As nature shows us, adaptation is all. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we’re seeing incredible adaptation by environmental educators statewide who are developing thoughtful ways to move instruction indoors and online. Here we offer some online learning resources from DEP and our close partners so that you and your learners, whether youth or adults, can stay home, stay healthy, and stay smart. Thank you for all you do to foster environmental literacy and stewardship in Pennsylvania. — Bert Myers, Director, Environmental Education and Information Center, DEP

The Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Educators partnered with DEP and other environmental educators across the state to develop Teaching Environmental Education at Home, a gateway to a range of meaningful environmental education and science online activities. The path starts here for engaging virtual exploration of climate, landfills, volcanoes, bat caves, watersheds, forests, and many other parts of the environment — including your own yard.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Standards Aligned System offers an amazing array of content and lesson plan ideas for digital learning. Check out the new Environment, Ecology, and Agriculture lesson/unit plans in the Materials and Resources section. All are aligned to state academic standards. In addition, the Environment, Ecology, and Agriculture Professional Learning Community is updated frequently to provide resources for schools, teachers, and students. It’s also a great place to ask questions or share your lesson adaptations and ideas!

Staff at Mercer County Conservation District and Buhl Farm Park provided watershed education programs to 13 public and private schools in the 2019-2020 academic year. Students learned the importance of improving water quality by also caring for the land, and explored this using a 3D Enviroscape. Ten schools enthusiastically opted to participate in a follow-up activity this spring, a rain barrel competition called “All Drops Matter” organized by Mercer County Middle School. Students prepared themed rain barrels and written plans for installing and maintaining the barrels on school grounds. Project leaders are in the process of developing an online voting platform, and the rain barrels will be displayed at the conservation district’s annual Pioneers in Conservation meeting.

Dauphin County Conservation District staff taught more than 60 people how to reduce stormwater runoff at their homes in two workshops held last fall. Participants learned best practices such as planting rain gardens, planting trees and shrubs on stream banks, using rain barrels, improving downspout connections, installing porous pavement instead of asphalt or concrete, keeping yard waste out of storm sewers and streams, and more. At the end of the workshops, over 50 people committed to adopting at least some of these stormwater management practices at home. Conservation district staff plan to follow up to learn whether they were successful in using these practices and, if not, what challenges prevented them.

If we don’t reduce greenhouse gas emissions, what will Pennsylvania look like in 2050? The 2020 Pennsylvania Climate Impacts Assessment uses state and federal data to project future climate change-related impacts in three areas: livestock, infrastructure, and water quality. It follows a 2015 report that outlines likely climate impacts on outdoor recreation, energy use, and other areas. Both reports were produced for DEP by the Penn State University Environment and Natural Resources Institute.

Every county is expected to be warmer and wetter, with statewide average rainfall increasing 8-12 percent compared with the amount of rainfall in 2000, particularly in winter and spring, while average temperature rises by 4.9° F. Many impacts will be seen. For example, local intense flooding is likely to stress Pennsylvania’s energy, transportation, and water infrastructures. Pennsylvania’s inventory of poultry livestock could double, based on comparison with areas of the United States where current temperatures are what’s projected for our future. As rainfall increases, more nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) and sediment runoff pollution will be carried into streams and rivers from agricultural and urban areas.

With the birth of three hatchlings in April, it’s been life as normal at the peregrine falcon nest atop the Rachel Carson State Office Building. The hatchlings, or eyasses, weigh only about 1.5 ounces at birth and are covered in a fluffy white down. But the fastest flyers on the planet are fast growers, too. Feathers replace the down in three to five weeks, and the young birds are essentially full grown and starting their first flying attempts at six weeks of age. The return of state-threatened peregrine falcons to the Northeast is one of nature’s great comeback stories: Check out this DEP blog post chronicling the history of peregrines’ return to Pennsylvania.