In August the Watershed Alliance of Adams County found that the majority of Adams County streams it tested were contaminated with E.coli at levels exceeding those recommended for recreational use by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP). Supported by a grant from the South Mountain Partnership, the Watershed Alliance tested twenty-one sites on ten
By Michael A. Rawlins, UMass Amherst It’s hard for most people to imagine more than 5 feet of snow in one storm, like parts of the Buffalo area saw over the weekend, but these extreme snowfall events sometimes happen along the eastern edges of the Great Lakes. The phenomenon is called “lake-effect snow,” and the
The Gettysburg Green Gathering welcomed entomologist and native species advocate Doug Tallamy to the Charlie Sterner Building at the Gettysburg Rec Park last night for a presentation on “nature’s best hope,” the re-wilding of the spaces and places where we live and work. Dr. Tallamy is a professor of entomology at the University of Delaware
The Connection is pleased to share this column from the blog of Gettysburg resident John Messeder, an award-winning ecology columnist and social anthropologist. More of John’s stories as well as his photography are available at his website, https://www.johnmesseder.com. He may be contacted at john@johnmesseder.com. When I was many years younger, I cut wood in summer, pulled it
By W. Larry Kenney, Penn State; Daniel Vecellio, Penn State; Rachel Cottle, Penn State, and S. Tony Wolf, Penn State Heat waves are becoming supercharged as the climate changes – lasting longer, becoming more frequent and getting just plain hotter. One question a lot of people are asking is: “When will it get too hot
The Adams County Farmers Market held its first South Mountain Partnership (SMP) Day today, sharing the work of the partnership and its many partners, including the Adams County Planning Commission, The Adams County Planting Partnership, and The Appalachian Trail Museum. The day brought hundreds of people together to learn about the partnership while shopping for
Although there are many projects to tackle, the Gettysburg Borough Storm Water Authority’s (GBSWA) current focus is on the rehabilitation of Culp’s Run. The project will restore the stream that runs west from Rock Creek into the borough south of Middle St. and ends near Lincoln Elementary School. “The Culp’s Run project is the most
The Gettysburg Garden Club will hold its Annual Spring Perennial Sale on Saturday, May 21, 8:00 am – 2:00 pm while supplies last at the Gettysburg Firehouse, 35 North Stratton Street. Come early and have your choice of great finds. This year, we have an array of interesting plants, including turtlehead, herbs, Mexican Sunflower (a
The Adams County Conservation District (ACCD) is hosting a tree planting maintenance workshop at the Ag Center on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The program will offer hands-on training, with topics covering proper tree planting, sheltering, and maintenance techniques,along with information on the importance of planting “the right tree in the right place.”
Pennsylvania’s Farmland Preservation Program announced this month that it has protected 3,528 acres on 40 farms in 19 counties from future development, investing more than $9.7 million in state and county dollars in preserving prime farmland for tomorrow. The investment also leverages $735,170 that will go toward preserving farms on waitlists in six counties. The
In celebration of Earth Day 2022, the Land Conservancy of Adams County will premiere two films on Friday at the movie theater at Mela Kitchen. Landscapes & Legacy: the Story of a Pennsylvania Land Trust is about the origin of the Land Conservancy, as told by some of our founding members. Paying tribute to
The Gettysburg Nature Alliance, which operates the Gettysburg Heritage Center, invites the community to an open house on Earth Day, Friday, April 22, from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the organization’s “learning barn” near Sachs Bridge. “We are so excited to celebrate the 52nd anniversary of Earth Day,” said Dru Anne Neil, Nature Alliance president.
The Adams County Commissioners honored Gettysburg resident John Spangler this morning for his service to the county, and particularly his work at the United Lutheran Seminary where he served as executive assistant to the president. Saying Spangler is an “outstanding citizen and leader in church and this community,” former seminary president Michael Cooper-White said it
When climate scientist and evangelical Christian Katharine Hayhoe was scheduled to give a talk at a West Texas Rotary Club luncheon, she was a little unsure about how to connect with her audience despite being a longtime Texas resident herself. Climate change and its human causes, she figured, might well be a hard sell with
Richard Farr, Executive Director of rabbittransit, presented his organization’s plans for transit service around the Gettysburg area to the borough council last week. Farr said the pandemic had reduced ridership to less than 30% of normal ridership at one point, but that it had increased since then and that service around the Gettysburg area was still
Gettysburg has been a hub for agriculture even before it was on the map. Fertile soil and a temperate climate attracted hard-working settlers willing to live off the land. But the quiet rural life was suddenly jeopardized as soldiers marched into town in late June 1863. When it became clear that a bloody battle loomed,
As over 7 inches of rain fell in some parts of the county over a 24 hour period from Tuesday into Wednesday, the effects of the remnants of hurricane Ida were felt throughout the region. “A lot of people were impacted,” said County Emergency Services Director Warren Bladen. “We did a number of water rescues
The Gettysburg Nature Alliance, founded in 2017 to educate about and preserve Gettysburg’s habitat and heritage, is emerging from the pandemic stronger than before. The organization spent its pre-pandemic years sorting out the logistics that all fledgling organizations deal with. Now, with a recent $50,000 donation from New Leaf Paper Inc. and a new project underway,
FREE to Borough Gettysburg Residents; $2 Per Box for Non-Borough Residents As a service for Borough residents and a courtesy for neighboring municipalities, Gettysburg Borough will host a document shredding event on Friday, August 20, at the Borough’s Public Works Building, 457 East Middle Street, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 17325. Borough residents may participate free of charge,
If you were thinking the sun looked a bit dimmer over the past two days than normal, that the sky looked a bit less blue, and that the air was not all that clean, you weren’t imagining it. A huge cloud of smoke in the upper atmosphere has reduced both visibility and air quality in
Carolyn Ryan didn’t want to make it political. While following the presidential campaigns last year, she wanted to fight climate change with a cause everyone could support. A lightbulb went off when both political parties discussed air quality. “I thought, OK, well maybe if we just talk about making our air clean, we can do
[THIS STORY WAS UPDATED ON JUNE 4, 2021] After two tie votes by the Mt. Joy township supervisors, the application for from NextEra Energy for a large solar panel array in the township was denied. Under township regulation a decision to approve requires a majority vote. The project, which would have added over 400 acres
I wasn’t born or raised in Gettysburg, but moved here five years ago. I say I was lucky to have moved much of my childhood because I experienced so many different communities. After living in Gettysburg for five years, I am still impressed and in awe of how much Adams County’s community and all of
Mt. Joy Township Supervisors and attorneys for NextEra Energy and local residents who opposed the project have ended the 80 or so hours of evidentiary hearings they have participated in over the past year to discuss the merits of NextEra’s proposed solar array project that would cover hundreds of acres in the township. Thousands of