Jennings holds annual event
BRADY TWP — Most of the plant life that lives in the temperate climate of Western Pennsylvania blooms in the spring time, but at the Jennings Environmental Educational Center, the bloom begins in July.
The park had its third annual Celebrate the Bloom event Saturday, which marks the beginning of the three months when many of the wildflowers in the park's prairie habitat are in bloom.
The event included guided hikes, educational demonstrations, food and live music. It is intended to draw people to the park who have never been before and get people interested in volunteering, said park manager Wil Taylor.
Attendance was limited by rain in its first two years, but with good weather Saturday Taylor was hoping 900 to 1,000 people would visit the park.
The 20-acre prairie at Jennings is the only one of its kind in the state. There are prairies in the Midwest, but in Pennsylvania and in the Northeast, they were taken over long ago by agriculture and forests.
At Jennings, part of the prairie survived in part due to soil conditions and in part due to conservation efforts.
“Our soil is so bad that trees never took over and no farmer wanted to use it,” Taylor said.
The most noted wildflower in the prairie is the purple blazing star, though other notable species include the white Culver's root, yellow whorled rosinweed and the purple-fringed orchids.
The park also is home to the endangered eastern massasauga rattlesnake. A volunteer on Saturday captured a male snake, which was displayed in a tank at the education center.
Groups helping out at the event included some that partner with the park to put on programs including the Bartramian Audubon Society, the Botanical Society of Western PA, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and the Moraine McConnells Mill Jennings Commission.
Cindy Webrecht, a former president of 3MJC, said the event is a chance for people to learn about the educational programs at the park and the unique plant and animal species there.“Jennings is a special place because we have some things you won't find at the other parks,” she said.Honey Sweet Apiaries, a family owned honeybee farm in Jefferson Township, gave a demonstration about how honey is made.The farm maintains a couple of hives at Jennings and the bees pollinate the wildflowers on the prairie, co-owner Lynda Reich said.“When we sell our honey we say we have wildflower honey,” Reich said.The bees also are a great asset to farmers around the region whose crops need to be pollinated because there is a shortage of bees, bats and butterflies that act as pollinators.Asa Cameron, 10, of Butler and his mother, Kim Cameron, visited the event.They usually visit Jennings once a month to enjoy the nature there.“I like all nature. I've seen woodpeckers, spiders, bullfrogs,” Asa said.Fred and Sandy Anderson of New Bethlehem, Clarion County, said it was their first time visiting Jennings.Sandy Anderson said she recognized the blazing stars and some of the other species of plants that sometimes grow on their property.“We have a couple of acres of space. I'm encouraged to just let it grow and make my own prairie,” she said.
