WPC Gets "Wild in the Woods" on September 13th

Mark your calendars for "Wild in the Woods" An Adventure with Nature at the Bear Run Nature Reserve, in Mill Run, Pa. on Saturday, September 13, 2003, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Bring the family and spend a full day of fun. You won't want to miss the hayrides, live music, local food vendors, games and more!

Here are just a few highlights of the day:
· Keynote Speaker -- David Crockett speaks at 11 a.m., following the Annual Business Meeting of WPC Members. We are happy to present the innovative ideas of this fourth generation ancestor of Davy Crockett.
· Wild Animals -- See live animals and learn more about wildlife through demonstrations, lectures and interactive children's activities.
· Garden Demonstrations -- Tips for the novice and experienced gardener.
· Hikes -- Join us for an early-bird walk, family hike, or one of the several hikes offered.
· Live Music -- Featuring Green Academy Dulcimer Players
· Tours of Fallingwater -- WPC Members can tour Fallingwater for free!
· Dedication of Barn -- Take a self-guided tour of the renovated historic barn.
· Children's Activities -- A full day of fun and educational children and family activities.

Invite or bring your friends for the festivities. Nonmembers are welcome! Tickets are $5 for adults. Children 12 and under get in free. Call 412-288-2777 for more information or register online.

Tour Our Community Gardens Online

WPC has partnered with communities to plant gardens in 19 counties. Now, for the first time, you can take a virtual tour of our gardens either by clicking on the maps or on the alphabetized list. The gardens are also sorted by neighborhood (for the city gardens), municipalities (for Allegheny County) and by county (for gardens throughout Pennsylvania).

Click here to see our gardens and learn a little about each of them (e.g. what flowers were planted this season, what year the garden first bloomed, who is the garden steward). Of course, the best way to appreciate the work of 5,000 dedicated volunteers is to visit our gardens firsthand.

Check Out the All-New Watershed Assistance Center Web Site

Just two years old, the Watershed Assistance Center (WAC) already has a successful and storied history. Their Web site offers technical assistance that is available free of charge, and delivers information about current WAC projects, such as the Riparian Restoration Initiative and River Conservation Plans.

The site's Virtual Resource Center section is designed to assist watershed groups with the development of compelling publications and convincing fundraising tactics by offering samples of some of the best grant proposals, press releases, letters, brochures and newsletters produced by watershed groups and other conservation organizations. The site also provides tips on how to educate and make presentations to key audiences such as students and legislators. Hard copies of these documents will also be available at the Watershed Assistance Center Open House in Blairsville on Sept. 2.

View the new Watershed Assistance Center Web site.

Peregrine Hatched atop Pittsburgh's Gulf Tower in 2001
Now Makes Home on a Cliff Under Niagara Falls

Romantic Niagara Falls is the nest site of choice for a two-year-old peregrine falcon from Pittsburgh. The banded female, who raised two young with her unbanded mate this year, has recently been identified as one of the four birds that hatched at the Gulf Tower in downtown Pittsburgh in April 2001.

Her mother continues to nest at the Gulf Tower and raised four young there in 2003. Her father nested at the Gulf Tower for many years and was killed this year at the age of 14 in a dispute with another peregrine this past Spring.

Brandon and Eric Holden of Hamilton, Ontario, took some impressive photos on July 5 and graciously allowed us to present them to you here. More...

WPC Daily Offers Weekend Getaway Ideas

Did you know that from the Kinzua Dam near Warren, Pa. to the town of East Brady in southern Clarion County, the middle Allegheny River flows free and unobstructed by dams? This is truly one of America's great wild river sections, with clusters of islands, deep slow eddys, shallow riffles and long runs; a canoer's wonderland, where hours can be spent drifting by shaded banks, along steep forested valley slopes and under soaring bald eagles.

Subscribe to our free e-calendar service, WPC Daily, to learn about places like the Allegheny River, and where to camp, how to get there and what you might discover along your journey. Every week, our new feature, "Destination Thursday," celebrates the many recreational locales waiting for you in western Pennsylvania.

WPC Daily presents a new fact and photo each day, with information like localized planting information, nature statistics, natural histories, upcoming area events and historical facts.

Rediscover western Pennsylvania every morning. Sign up today for WPC Daily.

Fallingwater Restoration Jewelry Now in Stock

Now in stock, for the first time since January, the Fallingwater Museum Shop has jewelry made with actual pieces of Frank Lloyd Wright's masterwork taken during the recent restoration. None of us expected the rush of orders these pieces received this past winter and it is only now that our jeweler has been able to keep up with the demand. Given that the restoration materials are a limited supply themselves, we're giving WPC members advanced notice that now may be the time to buy this truly limited time offer.

WPC members get a 10 percent discount on all items in our Museum Shop. The new password to get the member discount is barn, in honor of the recent restoration of the historic Bear Run Nature Reserve.
View the entire catalog