Carnegie Museum of Natural History

One of the Four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

We Are Nature

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Do Animals Use Plastic?

A colorful wall with 3D letters spelling We Are Nature
An array of plastic items adds color to the entrance gallery of We Are Nature.

In this age of the Anthropocene, people are beginning to recognize our lasting impacts on the natural world.  Plastic litter is infamous for its negative effects on the environment, but a sometimes-forgotten consequence is the changes to animal behavior that plastic elicits.

Now that plastic exists as a readily available substance in the environment, birds and nest-building mammals such as squirrels and opossums, frequently incorporate plastic materials into their nests.  In terms of size, weight, and flexibility, items like straws, string, rope, and plastic bags resemble the varieties of moss, twigs, leaves, and even snakeskin pieces that many nest-building species have long used.

nest made mostly from twigs but mised with plastic
American Robin nest featuring plastic bag pieces (lower left-hand corner) woven into natural materials.

Hal H. Harrison, author of the Peterson Field Guide to Bird’s Nests, mentions the presence of a Baltimore Oriole nest made entirely of fishing line in Allegheny County’s North Park, and the “nest of a Wood Thrush made entirely of paper napkins, Kleenex, toilet paper gathered from a nearby picnic area” in Clarion County’s Cook Forest.  These observations, and possibly your own, reveal how local birds sometimes substitute human-made materials for natural ones.

It’s still unclear if the incorporation of plastic into nests has long-term consequences for nest-builders and their offspring.  The widespread availability of plastic pieces as nesting material, however, does serve as an indicator of the extreme prevalence of plastic litter in the environment.

Rachael Carlberg is an intern in the Education Department of Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences of working at the museum.

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Slender-snouted crocodile skull

crocodile skull

This slender-snouted crocodile skull in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Alcohol House was used to determine that each African region had a unique crocodile species. You can see this skull and its story on display at the new We Are Nature. Look for the Alcohol House media interactive in the gallery!

This post was originally posted on our curatorial assistant’s Instagram, which features specimens in the museum’s historic Alcohol House.

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Frick Environmental Center Encourages People to visit Neighborhood Parks

a guide giving a tour in the woods in thesnow

Mike Cornell and the staff at Frick Environmental Center want to get more people to utilize the parks in their Pittsburgh neighborhoods. Pittsburgh has over 640 acres of park land and includes 104 neighborhood parks. He says that a park is a “right and privilege” that should not be taken advantage of and all it takes is to walk out the front door.

Frick Environmental Center offers families, students, and learners of all ages a state-of-the-art space for hands-on, environmental education. There is also a STEM focus for its younger patrons. Mike Cornell, the Naturalist Educator, coordinates the volunteer naturalists and building docents.

Volunteer naturalists are the field educators of the center and offer their time and expertise to work the information desk, assist with school programs, and program development for community education for Frick Environmental Center. Volunteer naturalists are driven by their passion for nature and the environment, and Cornell wants to continue to support this program.

“If they are passionate about it, we can schedule and promote it so they can teach it. The parks and libraries are the two places where you can always go for free and the parks don’t have doors that lock,” he says

To be a Volunteer Naturalist, Pittsburghers must go through a seven week training where they will learn about park conservancy, effective presentation skills, and proper planning strategies for good educational programming. Previous classes have included nature photography, nature education for kids, and hiking skills. Cornell says classes like this can prepare an average citizen to appreciate and embrace parks into their everyday lives and schedules.

“You can get to the park and always enjoy the parks and you don’t have to have a membership. It can be your gym. It can be your classroom. It can be the place you unwind. It can be the place to read a book,” he says.

Frick Environmental Center was opened in 2016 and is housed in Frick Park, Pittsburgh’s largest and youngest urban park.

“Wherever you go in Pennsylvania is a forest because the land is always in a state of going back to forest,” Cornell says.  “One thing I like to do is encourage people to believe that what’s right outside their window or while on a bus is nature. You see vacant lots where there are woodpeckers. You see beauty in nature in the crack of a sidewalk and see ants crawling out of it.”

Mike Cornell was intrigued by parks growing up and when he realized a person could make a career out of them, he knew what he wanted to do as an adult.

“I grew up on the edge of Frick Park and I grew up in that park,” Cornell says. “One thing we have to appreciate is that everywhere we go is nature and everywhere we are is the environment.”

He began working with Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy in 2005 as a summer camp counselor, and after graduating from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in 2008, he worked seasonally and part time until becoming full time in 2014.  Cornell takes pride in connecting volunteer community experts with their neighbors for programming and outreach at the center because it is like returning home.

children huddled around a tree stump in the woods

“I studied natural history and interpretation which is what I’m doing now which is connecting people to nature and teaching people about the environment in their communities, and getting people comfortable and curious.”

How can locals get involved with Frick Environmental Center? Go to the Pittsburgh Parks website at https://www.pittsburghparks.org/volunteer and fill out the application to be a volunteer naturalist or docent. Apply soon as spring trainings are coming up. Building docent training is March 23 at 1pm and volunteer naturalist training is April 9, 2018 9-12 noon. Contact Mike Cornell at MCornell@pittsburghparks.org for more information.

In the spirit of recognizing all we are already doing in Pittsburgh, we have started a new blog series to compliment We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene, the exhibition about the complex relationship between humans and nature currently on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. We are featuring Pittsburghers who are committed to improving the environment in which we live. Each blog features a new individual and shares some of the ways in which they are helping issues of sustainability, conservation, restoration, climate change, or helping Pittsburgh to be an even more beautiful place to live.

 

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Think a 400 year old oak tree can be a superhero?

Think a 400 year old oak tree can be a superhero? When you’re not looking they are cleaning the air, re-routing storm water,…and breaking wind so you won’t be blown away! And if a patient can view trees outside their window, they can recover faster and require less painkillers during their stay in the hospital, according to Scientific American. That’s right – trees are the gentle giants protecting our spaces and quality of life.

No wonder Tree Vitalize has become so popular in Pittsburgh’s ground-level revitalization. As a tree-planting partnership through Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) with Allegheny County, the City of Pittsburgh, Tree Pittsburgh, and Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, it is a local sustainability effort to increase the number of trees in and around Pittsburgh.

two men holding a sign for Tree Vitalize
TreeVitalize Volunteer left; Jeffrey Bergman right

Lead by Jeffrey Bergman, Director of Community Forestry, and Lauren Fike, Community Forestry Project Coordinator, the organization is responsible for nearly 30,000 trees being planted since 2006, and this is only the beginning.

Bergman said that the quality of life in any urban environment can be improved through mindful conservation practices in and around a city.

“The trees in urban settings serve a specific purpose. A street tree that is shading a street and shading businesses provide benefits that are different than trees in parks and wooded settings.”

For urban landscapes, the benefits of trees are numerous. They can reduce storm runoff and land erosion, decrease energy bills, increase property values, and improve air quality. In the city’s Tree Management Plan, Pittsburgh’s trees were appraised at over $51 million and contributed to nearly $100,000 in energy savings. Despite the advantages, man-made challenges have impeded tree canopies from flourishing.

Rapid construction of roads, housing, and natural gas pipelines contributed to the decline of tree canopies in the county. In a recent study done by Tree Pittsburgh, a little over 10,000 acres was destroyed between 2010 and 2015.

volunteers planting trees

Bergman and Fike’s primary concern is to engage residents and citizens in the work of planting more trees. TreeVitalize provides targeted outreach projects for areas with low tree canopy and in low income communities. The program consistently draws in those who appreciate trees, said Bergman, but planting the tree is only the start. There’s also the long-term maintenance.

“It’s essential there is strong maintenance because we are putting living things in a harsh environment,” Bergman said. “Remember that while trees are infrastructure they are living and they are something that need to be taken care of and respected.”

These projects are critical in not only increasing the number of trees in Pittsburgh, but also connecting people to their community in more significant ways. Fike said that much of her work in managing the field projects and logistics helps prepare volunteers to value the tree-planting experience in meaningful ways.

“It’s really rewarding because if they take the time to plant the tree in 30 degree weather and it’s raining, they are dedicated to that tree. They can say, ‘Oh I planted that tree. I wonder how my tree is doing,’” she said.

Volunteers planting shrubs

Bergman credits the great volunteer ethic in the city of Pittsburgh for TreeVitalize’s success. Residents are able to see physical changes to their community with just a few hours of service. Volunteers hand trees averaging between 10 and 15 feet tall, and the service project stands as  a rewarding experience for those who plant these woody giants.

“People seem to derive a sense of satisfaction from tree planting,” he said. “We also work with colleges and universities but we get feedback that compared to picking up litter on the roadside, people feel like they’ve done something more to help the environment when they do a tree planting.”

Trees are pruned and planted in the early spring and fall while trees are dormant and bear no leaves because they are not able to photosynthesize. TreeVitalize, in partnership with Tree Pittsburgh, offers training for those interested in becoming a “tree tender.”

“You see trees in a different way when you learn about them,” Bergman said. “It’s not just a stop sign or a fire hydrant. People lose sense that these are living things in our environment and you can learn why this work is important.”

Pittsburghers can join the cause to plant more trees and make the city greener by going through TreeVitalize’s intensive training process and coordinating a tree planting project for their neighborhood. Fall 2018 applications are now available and due by March 16. Those interested are also encouraged to contact Bergman directly at 412-586-2396 or jbergman@paconserve.org.

 

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In the spirit of recognizing all we are already doing in Pittsburgh, we have started a new blog series to compliment We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene, the exhibition about the complex relationship between humans and nature currently on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. We are featuring Pittsburghers who are committed to improving the environment in which we live. Each blog features a new individual and shares some of the ways in which they are helping issues of sustainability, conservation, restoration, climate change, or helping Pittsburgh to be an even more beautiful place to live.

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We Are Nature: Thoughts and Feelings of Visitors

visitors looking at a wall of sticky notes

In Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s We Are Nature exhibit, we are asking visitors to share their immediate thoughts after walking through the installation. As pictured above, many have been left with mixed emotions. The exhibit itself serves as a starting point in the discussion of sustainability, conservation, restoration, and climate change. The museum recognizes the diversity that comes along with this issue in discussing environmental understanding and is curious to see what visitors have to say.

The option of leaving comments behind has created a visual representation of where our visitor’s opinions lie. Post-it notes are being used and placed into one or more categories by attendees based on feelings ranging from empowerment to disbelief. We’ve received numerous responses in almost all categories, but have selected those that foster a productive dialogue. Here are just a few of our favorites thus far.

This blog series highlights anonymous responses from the We Are Nature exhibit on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History that explains and explores the topic of the Anthropocene. Each blog features Post-it notes left by museum visitors. Readers may find thought-provoking insights, inspirational words, or easy conversation starters for their next discussion. All Post-it notes will be recycled at the close of the exhibit.

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Allie Frownfelter, Bottle Thread

woman modeling sustainable clothing

In May 2017, Allie Frownfelter launched Bottle Thread, a sustainability company in Pittsburgh that designs and sells clothing made from recycled plastic. She loves Pittsburgh and wants to give back to a city that is solving its own environmental problems. Inspired by her own mother’s kitchen and bath remodeling company while leaving
in Reading, Penn., she saw first-hand what it meant to provide a high quality service to customers.

“When I was ten my mom renovated a house and sold it for a profit,” says Frownfelter. “My brothers and I would be alongside her helping lay tile, replace cabinets, and update the electric. Learning all that at such a young age let me know that creating a business wasn’t as scary as it needed to be.”

Frownfelter would eventually go to college and settled into Chatham University as a sustainability major. In her last year, she created a business plan for Bottle Thread and researched ways to raise capital. She graduated in 2017 and set out to make a difference in a world overrun with plastic waste.

“I found a problem, I wanted a solution for it, and the company came from there,” says Frownfelter. “I’m just one of the first to make an essential point of using sustainable materials.”

According to a recent National Geographic report, the world amassed 6.3 million metric tons of plastic waste and only 9% was recycled. This leaves an environmental question of what to do with the remaining waste that is left in landfills or finding their way into the oceans.

Bottle Thread has three basic clothing designs: a tailored button down shirt for women and men and a dress. The pieces are wrinkle free and moisture wicking. The shirts are made from up to 50 plastic bottles and does not require ironing.

“I just wanted to make the best possible button up top for women. With 10 cents more per unit, I was able to move into different types of fabric. It was everything I was looking into for a fabric but it’s a lot more sustainable.”

Frownfelter is proud to have her clothing line made in America. The fabric and shirts are produced by California-based companies that offer ethical wages to their employees. That is key to Bottle Thread’s business ethos which requires all levels of business to be ethical, equitable, and sustainable.

She says, “The three pillars of sustainability are economics, environment, and ethics. So we have to ask ourselves, ‘Is it affordable? How does it affect the planet? And, who’s making it and how do we treat them?’”

So, how does plastic become a textile? Once plastic bottles find their way to a recycling facility, they get melted down into small pellets and stretched into fibers. According to Frownfelter, it is a form of polyester and the fibers get pulled into threads and used to make materials like canvas and athletic performance attire.

The fashion industry is taking note of sustainable fashion and making efforts to use data to support business decisions such as product design and supply chain. Using a Life Cycle Assessment, designers like Frownfelter can lessen the impact of the production of their product on the environment.  With these unique challenges and advantages, consumers must be educated about their clothing options and how it’s related to the environment. For now, she sees her business model as more than just a recycling effort but a lifestyle change.

“I’m just about making the best quality product for the environment,” she says. “Sustainability is about scalability.”

Bottle Thread is currently in the production phase and expect their first shipment of products for sale the beginning of March.  Frownfelter is primarily focused on fulfilling orders, reordering, and promoting the idea of sustainable fashions. Over the next month, Bottle Thread will be in several photo shoots and building their social media strategy.

Bottle Thread will be a part of a sustainable fashion show at Chatham University on March 22 in the Mellon Boardroom. For more information, contact Allie Frownfelter at A.Frownfelter@chatham.edu.

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In the spirit of recognizing all we are already doing in Pittsburgh, we have started a new blog series to compliment We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene, the exhibition about the complex relationship between humans and nature currently on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. We are featuring Pittsburghers who are committed to improving the environment in which we live. Each blog features a new individual and shares some of the ways in which they are helping issues of sustainability, conservation, restoration, climate change, or helping Pittsburgh to be an even more beautiful place to live.