Allegheny Land Trust continues educational mission of Upper St. Clair’s Outdoor Classroom
Ducks swim in the wetlands at Wingfield Pines conservation area in Upper St. Clair.
The spillway is an integral part of the treatment system for drainage form abandoned mines at Wingfield Pines.
The spillway is an integral part of the treatment system for drainage form abandoned mines at Wingfield Pines.
A boardwalks takes visitors through the middle of the wetlands at Wingfield Pines.
A diving board and ladder remain as reminders of when the Wingfield Pines conservation area was a golf and swim club.
When the Outdoor Classroom in Upper St. Clair closed abruptly last month, its two staff members lost their jobs.
Fortunately for educators Jessica Kester and Julie Travaglini, the Allegheny Land Trust hired them almost immediately to carry on their efforts to teach the young and old alike about the environment and the importance of its conservation.
“We had a long-standing relationship with them and really liked the work they were doing, so it only made sense to make sure that continued,” Lindsay Dill, marketing communications director for the land trust, said.
Among the 2,000-plus acres under the stewardship of the Sewickley-based nonprofit organization is Wingfield Pines, an area just across Mayview Road from the Outdoor Classroom’s location at Boyce Mayview Park.
”The Outdoor Classroom worked with Allegheny Land Trust for years at Wingfield Pines, and we did a lot of education there,” Kester said.
Plans call for the 80-acre conservation area, the site of a former golf and swim club that the land trust purchased in 2001, to serve as a prime location for the organization as it focuses more fully on educational programming.
“Before, I would say that acquisition, maintenance and stewardship were our main efforts,” Dill said about the land trust, which was founded in 1993. The educational component often came about through partnerships with groups – she cited the Western Pennsylvania Mushroom Club as an example – that would provide expertise for the benefit of visitors to various conservation areas.
Wingfield Pines long has been a popular spot for programs because of its ease of access and ability to host large groups. Plus, the property is home to an innovative treatment system for abandoned mine drainage, effectively cleaning water before it enters adjacent Chartiers Creek.
The system integrates a series of ponds to cause natural settling of iron-laden mine discharge, with no chemicals necessary.
”We often have artists, either in partnership or on their own, go down and collect the sediment that’s gathered at the bottom of the pond, because that iron oxide can be used to dye things like ceramics and T-shirts,” Dill said.
In fact, the Allegheny Land Trust partnered two years ago with the Art Institute of Pittsburgh for a project in which students made birdhouses for Wingfield Pines that were dyed accordingly.
The land trust is offering three educational programs at this site this month:
• “Monarch Madness,” 10 a.m. to noon July 23. Participants will explore the monarch habitat at Wingfield Pines, take part in a butterfly hunt, create butterfly crafts and play games related to the butterflies and their environment, while learning about the larva habitat and life cycle of monarchs.
• “Bonfire and Bats,” 6 to 9 p.m. July 26. The event is in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy’s Urban EcoStewards program and is open to the public.
• “A Little Dirt Can’t Hurt,” 6 to 8 p.m. July 29. Children ages 2 to 6 can help celebrate International Mud Day while learning about what the soil has to offer.
For more information, visit www.alleghenylandtrust.org.