Winter Lectures

Each year, the Friends of the Wissahickon and the Wissahickon Environmental Center collaborate on a series of free lectures. The goal of the series is to stimulate public interest in the importance of preserving the natural beauty and wildness of the Wissahickon Valley. All lectures and walks are free and open to the public.

Nature of Change: the Creation of Grove

                       In February Artist Louise Barteau Chodoff spoke to an

                       audience of 25 at Lovett Memorial Library. She related

                       the process of creating Grove, her art installation in

                       Carpenter's Woods. For more information, visit

                       www.treemaker9.com.

Gems of the Wissahickon: Geology in the Rocky Gorge

Sarah West, retired science teacher from Germantown Friends School and former board member of the Friends of the Wissahickon, gave a lecture on geology in the Wissahickon to an audience of about 75 on April 10 at Cathedral Village. She followed this up with a walking tour in the park on April 13. If you missed these two events, her pamphlet Gems of the Wissahickon, which discusses the geology and gemstones in the gorge, is available for $3.00 from FOW. Contact office@fow.org.

Plant Stewardship Index

Leslie Sauer spoke on the Plant Stewardship Indes on April 22 at Philadelphia Univeristy. Sauer, a founder emeritus of Andropogon Associates, is a pioneer in the field of restoring and managing native landscapes. She has also developed a trails plan with the Fairmount Park Commission and sustainable management and monitoring strategies for the Park. Her book, The Once and Future Forest (Island Press) is a guidebook for restoring and managing forest systems. For more information on the Plant Stewardship Index, click here.