On Thursday morning (April 21) The Riverbend Environmental Center kicked off a Spring and Earth Week celebration with a ribbon-cutting at Snider Barn. Snider barn is a 99-year-old Sears Roebuck Craftsmen barn that also houses the center’s Aquaponics Greenhouse. The Greenhouse is a hands-on laboratory that showcases aquaculture (raising fish in a controlled environment) and hydroponics (growing plants without soil) in one integrated system. The fish waste provides an organic food source for the plants, and the plants naturally filter the water for the fish.
To commemorate this exciting milestone and celebrate Earth Day, families are invited to join Riverbend at an Earth Day Open House and Tree Planting on Saturday, April 23rd starting at 10am. Registration is $25 per family to cover the costs of trees and staff time. The event is limited to 30 families.
Upon arrival, guests will walk from the parking lot up to the iconic Snider barn. The Snider barn is a 99-year-old Sears Roebuck Craftsmen barn situated on Riverbend’s beautiful 30-acre nature preserve in Gladwyne, PA. Guests will be greeted by Riverbend staff who will usher them into the barn where they can view and greet Riverbend’s Animal Ambassadors including snakes Flame and Cornelius, leopard geckos Spot and Smiley, treefrogs, Ron and Leslie, a collection of Madagascar hissing cockroaches, and Eastern box turtles, Fred and George. After visiting with the animals, guests can check out a display of interesting natural artifacts. A Riverbend educator will guide them through an exercise where guests describe what they “notice” and “wonder” about each artifact using the same techniques used in Riverbend’s education programs with area students.
Guests will then head through the barn to the newly updated and reopened Aquaponics Greenhouse for a brief tour and Q&A with Riverbend staff. Along the way, they can sample refreshments including basil lemonade made with basil grown in the greenhouse and other treats. Once the tour of the greenhouse is complete, guests can take an easy hike up the Valley View Trail to the tree planting area where they will meet Riverbend’s Habitat and Volunteer Manager. Guests will be shown how and where to plant a tree in celebration of Earth Day. Tools will be provided. Guests are asked to bring their own work gloves and water. Once they plant their tree, guests are welcome to explore the trails around Riverbend on their own before departing the preserve.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Riverbend becomes the home of Cupola Academy.
According to its website Cupola Academy (CA) is a secular, nonprofit educational organization that provides a supportive community-base for homeschooling families. CA offers full-day programs for young people ages 4-18 to attend 2 days a week in a collaborative and resource-rich environment. We nurture the innate intellectual curiosity of young people in a pro-social atmosphere.
Snider Barn at Riverbend was ordered from the Sears Roebuck Catalog and built in 1923.
All 30 acres of Riverbend’s grounds and trails are opened to the public, at no charge (donations are requested and appreciated) – from dawn to dusk, 365 days a year.
For a self-directed tour, you may wish to download an interactive pdf of Riverbend’s trail map.
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