Earth Day celebration in full bloom at City Park in Reading
Midday was way past bedtime for Zeus, but he couldn't resist an afternoon snack.
Zeus, a hoary bat, rose from his nocturnal slumber to enjoy a few daytime mealworms and the adoration of a small crowd at City Park in Reading Saturday afternoon.
Steph Stronsick from the Pennsylvania Bat Conservation and Rehabilitation Center in Rockland Township holds Zeus, a hoary bat, during a program on bats during Earth Day activities in Reading City Park on Saturday, April 26, 2025. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Visiting Zeus and other bats was the reason Rosie Sparrow made the trip to the annual Berks County Earth Day celebration.
'He's so cute!,' Sparrow, 9, of West Lawn said of Zeus.
Rosie Sparrow, 9, of Bernville photographs Zeus, a hoary bat, during Earth Day activities in Reading City Park on Saturday, April 26, 2025. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Zeus was found several years ago in York Township, according to the bat's handler, Steph Stronsik of Pennsylvania Bat Conservation and Rehabilitation, Rockland Township.
Hoary bats, which are native to Pennsylvania, have had their population devastated by wind turbines, Stronsik said.
Other issues facing the area's bats include deforestation and white nose syndrome, a deadly fungal disease, she said.
Elsewhere in the park, what appeared to be a small flock of white geese bobbed atop the heads of a group of friends.
Beverly Leviner of Bern Township said she found the geese hats and wanted to wear them to show support for snow geese. The birds' populations have been affected by a resurgence in avian flu.
She said she often visits the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Lancaster County. The site is visited by as many as 100,000 snow geese during their annual migration in late winter.
'It would be nice to have people go see them and take an interest,' Leviner said.
Beverly Leviner of Bern Township wears a snow goose hat to call attention to the avian flu and its effects on the geese during Earth Day activities in Reading City Park on Saturday, April 26, 2025. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Leviner's geese weren't the only accessories with flair at the park — between the booths, a pair of dancers donned winglike scarves, dipping and twirling in synch.
Dancer Autumn Crane said her group, JCWK Dance Labs, uses interpretive dance to work through complex and often painful emotions.
The group recently was at Alvernia University for a performance and discussion on the aftermath of gun violence.
Crane, a physical therapist, said she uses dance to help victims of diseases like Parkinson's and conditions that cause dementia. The art form can assist them in working through their symptoms.
'I'm teaching them to 'burst' dopamine through fun fitness,' Crane said.
She said she's working with local nonprofit groups to have disability-accessible paths for walking meditation exercises, possibly at City Park and other local recreation areas.
Curious eventgoers swung by dozens of booths where local companies and nonprofits shared Earth Day exhibits and introduced themselves to community members.
One booth sported bags of sticks, boughs and other carefully chosen plant material, which kids were using to make crafts.
The plants in the bags were all native to the area, with the goal of the activity being to introduce people to the benefits of local flora, according to Jenny Wright, who was working the booth for the Pennsylvania Native Plant Society.
Wright warned of the threats invasive, non-native plants can pose to local ecosystems.
'Some (invasive plants) are very popular; people still plant them,' Wright said.
She said invasive plants like Norway maple, English ivy and Japanese wisteria can grow and reproduce quickly and may not be as susceptible to local pests and diseases, making it easy for them to outcompete the native species that the ecosystem relies on.
Wright was also handing out native plant seeds and providing lists of native plant nurseries.
Jenny Wright of Barto, a Pennsylvania Master Naturalist, talks about native plants during Earth Day activities in Reading City Park on Saturday, April 26, 2025. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
The event featured a citywide cleanup in the morning, followed by a ceremonial tree planting along with performances by local bands throughout the day.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
'City-Killer' Asteroid Even More Likely to Hit The Moon in 2032
An asteroid that burst onto the scene with an unusually high risk of striking Earth has just had its collision risk upgraded. In February 2025, asteroid 2024 YR4's maximum collision risk with our homeworld when it swoops back around in 2032 was projected to be 3.1 percent. Now its collision risk has risen to 4.3 percent – not with Earth, but the Moon. That's not particularly high, sure. But it's high enough to be pretty exciting. This impact wouldn't destroy the Moon or even affect its orbit; but it would be scientifically interesting to see the formation process of a large crater (and also really cool). 2024 YR4 announced itself with a bang. Initial calculations of its trajectory found that it could collide with Earth in December 2032. The risk wasn't huge, but 3.1 percent is still alarmingly high for an event that could wipe out a city – the chunk of rock measures between 53 and 67 meters (174 and 220 feet), comparable to the size of the asteroid that devastated Tunguska in 1908. Thankfully, it didn't take long for that risk to be downgraded to less than a fraction of a fraction of a percent, effectively ruling out the possibility of an Earth-2024 YR4 collision entirely. The Moon, however, remained in the firing line, with a collision risk of 3.8 percent. Now, using new JWST observations obtained in May 2025, astronomers led by Andy Rivkin of Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory have refined that calculation, bumping the risk to 4.3 percent. That's probably still not the final word on the matter; tracing an asteroid's trajectory takes repeated observations, and 2024 YR4 is now too far away for us to see. It comes around close to Earth every four years, so astronomers are going to have another opportunity to observe it closely in December 2028. We'll know with more precision then how likely the chunk of space rock is to smack into our satellite and give us a wild show (and a bunch of science). The Center of Our Universe Does Not Exist. A Physicist Explains Why. Stunning Direct Images of Alien Worlds Are Detailed Enough to Reveal Clouds Stunning 'Solar Curtains' Phenomenon Revealed on The Sun in New Images
CNBC
18 hours ago
- CNBC
Amazon Kuiper second satellite launch delayed by ULA due to weather
United Launch Alliance said Tuesday it was pushing back the second flight carrying Amazon's Project Kuiper internet satellites due to "multiple weather delays during launch processing." The launch from Florida's Space Coast was originally slated for Friday afternoon, but it's now scheduled to take place on June 16, at 1:25 p.m. ET, ULA said in a post to its site. Cape Canaveral and other parts of Florida's Space Coast last week experienced several days of rain and high winds. Representatives from Amazon didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. It will be the second voyage ferrying a batch of Kuiper satellites after a successful launch in April. The first mission dispatched 27 Kuiper satellites into low Earth orbit, a region of space that's within 1,200 miles above the planet's surface. Amazon is working to speed up its satellite deployments so that it can begin delivering service to customers later this year. The company will have to contend with steep competition from Elon Musk's Space X, which operates Starlink. Amazon aims to build a constellation of more than 3,000 satellites. The company has to meet a Federal Communications Commission deadline to launch half of its total constellation, or 1,618 satellites, by July 2026.
Gizmodo
20 hours ago
- Gizmodo
NASA Raises Odds of Asteroid Smacking the Moon in 2032
The odds of an asteroid the size of a 10-story building slamming into the Moon in 2032 have risen slightly, according to NASA. On June 5, the agency announced that Asteroid 2024 YR4 now has a 4.3% chance of lunar impact—up from 3.8%. This infamous space rock caused quite a stir earlier this year when initial data suggested it could collide with Earth in about eight years. But as scientists gathered more data, it became clear that this asteroid posed no threat to our planet. There's still a chance, however, that 2024 YR4 could hit the Moon. New observations from the James Webb Space Telescope allowed scientists to refine the asteroid's orbit, leading to this tiny increase in the odds of a lunar impact. 'As data comes in, it is normal for the impact probability to evolve,' NASA's announcement states. When the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in Chile first discovered 2024 YR4 in December 2024, NASA flagged it as a potentially hazardous object almost immediately. Initial calculations indicated that this asteroid had about a 1% chance of hitting Earth on December 22, 2032. Over the next few weeks, those odds alarmingly climbed to nearly 3% before ultimately settling back down to zero by late February. At the time it was discovered, 2024 YR4 was roughly 515,116 miles (829,000 kilometers) from Earth. Since then, it's moved farther away. By mid-April, the asteroid was too distant to be observed by ground-based telescopes. It won't make another close approach to Earth until June 2028, but Webb's infrared capabilities allowed scientists to observe this space rock for about a month after it drifted beyond the reach of terrestrial technology. Researchers led by Andy Rivkin, a planetary astronomer at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, have been using Webb's Near-Infrared Camera to observe 2024 YR4 and assess its damage potential, even as it moved away from view. In May, they captured one last observation of this space rock before it disappeared behind the Sun. This additional data improved their prediction of where the asteroid will be on December 22, 2032 by 20%, according to NASA. The odds of 2024 YR4 colliding with the Moon are still (relatively) low. And even if it does crash into the lunar surface, the impact would not alter the Moon's orbit, NASA states. Webb's observations have also helped researchers refine measurements of the asteroid's size, finding that it is approximately 174 to 220 feet (53 to 67 meters) wide, which is relatively small for an asteroid. A direct hit would likely result in nothing more than a new crater. But that's not to say this event wouldn't be significant. Anticipating a lunar impact would give scientists a rare opportunity to observe a crater being formed in real-time, assuming it hits the Moon's Earth-facing side. And even though 2024 YR4 no longer poses any risk to our planet, discovering it allowed scientists to practice planetary defense strategies, which could prove to be life-saving someday. NASA is already making plans for when the asteroid swings back by Earth in 2028, according to the June 5 statement. More observations from both ground-based telescopes and Webb could help scientists gather more information about the asteroid's shape and composition, which are important elements of its behavior and potential impact effects. Until then, we'll just have to wish this troublemaking space traveler farewell.
