“Tree Rain” Have you ever heard of “tree rain?” Is it a real thing? Tree rain is something that happens in dense forests high in the mountains. In forest areas next to oceans, tree rain results from heavy water droplets that gathers on leaves and leaf bottoms. Misty, foggy weather, like in Northwestern Washington State,... Read More
February is typically the Lehigh Valley’s snowiest month, but this year we had the second warmest February on record and barely a trace of snow. Earlier in the season, we had only 5.3 inches, making this season so far the Lehigh Valley’s fourth least snowy winter. We also saw January 2020 make headlines as the... Read More
“If we don’t think about Utah’s long-term future, who will?” – Republican Utah state house speaker Brad Wilson A recent article in the Guardian describes how a combination of factors – action by young people, locally relevant climate impacts, and a desire for better planning for the future – led to a long-term plan for... Read More
At the end of February, nearly 50 Scouts will meet at Nurture Nature Center to discuss how to be a good citizen and demonstrate their knowledge of their communities to earn the Citizenship in the Community badge, a requirement for all Eagle Scouts. This badge reflects the importance of civics education, and led me to... Read More
It can be easy to think that to address the intimidating environmental problems we face today, we need the newest, most innovative, most ground-breaking technology. But what if ideas for new technologies could come from strategies that have already been in use for centuries? Biomimicry is the process of observing how plants and animals accomplish... Read More
We are now in year 2 of CREATE Resilience, a NOAA-funded project designed to increase knowledge of weather and climate science, the risks from local hazards, and strategies for hazard mitigation, while storytelling and co-creating a vision for community resilience. As part of year 2, in October, we welcomed a new cohort of 14 students... Read More
As we enter the 2020s, many people will make resolutions and start working toward realizing their hopes for the year. Similarly, we can think about our hopes for the decades ahead and what we should resolve to do now as individuals and communities to bring about our vision for 2030, 2050, or 2100. This piece... Read More
You may hear about scientific discoveries or developments regularly in the news – from new images of black holes in space to new gene-editing techniques – but these findings can seem distant, foreign, and unrelated to your everyday local life. But what about science that affects your community? Community science that helps with issues that... Read More
The holidays are a time for family, friends, food, and for many people, avoiding politics, religion, and other topics of conversation that might interrupt peace and goodwill at the dinner table. Climate change often gets lumped into this category of subjects to steer clear of, yet we routinely talk about weather, health, and plans for... Read More
This past Sunday marked the end of the longest ever Conference of Parties (COP) negotiations, the annual meeting of the 197 countries that are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The U.S. was represented by a delegation led by Ambassador Marcia Bernicat (a graduate of Lafayette College!) In addition, a group... Read More