5 Outdoor Summer Concert Spots

Stifling humidity. 90 degree days. Not a rain cloud in sight.

Step in to the parks, feel the temperature drop. Spread out a blanket or unfold a lawn chair, kick off your shoes. During these dog days of summer, de-stress and cool down at free concerts in the parks.

Mellon Park

Sundays in Mellon Park are classy and classical. The popular Bach, Beethoven and Brunch series serves up some tasty live music with a side of brunch every week from 10:30am until noon, courtesy of Citiparks. Enter your entree in the “Best Brunch” competition, or take it easy and order up from the Bagel Factory food truck on site.

Find the Bach, Beethoven, and Brunch concert details here.

Highland Park

After a brunch-induced food coma, make your way over to Highland Park for a change in tune at the Reservoir of Jazz. Setting Pittsburgh’s local talent center stage, Reservoir of Jazz is the best way to close out the weekend. Keep your feet tapping (and really, your whole body moving) afterwards at Summer Soul Line Dancing immediately following the show.

Find the Reservoir of Jazz concert details here.

Riverview Park

Elevated on Observatory Hill with the Allegheny Observatory and area jazz musicians, you’re a little closer to the stars at the Stars at Riverview concert series. Park your lawn chair for your fill of live music, then stick around for Cinema in the Park afterwards. Shows are every Saturday, now through the end of August.

Find the Stars at Riverview concert details here.

Mellon Square

Need a break in the workday? Want to get some fresh air and out of the office? Grab a lunch and make a midday outing to Mellon Square for Wednesday Acoustic Music with Bobby V and Thursday Summer Concert Series.

Find the Mellon Square concert details here.

Schenley Plaza

With its emerald lawn, delicious dining and central location, Schenley Plaza is a fantastic venue for concertgoers, impromptu musicians, and summer shows. The lawn fills up fast, so make sure to stake out your spot for the monthly WYEP Final Fridays, and don’t miss First Thursdays with Calliope.

Find the Schenley Plaza concert details here.

Look up! Birding for beginners in Pittsburgh’s Parks

The final flares of autumn command a lot of attention. As you walk through the parks in the fall, it’s wonderful to get a little dizzy from the reds, yellows and oranges that surround you on all sides. As we saw last week, the peak time for leaf peeping is coming to an end, and snow is rushing in without much warning. Soon there will be bare trees all around, presenting an opportunity for a new winter hobby: birdwatching!

Image courtesy Melissa McMasters

If you’re new to the birding scene, you can start with some research from the warmth of your home. Local experts, bloggers, and resources abound to equip any amateur to become an ornithology guru:

• Three Rivers Birding Club (3RBC). This active gaggle of birders is a great place to start doing your homework. Sign up for their mailing list for daily updates on bird sightings and upcoming events and dig into their active forum to connect with local birders. Then, gear up for one of 3RBC’s organized hikes through Pittsburgh parks.
  

  Taking a break at Panther Hollow Lake

• Outside My Window. Kate St. John takes tweeting to a whole new level. Responsible for the peregrine falcon nest on the Cathedral of Learning, Kate pens an informative and super-local blog about birds and bird happenings in Pittsburgh, with a special focus on Schenley Park. Along with her impressive post archive, make sure to look into her phenology timeline, a great resource on what birds to look for, and when.
• Audubon Society of Western PA. Located a bit outside of the city, the Audubon Society leads free bird walks twice weekly and is the home of leading experts in local ornithology. They also boast a resourceful Natural History Library, perfect when you need to  just curl up with a good bird book.
• Become a part of Pittsburgh’s bird-loving community. Tweet at the Pitt peregrines on Twitter, plan a trip to the National Aviary, get involved with the Wildlife Rescue Center or participate in a bird count.

When you’re all bundled up and equipped with a cup of hot chocolate, get out into the parks and get started. According to Outside My Window, at this time of year, look up! Squirrel and bird nests will start to stick out as leaves clear out. Migrating birds, such as mallards and Canada geese, will be passing overhead and resting at places such as Panther Hollow Lake on their journey south. Make sure to keep a sharp eye and ear out for Fox Sparrows and irruptive migrants and don’t forget your camera!

Photo courtesy Melissa McMasters

Lauryn Stalter for The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy

The Highland Park Buggy Brigade

One of my most memorable volunteer experiences with the Parks Conservancy was a fall 2008 cleanup in Highland Park of the hillside that runs from behind the Pool Grove shelter down to Washington Boulevard.  Working with a big group of University of Pittsburgh students, we removed dozens of tires, bags and bags’ worth of cans and bottles, a utility sink, some rusted old box springs, and an enormous blue metal object that was either part of a UFO or some sort of unwanted playground equipment.

But the main theme of the day?  Shopping carts.  Lots and lots of shopping carts.

I got to repeat this hillside experience this past weekend on another volunteer day.  Erin Copeland, our senior restoration ecologist, has been working on this hillside for a while, and it’s especially become a priority now that the recently completed trails project has sought to bring more traffic through this area via trail connections.  She estimates that these hillside cleanups have been going on since 2004.  So given seven years of work, surely there couldn’t be any more buggies buried in the Highland Park hillside, right?

An intrepid volunteer with one of the day's finds.

At first, it almost looked like we wouldn’t have a lot to haul out–just some glass bottles here and there (and one large dilapidated water gun).  But after pushing aside some vines, we found a treasure trove of tires and shopping carts, some of which were buried so deeply that it took hours to free them.  Along with my friend Cat and the Parks Conservancy’s intern Carl, I spent about three hours harassing one cart with a shovel and a pickaxe until we were able to release about 3/4 of it from the ground.  It was possibly a fool’s errand (given that it turned out to be partially buried in concrete, somehow), but that’s the thing about cleaning up a park: you get really invested in what you’re doing, and you just want to see things returned to their natural state.

Cat, Carl, and our personal Everest

Elsewhere, another faction of our group who were pretty confident in their ability to balance on particularly steep terrain were hauling out what looked to be an entire wooden fence. 

Walking down a hillside with tires and fences is a delicate task.

Here’s a look at some of our haul, including more than 70 tires (and one perfectly preserved baseball).

So after reading this, I KNOW you want to get in on some volunteer action as soon as possible, right?  Well, you’re in luck: our next volunteer day is at Cliffside Park (a really cool little space in the Hill District, at the corner of Cliff and Cassatt Streets) on Saturday, April 2.  If you can’t make that, your next opportunity is the not-to-be-missed Panther Hollow Volunteer Extravaganza on April 16, where we’ll be tackling projects not just in Schenley Park but throughout Oakland this time around.  Following that, we have days scheduled for Riverview and Frick Parks.  Get all the info and sign up here!

(Thanks to volunteer Michael Linssen for providing some of the photos!)

Dudley Edmondson Lecture

We’re excited to announce that our speaker series gets back underway next month with a visit from Dudley Edmondson, a Duluth, Minnesota-based nature and wildlife photographer.  Edmondson has spent the last 19 years documenting nature and wildlife subjects around the country.  He is particularly interested in exploring the way ethnically diverse people see themselves and the way the world sees them.  His 2006 book “Black and Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places” and its companion youth version was conceived to increase minorities’ engagement in outdoor activities and advocacy.  Learn more about him at www.raptorworks.com. 

Edmondson will speak on the topic “Attempting to Understand the Disconnect Between African-Americans and the Outdoors.”  The lecture will be held on Thursday, March 17 at 6:30pm at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s Homewood Branch (7101 Hamilton Avenue, 15208).  Following the hour-long lecture, we’ll serve light refreshments.

This event is FREE and open to the public, but space is limited and advance registration is required.  Click here to reserve your spot.

Learn more about Dudley Edmondson by visiting his blog or checking out his book.

2011 Urban EcoSteward Trainings

We’ve set the schedule for our 2011 slate of Urban EcoSteward trainings, and this year we have a new partnership with REI that will help anyone looking for more of a leadership role.  This special crew leader training that takes place at REI’s South Side store will demonstrate effective techniques for becoming a volunteer crew leader.  REI will also host two volunteer engagement clinics for members of the community who are interested in learning more about outdoor volunteer opportunities.

Urban EcoSteward trainings provide helpful information for those interested in caring for parkland.  From learning about Pennsylvania’s native wildflowers to the best way to plant trees, you’ll learn things you can apply at home or in your volunteer work.  All trainings are free and open to the public, whether you are an Urban EcoSteward or not.  To register for the trainings or get a printable list, click here.

Winter Gathering
Saturday, January 22, 2:00 – 4:00pm
Environmental Charter School, 829 Milton Street, 15218

Come celebrate Urban EcoSteward successes of the past year and learn about plans for 2011 while enjoying some tasty treats and beverages.

Crew Leader Training
Sunday, February 13, 1:00 – 4:30pm
REI South Side, 412 S 27th Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203

Learn best practices for leading volunteer crews of 5-15 people; then sign-up as a crew leader for volunteer park activities this year.  (Register for this special training here.)

Erosion Control
Sunday, March 6, 9:00am – 12:00pm 
Riverview Park Chapel Shelter

Learn techniques for keeping valuable soil from washing away using plants and other restoration techniques.

Woodland Wildflowers Walk & Campfire
Thursday, April 28, 5:30 – 7:30pm
Frick Environmental Center

Learn to identify our region’s spring wildflowers. The walk will be followed by a campfire and marshmallow roast.

Early Season Invasive Plants
Thursday, May 12, 5:30 – 7:30pm
Frick Park, lower parking lot off of Lancaster Ave. 

Learn how to identify and remove invasive plants early in the season.

Shrub and Tree Identification
Thursday, June 9, 5:30 – 7:30pm
Frick Park, lower parking lot off of Lancaster Ave 

Learn some useful tools for field identification of native and non-native trees and shrubs.

Late Season Invasive Plants
Thursday, August 25, 6:00 – 8:00pm
Emerald View Park (Greenleaf Parking Lot), 1885 Greenleaf St. 15211

Find out how to identify and remove invasive plants later in the season, focusing on limiting seed dispersal.

Native Seed Collection
Saturday, October 15, 9:30am – 12:30pm
Frick Environmental Center 

Join Kathy McGregor of Sylvania Natives for this always popular hands-on workshop on collecting and storing native seeds.

Planting Techniques
Saturday, November 19, 1:00 – 3:00pm
Emerald View Park (Point of View Statue), at the corner of Grandview Ave. and Sweetbriar St.

Learn how to plant trees, shrubs, and herbs for long term success.

EcoStewards at 2010's winter gathering in Schenley Park.