Schuylkill Conservation District

08/14/2026

Please be aware that our website is currently down. We are working hard behind the scenes to get it back up and running as soon as possible. Thank you.

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08/07/2026

UPDATE: The Storytelling Circle for tonight is cancelled due to weather and will be rescheduled for a later date. Stay tuned!

Our other weekend events are still on:

Saturday, August 8th 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM catch Hemlock Hannah at the Garden Expo 2026 Hosted by the Penn State Master Gardeners of Schuylkill County. Location is First UCC Church 110 Route 61 Schuylkill Haven, PA (adjacent to Penn State Schuylkill Campus) Free event & free parking! Join us for a fun and educational day celebrating all things gardening! Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned green thumb, there’s something for everyone.

Sunday, August 9th 2:00-3:30pm Join Hemlock Hannah’s Mushrooms in the Hollow Walk
at Frog Hollow Nature Area. 170 Stone Mountain Rd, Schuylkill Haven, PA Take an easy walk around Frog Hollow searching for mushrooms and signs of the old homestead. This walk focuses more on specific species and identification rather than edibility of species. Meets in Frog Hollow Parking Lot. Children and dogs are welcome. Led by Hemlock Hannah. (1-2 miles, easy).

Any questions about these upcoming events? Call Hemlock Hannah at 272-208-0406

08/06/2026

We’ve got a weekend full of events!

This Friday, August 7th 7:00pm-8:00pm Hemlock Hannah and Sue Reier from the Schuylkill County Conservancy will be hosting a rare evening event at Frog Hollow Nature Area. 170 Stone Mountain Rd, Schuylkill Haven, PA. We will share stories, some classic folktales, and perhaps some stories shared at camp that week. We will meet at the 'amphitheater', hope to have a campfire, and swap stories for both adults and children. Bring a camp chair, your own pre-filled drink bottle, and bug repellent, and any clothing/blankets for your own comfort level, depending on the weather. It's designed to be entertaining AND connecting for all ages. In case of rain, we will cancel and aim for a re-do date! We will likely continue telling stories past 8:00pm.

Saturday, August 8th 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM catch Hemlock Hannah at the Garden Expo 2026 Hosted by the Penn State Master Gardeners of Schuylkill County. Location is First UCC Church 110 Route 61 Schuylkill Haven, PA (adjacent to Penn State Schuylkill Campus) Free event & free parking! Join us for a fun and educational day celebrating all things gardening! Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned green thumb, there’s something for everyone

Sunday, August 9th 2:00-3:30pm Join Hemlock Hannah’s Mushrooms in the Hollow Walk
at Frog Hollow Nature Area. 170 Stone Mountain Rd, Schuylkill Haven, PA Take an easy walk around Frog Hollow searching for mushrooms and signs of the old homestead. This walk focuses more on specific species and identification rather than edibility of species. Meets in Frog Hollow Parking Lot. Children and dogs are welcome. Led by Hemlock Hannah. (1-2 miles, easy).

Last graphic fully designed by our intern Youssef Amin.

Any questions about these upcoming events? Call Hemlock Hannah at 272-208-0406

07/25/2026

TOMORROW! Sunday July 26th 2:00-4:00pm

Check out local edible plants in mid-summer. Beginner forager friendly! Meets at Sweet Arrow Lake County Park Waterfall Pavilion parking lot. This longer walk takes MANY stops for observing, so bring dogs and children at your own discretion.

Bring a basket, Ziplock bags, or paper bags if you'd like to take anything that we find with you!
Led by Hemlock Hannah. (2 miles, easy).

Sweet Arrow Lake County Park
Waterfall Pavilion
67 Waterfall Rd Pinegrove PA 17963
Questions? Contact Hemlock Hannah at 272-208-0406

Graphic made in part by our intern, Youseff!

07/23/2026

Sunday July 26th 2:00-4:00pm

Check out local edible plants in mid-summer. Beginner forager friendly! Meets at Sweet Arrow Lake County Park Waterfall Pavilion parking lot. This longer walk takes MANY stops for observing, so bring dogs and children at your own discretion.

Bring a basket, Ziplock bags, or paper bags if you'd like to take anything that we find with you!
Led by Hemlock Hannah. (2 miles, easy).

Sweet Arrow Lake County Park
Waterfall Pavilion
67 Waterfall Rd Pinegrove PA 17963
Questions? Contact Hemlock Hannah at 272-208-0406

Graphic made in part by our intern, Youseff!

07/18/2026

Last Friday was Day 5, our final day of Water Warrior Week of Outdoor Wildlife Learning (OWL) Summer Nature Camp.

We began our day with a quick stretch circle, then we had a runoff and stormwater demonstration led by Miss Towhee that stressed the importance of riparian buffers to stream beds and adjacent settlements. Next, special guest Sue Rier from the Schuylkill County Conservancy took all campers as well as our Schuylkill Headwaters guests on a walk down our Rainbow River watershed while singing. As a fun surprise, Hemlock Hannah washed our river away and caught some campers in the “rain.”

Schuylkill Headwaters led a presentation about their organization and explained the trout that can be found in our area. They had rotating stations for the campers: a coloring contest, fly tying, bucket casting, and rod threading. Thanks to the kind donation of Cabelas, each camper got their very own rod to keep! Schuylkill Headwaters had the campers try out their rods and fish in Bear Creek. One of our campers caught four fish in a half hour!!

We are beyond grateful for our special guests as well as our volunteers who helped to keep our camp running smoothly. This camp was made possible by collaboration with Lyric Paskel from Assumption BVM, volunteers, the Schuylkill County Fairgrounds, and the DEP’s Environmental Education Grant Program. Thank you again to Sue, Kyle, Leif, Bri, and Youseff!

07/18/2026

Last Thursday was Day 4 of our Water Warrior Week of Outdoor Wildlife Learning (OWL) Summer Nature Camp.

We began our day with a stretch circle, then we had special guest Sue Rier from the Schuylkill County Conservancy let the campers be the “rockstars” and help lead us in song. Sue had our campers add on to their creeks and rivulets in the rainbow river watershed and Sue demonstrated how rivers empty out into bigger bodies of water, like bays!

Today, we learned about the science behind water and why it’s important. Campers learned that many critters are sensitive to the smallest chemical changes in water, especially amphibians who “breathe” through their skin. We went back towards the creek in search of frogs and toads and cataloged two American Toads, a Pickerel Frog, a Spring Peeper, and a New Jersey Chorus Frog.

To further understand water’s properties, Miss Towhee had the students test out water tension and PH and had our apprentice, Leif, helped our campers understand the difference between acids and bases.

We had Kyle return to show the mosquitoes caught in the research trap and explain the life cycles of ticks and mosquitoes—a program that made us all itchy!!

This camp was made possible by collaboration with Lyric Paskel from Assumption BVM, volunteers, the Schuylkill County Fairgrounds, and the DEP’s Environmental Education Grant Program. Thank you again to Sue, Kyle, Leif, Bri, and Youseff!

07/16/2026

Last Wednesday was Day 3 of our Water Warrior Week of Outdoor Wildlife Learning (OWL) Summer Nature Camp.

We began our day with a fun get-to-know-you-game, then we had special guest Sue Rier from the Schuylkill County Conservancy lead us in our watershed song again! Sue had our campers play “world traveling water droplet” to help them understand how water travels from different habitats and states of matter within the water cycle.
To cool off, we played a game of “drip-drip-drench”, which is like “duck-duck-goose” but with water and vengeance!

After lunch, our campers went on a walk to observe temperature in soil and water on different terrain and shade coverage. Campers learned the importance of shade produced by riparian buffers to keep rivers cool, just as trees helped them to keep cool on such a hot sunny day. Schuylkill Conservation District intern Bri helped campers identify plants within the buffer, and intern Youseff explained the difference between chickweed and algae in the pond.
We had a surprise visit from District Manager Kyle, who was formally our Invasive Species Specialist. He set up a mosquito trap at the fairgrounds for research and let the campers smell the “mosquito juice” bait.

To cool off once more, campers played a toss game with reusable water balloons to see who could keep the balloon intact for the longest and conserve the most water. It soon turned into a full water balloon battle—but sustainably!! No rubbery mess to clean up with the reusable balloons, and no rubbery mess left for any animals to eat!

This camp was made possible by collaboration with Lyric Paskel from Assumption BVM, volunteers, the Schuylkill County Fairgrounds, and the DEP’s Environmental Education Grant Program. Thank you again to Sue, Kyle, Bri, and Youseff!

07/15/2026

Last Tuesday was Day 2 of our Water Warrior Week of Outdoor Wildlife Learning (OWL) Summer Nature Camp.

We began our day with more get-to-know-you games, then we had special guest Sue Rier from the Schuylkill County Conservancy lead us in a song about rivers and watersheds. Campers made their own “rainbow river” watershed and drew their own creeks and rivulets into the main river to further their understanding.

Our next special guests were Bobby and Carolyn from Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (EPCAMR). They led the campers through another macroinvertebrate stream study, getting more jn depth about the tools used for macroinvertebrate collection and specific species we observed. For extra fun, they played macroinvertebrate bingo with the campers to solidify familiarity with the species they learned.

Campers learned about the local negative effects of AMD (abandoned mine drainage) on our ecosystems and waterways as well as what EPCAMR is doing to mitigate that pollutions Each camper got to tie dye a T-shirt and bandana in AMD tie-dye!

This camp was made possible by collaboration with Lyric Paskel from Assumptpn BVM, the Schuylkill County Fairgrounds, and the DEP’s Environmental Education Grant Program. Thank you again to Sue, Carolyn, and Bobby for being special guests!!

07/15/2026

Last Monday was Day 1 of our Water Warrior Week of Outdoor Wildlife Learning (OWL) Summer Nature Camp.

We began our day with get-to-know-you games, then touched upon the importance of water conservation through a sponge relay game. Next, our campers learned about the water cycle and the ratio of fresh to salt water on earth.

After a water cycle craft and more games, we had our special guest of the day, Porcupine Pat, visit Bear Creek to teach our campers about macroinvertebrates—the tiny “water bugs” that can help scientists understand stream quality. According to our study: the water quality is good! 😌

Lastly, students recorded their findings in their own personal journals and reflected on what they learned.

This camp was made possible by collaboration with Lyric Paskel from Assumptpn BVM, the Schuylkill County Fairgrounds, and the DEP’s Environmental Education Grant Program.