Shaver's Creek Environmental Center will hold two major fundraising events in early May that promote the important connection between native plants and the health of native wildlife species. The Central Pennsylvania Native Plant Festival and the Birding Cup will both take place on the first weekend of May at Shaver's Creek in Petersburg, Pa. (more)
Shaver's Creek Environmental Center is in the process of becoming a zero-waste facility. Trash cans are gone along with the dumpster and employees have created an elaborate system of recycling and composting bins to use instead. "We're shooting for zero; a true zero," said Mark McLaughlin, director of Shaver's Creek Environmental Center. "We don't want things that we have at Shaver's Creek ending up in a dumpster or landfill somewhere." (more)
Penn State's environmental center, Shaver's Creek, is on a zero waste mission. The group removed the facility's dumpster and is recycling everything except diapers.
In order to fulfill the mission, they have had to change their trash habits and embrace a series of recycling bins. With help from the Penn State Office of Physical Plant the folks at Shaver's Creek have been very successful.
The annual Fall Harvest Festival will be held at Shaver's Creek Environmental Center from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 22 and 23. Participants will have the opportunity to enjoy music and storytelling, fun nature activities, food and the Children's Halloween Trail. The tradition of the Shaver's Creek Children's Halloween Trail goes back nearly 20 years. The trail does not portray the typical "scariness" with which Halloween is normally associated. Children and their families will be led by guides to five different sites along the trail, with costumed characters who help children to understand the season and the cultural items we use to depict it. This year's theme for the trail is "Exploring the Night." (more)
Shaver's Creek Environmental Center will hold its second annual music festival from 1 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 25, at the center in Petersburg, Pa. Three local bands -- Dreams and Bones, Poor Folk, and SkyTop Blues -- will perform, and local food vendors will be on hand. The event, a fundraiser for Shaver's Creek, will be held rain or shine. Tickets for the festival are on sale now, and cost $10 for adults, $5 for students from grade school to grad school, and $5 for seniors 65 and older. Children 6 and younger will get in for free. To preorder tickets call 814-863-2000. (more)
Shaver's Creek Environmental Center at Penn State takes part in an annual tradition -- Children's Day at the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. Children's Day is an important outreach program that Shaver's Creek has participated in for more than 20 years. (more)
Shaver's Creek Environmental Center's Eric Burkhart teamed up with people from the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) and the Penn State School of Forest Resources Cooperative Extension to offer an all-day workshop on the sugar making process -- from tree to table. The idea is to give participants a better appreciation for how maple syrup is produced and how it fits into the livelihood of Pennsylvania. Visit http://live.psu.edu/youtube/pdx6ipdWkHY a video about the program. (more)
Welcome spring with pancakes, organic sausage and real Pennsylvania maple syrup. Each March, Penn State's Shaver's Creek Environmental Center hosts the Maple Harvest Festival. Visitors enjoy an easygoing day with nature while getting a taste of the maple sugaring process. To watch the video, visit http://bit.ly/hkHYaV online. (more)
According to Benjamin Hudson, professor of history and medieval studies at Penn State, Halloween, though nominally tied to the Christian holiday of All Saints' Day, has its roots in secular Celtic celebrations. As an agricultural society, the Celts marked the passage from summer to winter on the last night of October, which they referred to as Samain's eve. (more)
When visiting Shaver's Creek Environmental Center at Penn State, one may be startled to hear a screech -- but do not worry, it's only a raptor saying hello.
As one of the few federally funded and state-licensed raptor facilities in Pennsylvania, the Raptor Center has been part of Shaver's Creek since 1981. The center is home to over 20 birds of prey, including bald eagles, golden eagles, barred owls and red-tailed hawks. (more)
