The Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy (NPC) is a land trust devoted to conserving and enhancing the lands and waters of Northcentral Pennsylvania to support the environmental well-being and recreational needs of local communities.
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By: Susan Sprout Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) is THE native shrub I love to find while taking nature walks with kids, especially in the fall when its leaves are starting to turn yellow and its spicy berries (drupes) have ripened to a bright red. The squeezing and the sniffing of berries, leaves, and twigs make for a great multi-sensory experience. The Laurel Family, of which Spicebush is … Continue reading Underfoot: Spicebush
Is Plunketts Creek Using Its Floodplain?
A lot ot people would look at the photo below and think, “oh no! That’s awful.” This is a photo from Thursday, September 23, 2021. The PA Game Commission’s Food and Cover crew stopped in to see how things were doing. This is looking at the same trees in the first “flood photo” from a different direction. The flood water is pushing out of the … Continue reading Is Plunketts Creek Using Its Floodplain?
What to do in the Woods – October
Managing a forest is a long-term proposition. You need to be thinking ahead 20, 30, even 50 years and recognize the decisions, and indecisions you make today will impact the woods you see today, but also the woods you’ll have in the future. October is a great time to take a walk in your woods and enjoy the fall colors. It’s also a great time … Continue reading What to do in the Woods – October
By Susan Sprout In the 1800’s, Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American poet and philosopher, wrote that weeds are just plants whose virtues haven’t been discovered yet. I do try to be thorough as I learn about various plants, but researching Tearthumb did not turn up many virtues. It is edible, cooked or raw; berries, too. Birds and ants like the seeds and disperse them; chipmunks, … Continue reading Underfoot: Tearthumb
PA Trails Month – Susquehanna River Water Trail – Middle Section
When PPL built an electric generating station at Shamokin Dam in the 1920s/1930s it acquired an archipelago of six islands in the Susquehanna River. PPL needed the islands to anchor a dam designed to provide cooling water for its power plant. Many years later, PPL decided to divest itself of the islands and donate them to NPC. NPC transferred ownership of the islands to DCNR’s … Continue reading PA Trails Month – Susquehanna River Water Trail – Middle Section