WESTMORELAND CONSERVANCY NEWSLETTER
www.westmorelandconservancy.org
January 2008 Editor: Shelly Tichy (724) 325-5523 shellytichy@comcast.net
Conservation
Connection at the Zoo
Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 3rd, 2008!
In place
of the traditional dinner or picnic, Westmoreland Conservancy volunteers
are planning an exciting region-wide conservation event at the Pittsburgh
Zoo. Conservation Connection
at the Zoo will provide a chance for conservation-minded
people and organizations throughout the greater Pittsburgh region to
meet to share ideas and information.
Of course, Conservation Connection at the Zoo will also
be a way for Westmoreland Conservancy members and their families to
join friends for fun, good food, and good conversation. Plans
include a picnic-style dinner in the zoo’s large Garden Tent, along
with behind-the-scenes zoo tours, children’s activities, and conservation-oriented
displays from many organizations.
Conservation Connection at the Zoo
will run from 6:00 to 9:30 pm, although it will be possible to come
early and tour the zoo using reduced-price tickets. Conservation
Connection at the Zoo ticket prices will be set once the menu
is
finalized,
but are expected to be around $20. Parking will be free.
Event planners include Shelly Tichy, Katie Blackmore, Joanne Kendall,
Cary Bohl, Doug Bauman, Richard Wagner, Geri Mitchell, Dick Byers,
Mark Emerson, and Betsy Aiken. Our planners recently visited the
zoo to evaluate possible venues, and are now seeking sponsors and contacting
other regional conservation organizations to encourage their participation
and gather ideas. Your participation in our Conservation
Connection at the Zoo effort will be welcomed - please contact
Cary Bohl at cbohl@windstream.net or 724-327-7017 or Shelly Tichy at shellytichy@comcast.net or 724-325-5523 if you would like
to help.
As plans are refined, Doug Bauman will post updated information about Conservation Connection at the Zoo on the Conservancy website at www.westmorelandconservancy.org. For now, please reserve the evening of Saturday, May 3rd, 2008, for a most excellent celebration of conservation!
"If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of a least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in."
- Rachel Carson, naturalist and author
Autumn 2007 Outings
On Saturday,
October 13th, Doug Bauman led a Scavenger Hunt
in the King Reserve on Crowfoot Rd. The object of the hunt was to locate
and identify various leaves, trees and points of interest within the
reserve. It was fun for all who attended!
Sunday,
October 14th had several members attended the
Fall Colors Photo Outing at Ohiopyle. We scrambled along the river
boulders, checked out the Cascades and hiked down to Cucumber Falls.
Sunday,
November 4th: members of the Westmoreland Conservancy
and of several other organizations joined for a hike and photo outing 
at the Brennan Property, a 300-acre parcel located along Jacobs Creek
which borders Westmoreland and Fayette counties. The property abuts
acreage owned by the State Game Lands and spans both counties. Among
the interesting attributes: a train trestle with a magnificent view
of the autumn leaves and the waterfall at Jacob’s Creek.
"There is nothing
in which the birds differ more from man than the
way in which they can build and yet leave a landscape as it was before."
- Robert Lynd
April 2008 Elections Meeting
Our regularly scheduled April 2008 meeting will include the election of one-third of our board of governors. This election is by the general membership, so please attend if you can. After the general membership elects the new governors, the governors will then elect the 2008 officers.
Remember - Annual Elections Meeting on April
23, 2008 at 7:30 pm, in the conference room next to the Library.
January,
February & March Excursions
Would you be interested in joining our intrepid band for a few scheduled outings this quarter? Keep our back-page schedule and watch our website for updates. Right now we have a few dates in the works:
Saturday, January 26th: Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Meet at Panera-Murrysville at 11AM.
Sunday, February 10th: Phipps Conservatory. Meet at Panera-Murrysville at 8:45 AM.
Saturday, February 16th: Ohiopyle. Meet at Murrysville Panera at 8:45 AM.
Saturday, March 8th: McGinnis Reserve 10 AM
Saturday, March 29th: Bear Rocks. Meet at Panera-Murrysville at 11AM.
Please respond
if attending an outing to: contact@westmorelandconservancy
Backyard
Birding
The Cornell University Great Backyard Bird Count will return for another season February 15-18, 2008. For those of you who are unfamiliar, this is a great opportunity to learn about native bird habitats in our own backyard and participate in a national study of bird populations. No registration is required and during the three day event, you may bird watch for as little at 15 minutes or for as long as you like. You may also keep count from public land as well as your own backyard.
For
information and instruction, visit http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc
Defining
Hunting Issues/Procedures on Conservancy Properties
Many of our members live near our Nature Reserves and are aware that
we have posted the properties as No Hunting.
Enforcing that issue has proved to be confusing and frustrating. A few
things to keep in mind:
Most importantly: Please DO NOT confront an armed individual.
You may remind the individual that the property is posted and that they
are trespassing, but the safer direction would be to get their hunting
license information if possible, or their vehicle license plate number
to turn over to the police. The Game Commission will not get involved
unless there is a violation of the Game Laws (i.e.: violating the 450’
safety zone).
Hunters on Reserve properties are trespassing, but the police do not send officers in to search for trespassers on foot on any private property. The license information would provide the information to the police for them to follow up on the issue.
Protecting Wild Birds from Windows
Shelly Tichy
Bird strikes on windows… there are so many suggestions to ward off
the danger. Strategically placed netting or branches, moving feeders
closer to or farther from said windows, or even spraying the glass with
fake snow to diminish the reflections. An easy remedy is decals. I’m
currently testing WindowAlert Bird Anti-collision Decals, which come
8 to a package. If anyone else is interested in the product, the web
address is:
http://www.songbirdgarden.com
Submit Your E-mail Address to
Receive Up-to-Date Information on
Conservancy Outings & Events
During the year the Conservancy is involved in a number of events open to the general membership as well as to the general public. Such events include chat walks in reserves or at municipal parks, work details for cleaning up reserve trails, photo outings, and special events such as Community Day.
Typically such events are discussed at Conservancy meetings but may also be announced in the 4-times-per-year newsletter and/or in the Penn Franklin or other local papers. Depending upon what you read the event schedules may be missed. The membership is invited not only to participate in such events, but is also invited to take part in the carrying out of the activity by volunteering some time, and maybe effort, to help out.
If you are interested in being more closely informed about such events please provide your E-mail address on the attached form and mail it to the address provided. You can also E-mail it to the Conservancy website, also provided in this Newsletter.
Westmoreland
Conservancy
An all volunteer,
non-profit, 501c-3 Corporation dedicated to acquiring and preserving
rural and rustic lands for the public good.
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2007 Board of Governors/Officers
Officers: President – Mark Emerson
Vice President – Betsy Aiken
Secretary – Joanne Kendall
Treasurer - Bjoerg Granger
Governors: Dick Byers, Doug Bauman, Cary Bohl, Katie Blackmore, Lisa Hyland, Charles Conway, Maury Hanes
The meetings are open, and we look forward to seeing you there. Meetings are held the 4th Wednesday of each month at the Murrysville Library at 7:30 pm.
January 23rd
March 26th
The next Newsletter
is scheduled for April 2008
Westmoreland Conservancy
P.O. Box 446
Murrysville, PA 15668
contact@westmorelandconservancy
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Schedule of Upcoming Events
Please respond
if attending an outing to: contact@westmorelandconservancy
Wednesday, January 23: Monthly meeting, 7:30 PM
Saturday,
January 26th: Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
Meet at Panera-Murrysville at 11AM.
Sunday,
February 10th: Phipps Conservatory. Meet at Panera-Murrysville
at 8:45 AM.
Saturday, February 16th: Ohiopyle. Meet at Murrysville Panera at 8:45 AM.
Wednesday, February 27th: Monthly meeting
Saturday, March 8th: McGinnis Reserve 10 AM
Wednesday, March 26th: Monthly Meeting,
Saturday, March 29th: Bear Rocks. Meet at Panera-Murrysville at 11AM.
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Westmoreland Conservancy
Membership Application
P.O. Box 446
Murrysville,
PA 15668
Membership
Levels
Individual...................…
Family........................
Business membership...………..40.00
Additional Donation…….$_________
Name__________________________
Address_______________________
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City_____________________________________
State _________ Zip Code___________________
e-mail ______________________________
For your convenience, you may also renew your membership or give donations through our website at www.westmorelandconservancy.org
Eco-Fun Page
ECO-FUN PAGE
Simple Bird Feeders
Our little feathered friends enjoy treats any time of year, but especially in Winter when food is more scarce and the wind blows cold!
#1) Materials: Pine cones, peanut butter, birdseed, string, spoons.
Procedure: Have the children make pine cone feeders by smooshing peanut butter with spoons onto the pine cones. Then roll the cone in birdseed, tie a string to the top end and it is ready to hang outside. Place it in sight of a window and watch the birds enjoy!
#2) Materials: plastic disposable-type bowls, string, hole puncher,
To make a bowl feeder, punch three holes evenly spaced around the top edge of the plastic bowl, fill the bowl with "miracle meal" (recipe below), and tie strings through the holes for hanging.
Miracle Meal: mix the following ingredients together thoroughly until it can be shaped into a firmly packed ball.
4 cups yellow corn meal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup original Crisco
1 cup peanut butter
This recipe can be used year-round and is attractive to many types of birds, including blue birds and wrens!
You can add raisins or peanut pieces (or use chunky peanut butter) as an added treat!
