Under the Magnifying Glass: Young Naturalists Uncover Nature’s Mysteries

Young Naturalists are high school students who want to learn more about nature and love spending time outdoors. They accept the challenge to work hard in conditions that are at times harsh and physically demanding to improve the health of the park. Young Naturalists are also interested in pursuing a degree or career related to environmental science, ecology, education, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) or sustainability.

This edition of the blog is authored by Naturalist Educator, Stephen Bucklin. 

Photos are also from Stephen and Naturalist Educator, Carya Cornell. 

Starting with a Splash - Retreat Week

We kicked the first week of Young Naturalists off with some forest bathing guided by Kathryn Hunninen before traveling to the Laurel Highlands for our overnight retreat. After settling in at Powdermill we went to Ohiopyle State Park to eat lunch by the scenic Cucumber Falls. A passing thunderstorm sent us into the visitor’s center to learn about local wildlife, geologic history, and recreational opportunities in the area. After making our way back to the cabins and cooking a delicious pizza dinner, we were joined by Pete Woods (Invertebrate Zoologist, Western PA Conservancy) for an evening of learning about insects. We deployed blacklight bucket traps overnight, placed them in the fridge in the morning, and explored what moths were lured to our lights over breakfast. We then packed lunch and traveled to Greenhouse Park in Johnstown for river surfing with The Watersmith Guild and a benthic macroinvertebrate study with educators from Indiana County Conservation District. Participants enjoyed the refreshing water and the thrill of attempting to stand on their board in the waves – we had our first ever successful river surfer! We finished the retreat with a visit to the Powdermill Avian Research Center to see bird banding in action and stopped by Spruce Flats Bog and Beam Rocks to enjoy the unique plant life and scenery found in the Laurel Highlands region before heading back to Pittsburgh. 

Beaks and Feathers - Bird Week

During Bird Week PPC staff introduced the Young Naturalists to birding basics so that we could meet early the next morning for a guided birding walk with David Yeany (Avian Ecologist, Western PA Conservancy). He returned the following morning to teach the crew some of the core practices of avian field work and habitat quality assessment. Teams of Young Naturalists conducted point counts for birds and assessed habitat at 9 distinct locations around Clayton Hill, some of the same points used in the ongoing monitoring of impacts on the Clayton Hill Restoration Project on migratory and resident birds. They then compiled data to see what the bird communities in the park told us about the health of the forest, and made recommendations on how the health of the park could be improved based on their findings. For stewardship this week, the Young Naturalists were primarily working in small groups to plan their projects. We also met up with Brandon McCracken and Rachel Hoag to do some perimeter clearing on the Clayton Hill deer exclosures to help keep the fence in good order. To share what they learned this week about birds, the Young Naturalists created collages. 

Things with Wings and Things that Sting - Insect Week

This week we learned all about insects and explored digital photography. We were joined by Michael Pisano, a local filmmaker and environmental educator, who taught the Young Naturalists how to use DSLR cameras to capture images of insects. We also worked with Pete Woods (Western PA Conservancy) to deploy moth light traps in the park overnight to continue the Young Naturalist’s “moth study”. Young Naturalists photographed all the moths captured in the traps, edited the images, and uploaded them to iNaturalist. We added a record 13 new species of moths to the list for Frick Park and looked at how ecologists use mathematical equations to estimate the number of species in an ecosystem. For stewardship, we continued working on the Clayton Hill deer exclosures and began a project controlling a patch of goutweed, a highly invasive herbaceous plant that can dominate the forest floor without human intervention. 

Climate Week

Water and Climate Week started off with a survey of Falls Ravine and Nine Mile Run alongside guest scientist Amy Miller (Allegheny County Conservation District). Young Naturalists conducted a visual assessment, chemical analysis, and benthic macroinvertebrate survey to evaluate the health of these two streams in Frick Park. We also collected a sample of algae and water from Nine Mile Run to observe under the microscope the following morning before traveling to Allgheny Islands State Park to go paddleboarding with The Watersmith Guild. Our adventure took us to the shallow alluvial soils of the islands where we were joined by scientists from the PA Fish & Boat Commission in conducting a survey for freshwater mussels. We captured over a dozen live mussels representing around 6 species including mapleleaf, three-horn wartyback, pink heelsplitter, wabash pigtoe, and black sandshell. The next day we were joined by Young Grugas (Communitopia) to learn more about climate action and what we can do to help protect our planet. We closed out the week with a video workshop hosted by The Watersmith Guild where each intern created a video using clips from river surfing and paddleboarding and their own interviews and voiceovers. (link to films ). For stewardship this week we finished the goutweed project, which involved covering the area in which we removed plants with woodchips and inoculating with winecap mushroom spawn. We also completed two additional student-led projects – a habitat improvement project for native bees on the southwestern side of the FEC and a refresh of the water bars on the social trail skirting the edge of the amphitheater to help reduce erosion. 

Forests and Fungi

For our last week we explored the wonders of trees and fungi. Our own Stephen Bucklin was the guest mycologist of the week and led the group in a Mushroom Exploration where we found tons of different mushrooms growing in Frick Park thanks to a wet spring and early summer. Later in the week, a few enthusiastic mushroom hunters gathered enough chanterelles from the park for the group to share – Carya fried them up outside using a camp stove and everyone sampled some forest flavors. We were also joined by Clara, Maeve, and Surya from Tree Pittsburgh who helped us study forest plots in Frick Park and opened the group’s eyes to the issues of environmental justice, urban heat islands, the importance of urban tree canopies, and the challenges faced by trees in urban settings. For stewardship we began work installing bird dots on the Outdoor Classroom to help reduce window strikes. The Young Naturalists each contributed an entry into Volume 4 of our teen zine – It's Alive – highlighting their learnings about fungi and forest ecosystems. We finished the week with a trip to Highland Park to grill, swim, and enjoy each other’s company before saying farewell.