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Festival plants seeds of education

Rachel Spickerman, of Gibsonia, admires the flowers during the Jennings Environmental Education Center “Celebrate the Bloom” event Saturday afternoon, July 26. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle.
Pennsylvania’s only prairie is in Butler’s backyard

Jennings Environmental Education Center showcases the country’s easternmost prairie at a Celebrate the Bloom event during peak wildflower season each year.

The event Saturday, July 26, was filled with guided nature walks, animal meet and greets, and various other educational activities.

It also featured artisan vendors and food trucks, as well as performances from musicians Boom Rockets, Bertha and the Belles, Max Schang Trio of Blues and three singer-songwriters.

Cody Jones, of Pittsburgh, heard about the event on social media. He was one of an estimated 750 to 1,000 attendees this year.

“I’m just happy to be up here in this awesome space,” he said. “The music is cool. I like the informational signs they have.”

Jones also appreciated the cooling fans and water set up around the park. His favorite wildflower of the day was golden rod, and he learned about identifying native plants.

A vibrant Blazing Star stands in full bloom during the annual “Celebrate the Bloom” event Saturday at Jennings Environmental Education Center. The native wildflower drew nature lovers and photographers alike. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle

“This is our one celebration day where we invite the community into the prairie,” said Brandi Parish, environmental educator at Jennings.

She claimed the event’s purpose is to show off the floral landscape and recognize the maintenance that goes into preserving it.

These efforts involve a “prescribed burning” of small sections of the prairie each winter. This decreases what Parish calls “woody growth” so that it makes up only 10% of the landscape and allows more room for flowers and grass.

Parish also commented on how more extreme weather and heat have affected the center. For example, the center’s maple sugar events used to take place at the end of March but now must be done two weeks earlier.

“The climate is warming, the environment is changing and it has a direct effect on maple trees,” she said. “The (syrup) tapping season is shorter so there’s less product now.”

This impacts the rest of the ecosystem because everything is timed, she said. Trees producing leaves too soon can affect insect populations, which leads to less food for birds and decreased numbers of essential pollinators that help the prairie grow.

“Everything is connected and everything is off-kilter because the seasons are warming, and that affects us all,” Parish said.

She also noted that Jennings Environmental Education Center hosts year-round community programs, but people are welcome to walk the trails every day from sunrise to sunset.

Nature enthusiasts Glenn Koppel, of Butler; Jean Meade, of Monroeville; and Mary Alice Koenekem of Butler, stroll the prairie at Jennings Environmental Education Center Saturday afternoon, July 26, during its Celebrate the Bloom event. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle

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