[naviga:h3]Audubon Society presentation offers bird’s-eye view[/naviga:h3]

Professional birder Rob Fergus will hold an Audubon Society event at the Jennings Environmental Education Center, Route 528 in Brady Township, on March 9 as part of the Bartramian Audubon Society’s regular monthly programs.

The event aims to show attendees what it’s like to be a bird, including their field of view, color perception, ability to focus and how they differentiate moments of time.

Parent volunteers will be honored at middle school

Evans City Middle School (ECMS) will host a Volunteer Recognition Breakfast honoring school volunteers at 8:30 a.m. this coming Thursday.

ECMS invites parent volunteers — and their children — to a breakfast in the large cafeteria as a means of thanking them for their dedicated service.

“We have been honoring our volunteers for several years,” said Kendra Bertoti, ECMS secretary. “We give our volunteers small gifts, flowers, breakfast and, most importantly, a heartfelt thank you.”

[naviga:h3]Three SV seniors finalists in national competition[/naviga:h3]

Seneca Valley seniors Nishant Jayachandran, Olivia Schultheis and Sean Scott have been named finalists in the 65th Annual National Merit Scholarship Program held by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC).

The seniors are three of approximately 15,000 finalists and will now advance to the next level of the program. There, they will have the opportunity to earn a National Merit Scholarship and, ultimately, the Merit Scholar title.

NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and by approximately 420 business organizations and higher education institutions that share NMSC’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.

About 1.5 million juniors in more than 21,000 high schools entered the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2018 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants.

[naviga:h3]7-mile hike runs from Moraine to Jennings[/naviga:h3]

There will be a 7-mile hike from Moraine State Park to Jennings Environmental Education Center on Feb. 22 starting at 9 a.m. at the boat launch under the Route 528 bridge at Moraine.

The hike is part of a daylong event combining the annual “Cherry Pie Hike” and “Washington’s Trail Hike.”

The event commemorates George Washington’s birthday and the Virginia Colony mission demanding French withdrawal from British territory that precipitated the French and Indian/Seven Years War.

There will be other activities at Jennings Environmental Education Center between 8:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., including 75-minute winter nature walks led by Jennings’ staff and 30-minute history hikes, where visitors can witness the 1753 musket shot that almost killed Washington at age 21.

There will also be informational presentations and displays, including reenactors with clothing and equipment of the time period.