Education Center encourages locals to “Celebrate the Bloom”
BRADY TWP — Visitors to the Jennings Environmental Education Center Saturday, July 27, learned about the residents of the 20-acre prairie ecosystem, from the endangered massasauga rattlesnake to the blazing star flower.
The center, founded by Pennsylvania botanist Otto Emery Jennings, held its Celebrate the Bloom! event Saturday. The 20-acre prairie at the Jennings Environmental Education center is Pennsylvania’s only prairie and the United States’ easternmost prairie, and is the focal point of Celebrate the Bloom!
The center started the event in cooperation with a group of volunteers who support and help fund Jennings, Moraine State Park and McConnell’s Mill, said Wil Taylor, center manager.
The idea was to show off and create awareness of the prairie ecosystem located on the property.
The prairie is a remnant of an ecosystem dominant in the region 5,000 years ago.
“I think (Celebrate the Bloom!) showcases maybe a resource that some people are not familiar with. This gives them a chance to stop in and they can learn a lot more about this really cool resource in their backyard,” Taylor said.
People trekked through the park on nature explorations, hoping to spot birds, butterflies and wildflowers — including the blazing star — on their respective walks.
They also browsed the various vendors’ tents and food trucks, and listened to music.
Earlier in the day, participants reportedly saw the endangered massasauga rattlesnake. The elusive rattlesnake is a resident of the prairie, and is one of four populations left in Pennsylvania.
“We come here all the time,” Jerri McMichael, a visitor to the center, said. McMichael is from the Plum area in Pittsburgh.
She comes to the prairie to view the wide variety of local flora and fauna that are natural to the Jennings property.
“We love nature. We’re trying to do a lot of native plants at our home,” Mercer County resident Ellen Campbell said.
