Backyard Nature

10/06/2026

🍂 Coming up this Saturday 🍂

Come join us at Penn Hills Community Park on October as we explore the science of leaf color, go on a gentle hike, and make a craft to take home!

Program is free, but register with Penn Hills Parks and Recreation.

10/04/2026

🍂 It's the most magical time of the year 🍂

Come join us at Penn Hills Community Park on October as we explore the science of leaf color, go on a gentle hike, and make a craft to take home!

Program is free, but register with Penn Hills Parks and Recreation.

09/23/2026

🍁🍂Come explore the fall leaves with us on October 10! 🍂🍁

FALL & WINTER 2026

09/20/2026

Such a cool Day of Firsts with Variety - the Children's Charity of Pittsburgh! We hosted a "my first bird feeder" activity, and so many kids are now excited to feed our local birds and the migrating birds passing by us!

It was a close call, though! The Pirate's Parrot almost got all the mealworms for himself 😉

09/19/2026

We had a great Scats, Tracks, and Ice Cream hike today! Everyone made plaster tracks to take home, we spotted lots of animal tracks and scats around the trail, and we had a delicious snack when we got back 🐾 💜🐾

09/16/2026

We will be the Field Day of Firsts with Variety - the Children's Charity of Pittsburgh on Sunday! Come check it out!

At Variety the Children’s Charity, we believe there is nothing quite as powerful as the spark of a new discovery, a first experience and all the joy it brings. At Variety’s Field-Day of Firsts, we’ll create an interactive, family-friendly day of fun, firsts, food, and community – FREE FOR EV...

09/15/2026

We will be there this Sunday! Come join us 💜💚💜

09/14/2026

I am partnering with Venture Outdoors for a gentle hike this Saturday!🐾🍦Hike will be geared towards families with kids roughly 10 and under, but honestly anyone with a sense of humor about 💩 will have a good time 😉

And note we are meeting at the parking lot by the tennis courts and the Silver Beaver shelter, so the entrance off New Texas Rd.

Link to register: https://ventureoutdoors.org/events/

09/10/2026

Your input is needed! I am working on planning a pizza lunch for high school and middle school girls who are interested in learning about careers in conservation or the environment. The date will most likely be late January or early February, and I'm looking at venues in Penn Hills. The lunch will feature a variety of women already working in environmental fields here in Pittsburgh, so it will be a great chance to learn about what kinds of jobs are even possible and what they might look like.

As I'm planning, what would you like to learn at an event like this? Who would you like to meet? What would make it meaningful for you as a student? (Parents, since this is Facebook, I would love any insights you could pass on from your student ☺️💚)

09/10/2026

😍😍😍 Bird migration is in full swing!

Did you know most songbirds migrate at night? At night, they are safer from predators like hawks and they experience fewer thermal gusts interfering with flight. And all of us at home can track their progress! If you've never heard of Birdcast, it's a fantastic free tool from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to help track and predict bird migration 🐦

This is a look at the Birdcast analysis during the peak last night near midnight. It was the biggest night of the season so far. Tonight's migration numbers will likely be lower across the country (250-400 million), but the peak migration traffic is expected right over us. Tonight is another night where turning off those outdoor lights will help the birds on their journey south.