Nature – Stormstown Dispatch

Clearwater Conservancy Groundbreaking Ceremony

August 5, 2025August 6, 2025BillLeave a comment

On August 5, 2025, Clearwater Conservancy held a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of The Hamer Community Conservation Center.

The center is named after Donald Hamer (1925-2016), who cared deeply about the preservation of natural resources and generously donated his time and resources to environmental groups, including ClearWater Conservancy. Construction of the 10,392-square-foot, two-story center is scheduled for completion by mid-August 2026. The 10-acre construction site is located at 1601 Houserville Road in Houserville, PA.

Clearwater founder Barbara Fisher explained how the organization originated from citizen efforts to stop a mall from being developed on farmland in Ferguson Township, which set the stage for the Tudek family to purchase and donate the land that became Tom Tudek Memorial Park.

Speakers also included:

Clearwater Executive Director Elizabeth Crisfield

State Representative Kerry A. Benninghoff

Also present were Centre County PA Senior Environmental Corps (CCPaSEC) Members: President William Smith, Vice President Carolyn Hatley, and Equipment Manager David DeCapria.

WTAJ News Coverage

Trail Camera

February 16, 2024February 16, 2024Bill1 Comment

On February 7, 2024, I set up a trail camera in my backyard to see what kind of wildlife comes out at night.

I was not disappointed because I captured 3 deer on the very first night.

A few days later, I captured this image of another doe.

Wait and see what else the camera can capture in the coming weeks.

Robin’s Nest

August 5, 2023August 5, 2023Bill1 Comment

On Friday afternoon July 21, 2023, I was trimming back the Hydrangas by our front door. It was then that I discovered a bird’s nest, with 3 light blue eggs. I immediately stopped trimming and let them be. A few days later, on July 25, I found that the eggs had hatched.

On July 29 they had grown quite a bit.

On the morning of July 30, I found that one of the hatchlings was not in the nest. I found it nearby and rescued it. It seemed to be uninjured, but it was probably tired, thirsty, and hungry.