POWDERMILL Takes Wing

Carnegie, Fall 2006 by O'Toole, Christine H

It's a research oasis, a natural science classroom, and the source of the best long-term bird-banding data in the country. And this September, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, it breaks ground on its future.

Bob Mulvihill opens a plain paper bag held closed with a blue plastic clothespin, reaches inside, and produces a small handful of brown and White feathers. Lifting the bundle under my nose, he says "now go ahead and blow." So I do. One breath exposes a bright pink bulge of skin on the breast of a female waterthrush resting in the ornithologist's hand.

The bird was bagged early this July morning at Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History's Westmoreland County field station. Her swollen, blood-rich brood patch signifies that this mom has a nest of eggs to tend to, so Bird-Bander-in-Charge Adrienne Leppold quickly notes her weight, wing length, and age (determined by close examination of her wing plumage), gently slips a numbered band on her leg, and releases her through a small window.

The warbler has just joined an international club: She's one of 15,000 birds of 110 resident and migratory species that the Powdermill Avian Research Center (PARC) will track this year. Started in 1961 by bird-bander-extraordinaire Bob Leberman, who continues to work at Powdermill as an emeritus researcher, PARC has banded or recaptured a half million birds of almost 200 species-sometimes as many as 500 in a single day.

The thrill of an up-close encounter with all kinds of wildlife-birds, amphibians, and the occasional bear-draws nature lovers of all ages to Powdermill year round for structured learning events or inspired field trips. The 2,200-acre nature preserve located 60 miles from Pittsburgh is a living, breathing science exhibit, and a resource for students of all ages.

"At the museum, we study evolution and ecology," says Carnegie Museum of Natural History Director Bill DeWalt. "Our Oakland collection is a history of life on earth, ideal for learning about evolution. But Powdermill is alive. It's a much more effective, exciting way to teach about ecology and conservation."

With its scattered wooden cabins for visiting researchers, towering trees, and magnificent silence, the Laurel Highlands research station seems more like a Brigadoon than a science lab. It is, happily, both.

This year, the Reserve's profile is about to soar, as it seizes on the public's growing environmental awareness and its own tremendous resources. A $7.5 million capital campaign, the first in its 50-year history, will fund an endowment to expand facilities, exhibits, and outreach. And a revolutionary expansion design-including materials, energy sources, water, and exhibits-will transform its nature center into as much of a learning opportunity as the educational programs it houses.

Field and Stream Science

David Hillenbrand, who joined Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh as its president in July 2005, says he was surprised by all that Powdermill offers and excited by its great potential. "Like so many people in the region, I wasn't aware of the fascinating living research being conducted at Powdermill every day," Hillenbrand says. "The scientific study performed at Powdermill by resident and visiting scientists is an extremely important complement to the work being done by our scientists at the Museum of Natural History. And what an amazing classroom for kids from throughout the region-many of whom otherwise would never have the chance to catch a close-up look at nature."

Powdermill welcomes about 12,000 guests of the non-feathered kind annually; 3,000 of them are students and summer campers who explore the Reserve through hands-on activities in the stream and attend classes at the Florence Lockhart Nimick Nature Center. International students learn about Powdermill, too, through a project connecting schools in western Pennsylvania with children in Germany and St. Croix. Developed by Powdermill staff and funded by Kennametal, the curriculum allows children to study local aquatic habitats, culminating in presentations during a live videoconference (last year's ended in a spontaneous "SpongeBob Squarepants" singalong). The collaboration gained Powdermill's education program top honors in this year's Western Pennsylvania Environmental Awards.

"Everybody talks about distance learning, but very few places are adept at providing content," says DeWalt. "We have lots and lots of content, and we're able to deliver that around the country and the world."

The Reserve has also stepped up efforts to engage adults. "We have to focus on educating the decision-makers of today," says Powdermill Director Dave Smith. He notes that improving the nature center's "rather static" exhibits as well as offering a sample of the rich collections of the Museum of Natural History will make Powdermill's headquarters facility more of a destination for families.

"We need space to move forward," says the genial director, perched in a tiny cabin office by a thicket full of hummingbirds and warblers. "The expansion will enable us to do more with our education program. And it will give us lots more room for lots more research."