The meeting and program begins at 7:30 p.m.   Arrive at 7:00 p.m. for coffee, tea and a potluck dessert.  Bring a mug.  Free and open to the public.  Bring your friends.

Download a copy of the 2009 - 2010 Program Schedule    wissaflyer.pdf      

2009 Speakers

1)  September 10, Wood Warblers by Chuck Tague.  Nearly forty species of Wood Warblers breed in eastern North America.  Although some, like the Palm and Yellow-rumped warblers, are abundant winter residents in Florida, most are intercontinental migrants that winter in the American tropics.  In spring they journey to northern forests to breed.  Smaller than a chickadee, some like the Blackpoll Warbler, cover thousands of miles from northern Canada to South America - nonstop over the Atlantic Ocean.  Suddenly and ephemerally abundant during spring migration, a glimpse of a Blackburnian Warbler or an American Redstart has turned many casual observers into hard-core birders.

Naturalist and photographer Chuck Tague will explore the life-style of these birds, their habitats and threats to their survival on their breeding grounds, their winter range and the many stopovers in between.

2)  September 24, Two Faces of Ecuador: Cloud Forest and the Galapagos Islands by Amanda Haney.  This presentation will include hummingbird and orchid photographs from the cloud forest northwest of Quito on the western edge of the Andes.  This area is famous for large numbers of native orchids and hummingbirds.  Located 600 miles west, the Galapagos Islands are also part of Ecuador.  These islands have the highest number of endemic (exclusively native) species in the world.  Amanda’s presentation will include photos and information on a wide variety of Galapagos plants, animals and birds including sea lions, flamingos, cactus, iguanas and penguins.

3)  October 8, Mammals’ Feeding Strategies by Susanne Varley.  All mammals must eat other organisms in order to survive.  They invest a large portion of their lives acquiring food not only for themselves but also for their young.  Every species that is eaten by something else has developed defense mechanisms in order for their own species to continue.  Mammals have developed a variety of feeding strategies to break through these challenging defenses.  Susanne will borrow some of Chuck Tague’s stunning photography to reveal the variety of mammals and their feeding strategies.

4)  October 22, Book Discussion facilitated by Kim Methaney.  In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollen.  This read should stimulate questions, possibly controversy, maybe mirth. Although reading the book is not mandatory it is a relatively short and easy read. Participants are invited to bring food to share - either

   a) a favorite food (healthy choice or guilty pleasure)

    b) most completely non-food

    c) most or least environmental impact food.

    Prizes will be given.

Caveat: No definitive answers to nutrition questions will be given but lots of unsubstantiated theories may be opined. 

Facilitator Qualifications:  Kim Metheny has been reading for 50 years and eating for longer.

5)  November 5, Connecting to Nature Through Primitive Skills by Pat Adams.  Take a look at the benefits of learning primitive skills in relation to developing an environmental ethic and dispelling common fears and apprehensions people have of the natural world.

6)  November 19, Natural History of Craneflies by Chen Young. Crane flies serve several important roles in the ecosystem.  Of major importance is their role as food for many animals such as birds, fish, frogs, lizards, spiders and other insects.  In addition, the larvae serve as fragment feeders that help to break down organic matter in various habitats such as streams and forest floor; these activities often structure the environment for other invertebrate species.  Larvae of some large species are also used for fish bait.

Learn about these harmless flies which are often mistaken for mosquitoes.

7)  December 3, Frogs, Trees, and Leaves: How leaf litter changes a pond environment by Aaron Stoler. Proper nutrients are needed for anything to grow.  In nature, these nutrients are derived from a variety or sources.    One of the major sources is from leaf litter shed by surrounding trees every autumn.  This leaf litter decays and provides nutrients for all sorts of microscopic life to flourish.   However, leaf litter is actually very complicated, containing both nutrients and toxins (e.g., sugar maple), and maintaining differential rates of nutrient release.  As a result, predictions are never straightforward and consumer growth greatly depends on the specific chemistry of the leaf.   Given that our forests are always changing due to both natural and human disturbances, it is incredibly important to know how these changes alter surrounding ecosystems such as ponds.

8) December 17, Bird & Word: Poetry and Conversation with the Husband of a Serious Birder by Rick St. John.  Richard St. John is too near-sighted to birdwatch and his poetic concerns range far beyond the natural world.  Yet birds and related sightings often appear in his poems…perhaps you can guess why.   Join us on December 17, as bird and word, seeing and imagination, come together, along with Wissahickon’s own holiday festivities.  Rick will have copies of his book, The Pure Inconstancy of Grace, available for purchase and signing. 

2010 Speakers

9)  February 25, Severe Weather and Severe Weather Preparedness by Rick Kane, National Weather Service Weather Forecaster. Learn about all types of warm season severe weather that affects our region including tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, downbursts, lightning, hail, and flash flooding.  In addition, we will learn some severe weather climatology along with some notable severe weather events.  Rick will also talk about weather preparedness and safety and the proper actions to take in the event of severe weather.  He will also examine a few of the extreme weather events that have occurred in our region with respect to the damage and the differences between tornado and downburst damage.  He has incorporated a brief look at National Weather Service office and the Doppler radar as well.  Rick will finish with the upper air balloon (radiosonde) and discuss it use, characteristics and importance in forecasting.

10)  March 11, Botanical Treasures from Western Pennsylvania by Bonnie Isaac.  In this presentation Bonnie will cover some recent botanical discoveries made in western Pennsylvania.

11)  March 25, A Brief History of Crayfish Evolution and their Conservation Status Around the World by Roger Toma.  Roger will provide an evolutionary timeframe for world crayfish origins in a continental drift setting and then review the four crayfish families in terms of diversity, unique features, habitats utilized, conservation status, and threats.  In the second half of the presentation he will focus on select eastern North American crayfish species and their individual conservation issues.

12)  April 8, What Fungi Do and How They Do It by Esther Allen.  We tend to view fungi in different ways, as something to spoil our food in the fridge, as beautiful phenomena to identify and to photograph, and as a tasty garnish.  However their true purpose in nature is to recycle dead organic matter.  Through her awesome photographs Esther will demonstrate the essential role that fungi fill in nature by decomposing organisms and returning them to the soil to continue the natural cycle of life.

13. 13) April 22, Waders, a photographic study of herons and their relatives by Chuck
    

Tague.  Chuck will use digital photography to explore the life histories of the glamorous and graceful long-legged birds of our wetlands: the egrets, herons, night-herons, bitterns, ibis and storks.  Chuck will also explore the history of these birds and their importance to the wildlife conservation movement in the United States.