Don't miss out on some of these bestsellers, available until October 3rd. Shop now: https://lnkd.in/eUZX-QmR

Sunset through the tall trees at the Schuylkill Center.