Walking On Undisturbed Dirt

by Melanie Goldenbaum

I remember very little about the time I spent in elementary school.  I do, however, remember the fun stuff—the friends made and the games played at recess.  I don’t remember too many of the lessons from our textbooks, but I do remember the days we became archaeologists and dug for bones in a sandbox. I remember almost every school field trip because it was exciting to be out of the classroom for a whole day, and I truly cherished those days. When I was in the fourth grade we went to the Silver Lake Nature Center on a field trip. As we hopped off the bus, birds were chirping and the wind rustled through the leaves on the trees that towered above us; nature was all around. We learned about organisms that live in ponds and walked the trails while imagining we were in an enchanted forest.

Walking through the doors of the Nature Center, I felt relaxed and welcomed. The building itself gave me a sense of warmth and comfort.  I wondered why this building felt so comfortable, until I learned that it used to be a house—the home where local historian and photographer Clarence King grew up. “It was our Nature Center. Offices were in the kitchen, the living room was our big exhibit room. In 1991, a little more than twenty years ago, we finished building what is now the Nature Center and moved in,” said Robert Mercer, the director of the Nature Center and a naturalist.

Born on his family’s land in 1934, King explained, “I was born and raised here. I lived here for twenty-five years and then I went off and got married, had kids. One time I was in Florida, reading the newspaper and I read a story about an area that the Nature Conservancy owned. I came home and picked up the newspaper and here they’re buying Delhaas Woods. I thought, ‘Wow, they’re going to save my playground.’ I think it was probably right after that time I started to hang out here,” King said. Since that time, around the late 1980s, King has been volunteering for and also takes scenic photos of Silver Lake.    

The Silver Lake Nature Center opened part time to the public, for the summers only, in 1966.  It opened year round in 1972 and has been that way ever since. The story of Silver Lake dates back to the 17th century. Incredibly, Silver Lake was manmade as a pond in 1689 when dams were placed on the Otter and Adam’s Hollow Creeks to provide power for the mills in Bristol.  The lake was purchased by the Bucks County Department of Parks and Recreation from the Pennsylvania Fish Commission in 1957.  Today, situated on 235 acres, the two sections of the Silver Lake Nature Center, Silver Lake and Delhaas Woods, are divided by Bath Road in Bristol.

Robert Mercer has been with Silver Lake since the start. Well, not exactly the start.  Only three years after having its doors open to the public year-round, Mercer joined the Nature Center staff. He takes great pride in the work he contributes to the Nature Center. He explains how he has the freedom to grow, to take on new projects, and make his visions come to fruition. “I get a lot of happiness from a happy staff, knowing our people are hard-working but they’re happy doing it. They’re really enjoying their job,” Mercer exclaimed.

PattiAnn Lynn, an Environmental Educator and PR Coordinator, has worked with Silver Lake for six and a half years. While talking about her position in Silver Lake, Lynn said, “It’s a part of who we all are. It’s not just a job, that’s for sure.” Silver Lake is Bucks County’s natural treasure, which with several ties to the community and the help from a cheerful staff and openhanded volunteers, will surely continue to grow and prosper.

Silver Lake is easily accessible and a cinch to find. There are nineteen entry points, and it is surrounded by three major highways. There are bird walks every Saturday morning (September-November and March-May), and hiking the series of loops which form the four and a half miles of trails is healthy, interesting and lots of fun. Within those trails is a half-mile, figure-eight handicap accessible trail with benches everywhere for resting spots, and is effortless to navigate.  Those who are looking for a change of scenery from the ordinary walk-around-the-block exercise routine will take delight in exploring the trails at Silver Lake.

 There are rare native plant and animal species that can be found at the Silver Lake Park. Being located on the coastal plain of Pennsylvania, which spans from Morrisville to Marcus Hook to the Delaware River, the Nature Center is a safe haven for plants that are native to the coastal plain which are not found anywhere else in the state of Pennsylvania. During a 2009 study for the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania and The Academy of Natural Sciences, 43 plant species of special concern were found and confirmed, in addition to two animal species, the Red-bellied Turtle and the Coastal Plain Leopard Frog.

The grounds of the Nature Center are preserved and maintained by volunteers in order to enhance the assortment of plant and animal life. King points out that over the centuries when all of the ground was turned into farmland, there are only one or two spots in Silver Lake and Delhaas Woods that remained untouched. “Basically the dirt there has never been disturbed. That is why the unique species are here and that’s what keeps them here,” King explained. Enlightening visitors about these species and the importance of nature preservation is fundamental to the Nature Center’s mission.

The Silver Lake Nature Center provides about 200 public programs per year. One of the most memorable for children is the Pond Study. Students have the opportunity to collect aquatic organisms and learn how plants and animals interact in a healthy pond. Another program called Hibernation Happens has a makeshift “groundhogs hole” and talking puppets. It is popular during the winter months with preschoolers up through first grade.

The Nature Center also offers adventures and opportunities for Boy and Girl Scouts, such as Scout sleepovers. Mercer explained how valuable this overnight experience is for younger kids who “have not had an outdoor experience away from home or an overnight experience away from home.  It’s held in our auditorium but they do an outdoor activity, have a campfire, roast marshmallows, then come back inside and sleep on the floor. It’s a nice, safe secure area and it’s a great introduction for Scout leaders in groups to get the kids into the habit of being comfortable sleeping as a unit.” This outdoor activity includes the Scouts walking the trails at night in the dark. The exciting part is that they walk and explore without flashlights. Their eyes get adjusted to the night and they can see what they normally wouldn’t see being guided by a light.

Whether it is for fun or education, encouraging the use of imagination is a major theme at the Nature Center.  Swing sets and jungle gyms are nowhere to be found in the kids play area; instead it is an area where kids can be safe and mess around. “They can take the logs and build a house if they want to or build a fort. They can put in a little stream, and they can get in there and move the rocks around and create dams; the stream we built for a water feature, and a sandbox for a digging feature,” says Mercer.

Kayaking classes are popular for people who have never done it before, but are interested in taking the class as a “test drive” before actually buying the kayaking equipment, which can be quite costly. The classes range from easy to advanced and as students become more experienced, they move on to more challenging trips by going out on moving bodies of waters. According to Mercer a number of people who have participated in classes have eagerly gone out and bought boats because they discovered it was something they really enjoy. Silver Lake also offers a kayaking trip called the Full Moon Paddle. The group starts out at Silver Lake and paddles down to Lake Magnolia. Once they arrive on land, a campfire is started, marshmallows are roasted, and stories are shared. Mercer described the setting: “While they’re doing the campfire, the sun sets, the moon rises, and they paddle back in the dark just by moonlight. It’s a real nice experience, to go from day to night.”

One day a month there is a volunteer workday, when volunteers go to the center to help maintain the grounds. The first workday of the year, 42 people came out, “which is wonderful for January,” Lynn explained. The Saturday after Hurricane Sandy destructively blew through Bucks County, at least 50 volunteers showed up at the Nature Center. Fifteen trees were down which blocked entries and posed serious risks to visitors. “They opened up the trails by 2 p.m. that same day and the trails were open and accessible and people could use them again. That was incredible. Every trail was blocked and in one day they rebuilt it, cleared it out, and everything was opened up.  We couldn’t do it without volunteers,” said Mercer. 

In recent years, many proactive ideas have been put in motion at Silver Lake.  From the Center down to the lake, the trails are now wheelchair accessible, the boardwalks and benches are made from recycled plastics, and the development of an earthship is in progress. A zero-carbon footprint building, the earthship is a sterling example of how people can make even the smallest changes in their own homes to help the environment. Built using recycled products, the building will heat and cool itself and gather its own water.  Mercer explained, “There will be no heat source, no internal combustion or combustion of any sort to provide heat. It will be just through the laws of physics.”

Another reason to visit Silver Lake is to explore the exhibit area. It was set up in 1993 to represent the various habitat zones of Silver Lake: water, forest, meadows, the bog, and different animals. In early January, the staff was preparing to revamp the 20-year-old exhibits so there is a good chance visitors will see some new things when stopping through the Nature Center this year.

Open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5p.m. and Sundays from 12 to 5p.m, the Visitor Center is entertaining for all ages. There are educational exhibits, a reference library, and the Barnswallow Gift Shop. The park and trails are open every day from sunrise to sunset. If you choose to take a leisurely walk or a run, be sure to stop and take a rest by the observation deck.  Built by volunteers, the deck is a beautiful spot that overlooks the lake. Close your eyes, and take a deep breath. Inhale the fresh air, and slowly exhale the stressors of everyday life. Sometimes, being surrounded by the small gifts of nature can be the key to unwinding and feeling connected. On Memorial Day last year, King walked out to the observation deck and found a woman resting under the shade of an umbrella. She said to him, “The husband’s gone, the kids are gone, and I’m here.”

Silver Lake Nature Center is located at 1306 Bath Road, Bristol, PA 19007.  For more information and details regarding the programs and events mentioned, visit www.silverlakenaturecenter.org, or call 215-785-1177.

(bio)

Melanie Goldenbaum is an intern writer for Bucks County Magazine and a recent graduate from West Chester University.