What's Happening - January 2006
2005 Photography Contest
2005 PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST IS A WINNER!
The Friends are pleased to announce that the 2005 Photography Contest was well supported. We had 94 contestants who collectively entered more than 150 photographs. All entries were submitted by November 30 and judged in December by our panel of judges, Dr. Althea Johnson, Mr. Curt Heisey, and Mr. Clyde McGeary.
A reception celebration was conducted on Sunday, January 8 at the Benjamin Olewine III Nature Center. Many of the contestants with their friends and family, as well as the Friends Board of Directors attended the event where winning entries were announced.
Winning awards were to the following individuals.
For the Student Division: Michelle Hogan – First Place, Jamie Lepley – Second Place, Kari Brown – Third Place, and Honorable Mention Awards were presented to Chris Dovey, Jamie Lepley, Kevin Innerst, D. W. Cohick, and Emily High
For the Amature Division: Bill Neubaum – First Place, Jeffrey Stoner – Second Place, John Petrina – Third Place, and Honorable Mention Awards were presented to Larry Usselman, Lorna Carlson, Jeffrey Stoner, Bill Eshelman, and Dave Smith
All photographs will remain on display at Wildwood Lake Sanctuary in the nature center until January 14. Winning photographs will be placed on display in the interpretive center’s recognition corner through June. Other entered photographs will be selected at random and placed on display in the Dauphin County Administration Building on the square in Harrisburg through June.
Our judges are all well know local professionals, involved in photography, education, and the arts.
Chris Heisey is a full time photojournalist and writer for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg. His passion is photographing Civil War battlefields, and many of his images have been published by magazines worldwide. He is a Civil War historian, and involved in the publishing of several books on the subject. His photo work has drawn national acclaim.
Clyde McGeary has a background in fine arts. He is involved locally with the Susquehanna Art Museum of Harrisburg and has worked with the Pennsylvania State Museum on numerous projects. With a studio in Perry County, he is a well respected accomplished artist. The promotion of photography as a fine art is high on his list.
Dr. Alfreda Johnson is a retired educator with more thirty years of service at the Harrisburg Area Community College. As an avid traveler and photographer, her most recent travels have taken her to Ghana and West Africa where she has been working as an educational consultant. Her work has been shown locally at HACC, Harrisburg City Hall, and the Art Association of Harrisburg.
The Friends Photography Committee has already begun plans for the 2006 Photography Contest. More information will be released soon. However, in the mean time, grab those cameras and start clicking!
Monarch Butterfly Update
Monarchs are universally loved and admired, but many people are unaware of the challenges that they face. On the decline in numbers for the past several years, 2005 was actually a good year thanks to several Monarch Butterfly Awareness programs, including the one supported by The Friends of Wildwood Lake Sanctuary.
The University of Kansas Monarch Watch (http://www.monarchwatch.org) reported that the number of butterflies that survived the journey to the Mexican wintering grounds increased from last years record low of 23 million to an estimated 175 million.
Monarchs do, however, continue to need our help. One of the major problems that Monarch Butterflies face is the reduction of critical habitat due to urban sprawl and changes in farming practices that now use more potent chemicals. These herbicides and insecticides eliminate much of the food supply the Monarchs depended upon for survival which is Milkweed.
The Friends of Wildwood encourage individuals to create butterfly friendly backyard way-stations that include Milkweed. Butterfly gardens can be improved through the inclusion of plants that butterflies need as they develop. Monarchs need Milkweed in their formative stage before they reach adulthood and turn into nectar feeders. Alan Corson (Vice-President of the Board of Directors for The Friends) is currently making arrangements with local greenhouses to help them set up educational centers where Monarch Butterfly information, Milkweed seeds and plants can be obtained.
Working together, we can help to preserve this beautiful species.