Category: Uncategorized

Walk This Way!

Stairway to Native Lands

Looking for some winter exercise? Try out the Zimmerman Center’s new stone slab steps to start off a crisp December hike into Native Lands County Park! As part of our project to improve accessibility to Native Lands, the steps replace the rather “rustic” ones visitors have had to  navigate from our otherwise lovely trailhead ontothe footpath to the park.

As you wander up the trail, you may notice that as a result of removal of invasive plant species from the woodland this summer, you can now see the forest through the trees! It’s a wonderful place to enjoy some solitude and take in the soothing landscape.

After your hike, stop in the Center to warm up and you will see that we made Tim Barr’s Petroglyphs at Safe Harbor painting more accessible, having moved it from our second-floor hallway to a prominent spot in our rear gallery. Consider making a Christmas donation to help make this dramatic work of art, on temporary loan from the artist, a part of our permanent collection.

Chesapeake Conservation Corps Member impacts Heritage Area through Pollinator Projects

Each year, Susquehanna National Heritage Area welcomes a Chesapeake Conservation Corps Member to our team. The Conservation Corps program is operated by the Chesapeake Bay Trust in order to increase access to green careers. Educating and training the next generation of stewards on how best to manage and protect our environment is crucial to restoring our region’s natural resources. Young adults are placed with nonprofit or government agencies for one-year terms of service in the Chesapeake Bay region. Susquehanna NHA hosts a Corps member each year thanks to our relationship with the NPS Chesapeake Bay Office that supplies the funding.

For 2018-2019, we welcomed Amy Kochel. She was a recent graduate of Juniata College where she studied Environmental Science. She had experience in aquatic ecology and environmental education. Amy is passionate about streams and rivers, and anything that lives in them. Amy completed and supported a variety of programs and projects during her time with Susquehanna National Heritage Area. Her mentor at SNHA was Paul Nevin, our Zimmerman Center Manager.

Amy completed a Meaningful Watershed Environmental Education grant project with the 4th grade classes at York Academy Regional Charter School in the York City. The elementary school is located across the street from the Codorus Creek, allowing for a great outdoor educational experience. Amy led an in-classroom activity about watersheds and had students work together to build a watershed model. The class also did stream study at the Codorus Creek and the students determined the health of the water using chemical and physical tests. Amy then helped the students to plant a pollinator habitat on their playground. Amy designed the pollinator garden and coordinated with a local nursery to get the 150 plants needed to fill the space. Students learned about the importance of pollinator wildlife and ways that plants can reduce soil runoff into waterways. The students also committed to caring for the garden and signed up to weed and water the garden weekly including over the summer months.

As a conclusion, the students attended a field trip with Susquehanna NHA at the Zimmerman Center for Heritage where they investigated the health of a nearby stream to learn more about the Susquehanna River and compared it to their local stream in the city. Students completed the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail Junior Ranger book and were sworn in as Junior Rangers at the end of the day. As part of the swearing in ceremony, students committed to continue learning about the landscape, plants, animals, and history of the river region.

At the SNHA Zimmerman Center property, Amy helped to enhance the information and interpretation of native species. She located, flagged, identified, and labeled native wildflowers along the hiking trail that leads to Native Lands County Park. Her work along the riverfront removed invasive species from the rain garden in order for more native plants to grow. In the fall, Amy caught and tagged monarch butterflies and created an informative area at the Zimmerman Center’s welcome desk for visitors to learn more about the monarch migration and the importance of native milkweed. Over the winter, she researched more about the native species that were present before Europeans arrived in Pennsylvania. Utilizing research from local archaeological digs that were done near the Susquehanna River, Amy then compared the findings to the types of plant and animal species that are found today.

In the spring, Amy created a pollinator garden alongside Susquehanna NHA’s rain garden. Throughout the year, Amy developed a site plan to determine the area of the garden and how many plants would be needed. She ordered the plants and advertised a planting day to find volunteers to help plant the garden. With the help of volunteers, she planted 300 native plants from 15 different species. A brochure was also created for visitors to learn more about pollinators and pollinator gardens.

In August 2019, Amy Kochel’s tenure with Susquehanna NHA came to an end. Her time in the Chesapeake Conservation Corps advanced her knowledge and leadership skills. We were proud to be her mentor through the process. She has since earned a permanent position with the Nature’s Classroom Institute as an Environmental Educator in Wisconsin.

A big THANK YOU! to the Student Conservation Association Pennsylvania Outdoor Corps who braved the heat and rain in July to remove invasive plants from our woodlands and perform maintenance on the Pleasant Garden Trail leading to Native Lands County Park!

This youth employment and enrichment program is managed by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources in cooperation with the Student Conservation Association, a national conservation jobs organization that has engaged thousands of young people nationwide in hands-on service to the land to build the next generation of conservation leaders and inspire lifelong stewardship of the environment and communities.

The Pennsylvania Outdoor Corps program offers paid work experience, job training, and educational opportunities to teens and young adults as they protect and restore public lands and waters. We were also honored to have Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Deputy Secretary Michael Walsh join us to inspect the youth crew’s accomplishments.

Visit the Zimmerman Center for Heritage and Native Lands County Park to see these first steps toward restoring the woodland to a more natural state.

RIVER DISCOVERY BOAT TOURS LAUNCH THIS WEEKEND!

When: Saturday, July 13^th & Sunday July 14^th, 10:30am/12:30pm/2:30pm,
and Every Weekend through Summer 2019

Where: Zimmerman Center for Heritage, 1706 Long Level Rd., Wrightsville, PA

On Saturday, July 13^th and Sunday, July 14^th, Susquehanna National Heritage Area will launch our pilot season of River Discovery Boat Tours on the Susquehanna River. Three FREE pontoon boat tours will be offered every Saturday and Sunday through the summer from our Zimmerman Center for Heritage dock, on the river south of Wrightsville, PA. Tour times for the initial pilot season are 10:30am, 12:30pm, and 2:30pm.

Tour participants will cruise the Susquehanna in a comfortable 10-passenger pontoon boat owned and operated by locally-based Long Level Marina. Susquehanna National Heritage Area’s on-board guides will lead participants on a 1 hour 15 minute tour of the Lake Clarke portion of the river while sharing the Susquehanna’s rich natural and cultural history. Tour participants will enjoy being on the water, hearing stories of the river, and viewing beautiful scenery and wildlife.

The River Discovery Tours are the first new initiative of Susquehanna National Heritage Area since Congressional designation of Lancaster and York Counties as America’s 55th National Heritage Area in March 2019. The 2019 pilot season of tours are offered free of charge for all participants thanks to grants from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources/Heritage Areas Program and the National Park Service/Chesapeake Bay Gateways Program.

The River Discovery Tours were developed as part of the Zimmerman Center’s official role as a National Park Service Visitor Contact & Passport Station for the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, America’s first water-based National Historic Trail. Special themed tours and round-trip cruises between the Zimmerman Center and the Columbia Crossing River Trails Center we manage on the Columbia riverfront will be offered later in the summer. If popular with the public in this pilot season, an expanded schedule of tours will be developed for 2020 and beyond.

Each tour has a limited number of seats and online reservations are recommended. Reservations are limited to 4 persons maximum per tour and one reservation per tour day. Unreserved seats may be available on the first-come, first-served basis. Tours leave from the Zimmerman Center dock, 1706 Long Level Rd., four miles south of Wrightsville.

More information about River Discovery Boat Tours and making reservations can be found here.

On Friday, June 7, 2019, Susquehanna National Heritage Area (SNHA) will celebrate the recent designation by Congress of Lancaster and York Counties as America’s 55^th National Heritage Area. National, state, and local elected officials, agencies, and business leaders will come together on the riverfront in Columbia to honor our area’s significant role in shaping American history and recognize those partners who helped bring this important national designation to our communities.

Featured speakers for the celebration are U.S. Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Congressman Lloyd Smucker (PA-11), who both championed National Heritage Area designation for our region in Congress.

Remarks will also be offered by Kate MacGregor, Deputy Chief of Staff exercising the authority of the Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior; Cindy Dunn, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources; Josh Parsons, Chair, Lancaster County Board of Commissioners; Susan Byrnes, President, York County Board of Commissioners; Columbia Mayor Leo Lutz; Lancaster Chamber President Tom Baldrige; and Kevin Schreiber, President & CEO of the York County Economic Alliance. Representatives of the National Park Service will also be in attendance.

Weather and water permitting, a small group of invited participants will arrive for the celebration in Columbia by boat after a cruise from SNHA’s Zimmerman Center for Heritage at Long Level, York County. In 2016, the National Park Service designated the Zimmerman Center as Pennsylvania’s official Visitor Contact & Passport Station for the Captain John Smith Chesapeake Trail—America’s first water-based National Historic Trail. National Heritage Area designation builds on this existing trail partnership with the National Park Service by expanding collaboration to the regional level.

Designation of York and Lancaster Counties as the Susquehanna National Heritage Area caps an eleven-year community campaign to achieve this national recognition for our region. After completion of a Feasibility Study Report in 2008, the National Park Service found our region meets the National Heritage Area Feasibility Study Guidelines for Congressional designation. With this determination, Senator Casey sponsored legislation to designate the Susquehanna National Heritage Area in every session of Congress since 2008 and Congressman Lloyd Smucker (PA-11) joined the effort in 2017. In early 2019, the Susquehanna National Heritage Area was included in S.47, the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, which was approved by Congress in February 2019 and signed by President Trump in March 2019. The Act named Susquehanna Heritage Corporation as the Local Coordinating Entity for the new National Heritage Area and authorized fifteen years of federal funding to carry out heritage and conservation activities. Next steps will include development of a Cooperative Agreement with the National Park Service and a Management Plan to chart the future course of the National Heritage Area’s programs and projects.

Learn more about the new Susquehanna National Heritage Area here: https://susqnha.org/about-us/our-work/national-heritage-area-designation/

Columbia Borough has released the final draft of Columbia River Park Phase III Report and welcomes feedback on this plan.

Susquehanna Heritage has participated with the process to expand Columbia River Park, where Columbia Crossing River Trails Center is located. There is an opportunity to expand the park north of the Veterans Memorial Bridge. Almost eleven acres of river front land will be turned into a beautiful, innovative public park. The space holds important cultural features including two historic bridge piers and canal remnants.

Over the last year, designers have collected information, data, and opinions from local residents, visitors, businesses and more. Through a series of public meeting, online surveys, and public events like the Bridge Bust, the designers prepared and refined a plan for the expanded park.

View the plan at www.columbiapa.net. Comments on the plan can be sent to info@columbiapa.net.

Susquehanna Heritage presents “Current Color – A Year on the River” by Diana Thomas

Susquehanna Heritage will host works from Columbia artist, Diana Thomas. The collection showcases her journey to paint fifty-five paintings of the Lower Susquehanna, one painting a week for over a year. Though the paintings are the most visible part of her unique project, ‘Current Color – A Year on the River’, there is more to this presentation.  Thomas decided to keep a weekly journal entry that portrays a strong current of life lessons flowing through her body of work.  She writes of the River’s beauty and peaceful healing presence when her life was touched by tragedy. The ‘Current Color’ paintings are acrylic on 12″ x 4″ or 4″ x 12″ canvas.  A few are mixed media.  The journal entries will be presented alongside each week’s piece.

These amazing works will be on display at Columbia Crossing River Trails Center between April and June. Entrance to the gallery is free but donations are appreciated. Columbia Crossing owned by the Borough of Columbia and is managed by Susquehanna Heritage. Susquehanna Heritage works to showcase the river’s natural, recreation, and history stories to make this region a national destination for outdoor fun and cultural discovery. Visitor hours of the center are Tuesday – Saturday 10 AM – 4 PM, Sundays 12 PM to 4 PM through Memorial Day. After Memorial Day the center is open Tuesday – Friday 9 AM – 5 PM, Saturday & Sundays 9 AM – 6 PM.

Creative River – Expand your creativity with Diana

Interested in expanding your creative skills at the riverfront? Get in touch with your inner artist by participating in Creative River, a riverfront art series for ages 15 and older. Artist, Diana Thomas, will lead small groups through journaling, sketching, and painting between April and June. April 13: 1 PM – 4 PM. Session 1 gives instruction and suggestions for writing about the river and nature. Includes  a writing journal to keep. May 18: 11 AM – 2 PM. Session 2 gives instruction for sketching and creatively noting your river surroundings. Includes a nature journal to keep. June 22: 10 AM – 2 PM. Session 3 gives instruction on use of acrylic medium, color basics, composition, and painting techniques so you can create a small river painting of your own. Includes 4″ x 12″ mounted canvas to paint and keep. Each session includes an introduction, tutorial and Q+A with artist, educator, and nature-enthusiast Diana Thomas as well as a sharing time at the end of each session. Supplies and materials including watercolor pencils, pens, paint and brushes will be supplied for group use. Group and individual instruction during each session. Classes will take place rain or shine. Participants may register for just one class ($25) or all three ($60). Register online or call 717-449-5607 ext 0.

Current Color – Exhibit Story

Thomas initially began the project in December 2015, to practice allowing herself the time to create art on a more regular basis than she had been doing.   “I wanted to create a challenge that would stretch me but one that was also realistic enough to complete,” she explained.  “I set up an album for each quarter of the year for all the photos I would take several times a week.  It seemed fitting to keep a written record of the progress, the process of making the art, and any particulars about the river itself.”  She started to work just before Christmas, 2015.

Three quarters of the way through the project, on September 14th, 2016, Diana’s 41-year-old daughter died tragically, losing her long battle with substance overuse.  Less than a month later the same tragedy befell her daughter’s mate of ten years, leaving behind their then 8-year-old son.  “I don’t really have any words to express what our family went through in the first weeks and months after that, but I felt compelled to try to ‘say’ something to my daughter or for her through painting.  Our daughter was an artist and singer, and I knew she would have wanted me to keep going with the project.  I created a piece called ‘River of Tears’.  I also created a painting in honor of our son-in-law called “Even the Moon Cried.”  Though both pieces are included in the ‘Current Color’ presentation, Thomas at first did not think she would show these two paintings.  “But by then ‘Current Color’ had taken on a life of its own and this sad time needed to be part of the whole”, she said.

Upon completion of Current Color, Thomas reflected “Of course, I had no way to know what was in store when the year began but I can truly say painting through it was a blessing in disguise.  I pray it will also have a healing effect on others.”

In December 2017 some of the Current Color collection was on loan to an organization that promotes the natural use of the Northern Susquehanna watershed and was displayed at a large medical center in Williamsport, PA.  To everyone’s dismay the original painting, week #13, titled “Mr. and Mrs.”, a scene featuring a pair of Canada geese wading into the water was stolen from the wall of the exhibit.  For the show at the Columbia Crossing it will be replaced by a canvas print, an exact replica of the original and a new but larger original of that scene.  “I would really like to know why someone was so attracted to that piece that they just took it,” Diana mused.  “Now this situation just becomes a new part of the Current Color story.  This precious one of a kind piece is irreplaceable and I would gladly give a print of that piece if the original was returned.”

“Current Color will probably never have an ending for me,” Diana said.  “I have painted three new pieces for the series since it was first shown in 2017 and there are several more waiting to be finished.  It will flow on for a long time.”

Visit the Columbia Crossing River Trails Center to explore life before refrigeration. Susquehanna Heritage and local historian Lynn Smoker have developed an immersive exhibit about the ice harvesting industry which opens on Tuesday, January 8th. Prior to refrigeration, homes and commercial businesses required ice to keep food cold. A world-wide industry was created to collect ice from frozen rivers, ponds, and lakes and ship it by wagon and rail to be sold. Pennsylvania ranked third in the nation for ice production behind only Maine and New York. Locally, Columbia had at least three ice houses that kept residents supplied with quality ice for their homes. Deliveries of ice were brought by the ‘ice man’ to homes on a regular basis. The exhibit follows the ice from the river to the kitchen. Visitors will enjoy the astounding number of objects on display. Tools on display from the ice harvesting process include drills, saws, and plows. Antique ice boxes, ice shavers, ice crushers, and other memorabilia are also on display.

The exhibit was designed and installed by Susquehanna Heritage, which manages the building for the Borough of Columbia. Objects and content development was led by Lynn Smoker. His collection truly brings this bygone industry back to life. Susquehanna Heritage is one of twelve state designated heritage areas in Pennsylvania that is working to highlight important local history and spark economic development through heritage and ecotourism. The organization’s focus on the Susquehanna’s history is brought to life in this new exhibit at Columbia Crossing. The exhibit is free but donations are appreciated to help operate the center and provide educational programs.

Join Susquehanna Heritage on Thursday, January 24^th at 6:30 pm for a special Talk with the Collector in the exhibit hall. Lynn Smoker, owner of the objects in the display, will discuss the ice harvesting industry and his collection. Guests can enjoy complimentary refreshments during the event. Suggested donation $10 per person. RSVP at www.susquehannaheritage.org/events.

Mini-tours will also be available on selected Sundays in January and February. Susquehanna Heritage staff will lead 20-30-minute tours through the exhibit. Guides will showcase important objects, provide in depth information, and answer questions. Tours start at 1:30 pm inside Columbia Crossing on January 13^th and 27^th as well as February 3^rd and 17^th.

Columbia Crossing River Trails Center is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 am to 4 pm and Sundays 12 pm to 4 pm. Ice Harvesting Along the Susquehanna will remain on display through March 31, 2019.

On Friday, November 16th Susquehanna Heritage participated in the Extraordinary Give in Lancaster County. The event is coordinated by the Lancaster County Community Foundation and is the county’s largest day of online giving. Contributors can support nearly 500 different organizations. This year Susquehanna Heritage had generous match fund donors that dedicated $8,000 to double public donations. In total, Susquehanna Heritage received $16,741 in total giving, including $8,578 in day of giving donations, a new record for us! 

It was an amazing day of giving throughout the county and we loved spending it with our friends along the river! The Extraordinary River Party allowed river-goers to get together and celebrate the great progress in our region. Thank you to all those who participated in the day and contributed to Susquehanna Heritage. Your contributions allow Susquehanna Heritage to connect thousands of children, residents, and visitors to the transformative power of the river! We especially thank our match fund donors as well as the local businesses that donated foods and spirits for our party — Moo-Duck Brewery, Columbia Kettle Works, Bube’s Brewery, McCleary’s Pub, and Isaac’s Restaurants.!