 |
 |
Site Index
|
Welcome!
USC Citizens for Land Stewardship (USC CLS) is a community conservation
organization serving Upper St.Clair, PA. |
||||||||||||||||||
| iNaturalist
is a free application for Smart phones that was developed
by the California Academy of Sciences. There is no cost to
download
the application or to use it. iNaturalist puts nature at your
fingertips. Whenever you want to record something you see in
nature, you can open iNaturalist, use your phone's camera to take a
picture of what you see and use the built-in references to help you
identify it. iNaturalist automatically records your geographical
position, the date and the time of your observation. These are saved as
your observations. There is more. If you are participating
in an organized group effort to identify objects in our environment
such as a BioBlitz, you simply add yourself to an ongoing project and
your observations are included in the cloud-based data for the project.
When using new applications for your Smart phone, we all benefit from having some experienced person help us set up the application and show us how to use it. Once installed, it is very helpful to have a chance to practice and compare results with others. Your friends at USC CLS want you to celebrate Earth Day with training and practice and great pizza and good company plus iNaturalist experience so that you can come back the next weekend really prepared to enjoy the City Nature Challenge and help us identify more species than any other city. |
For more information, click |
 |
USC CLS is representing Upper St. Clair as part of the Pittsburgh Region.
USCCLS Schedule of Events
For more information at the Pittsburgh Region participation, click City Nature Challenge - Pittsburgh Region
To see the names of the cities who are our competition, click Participating Cities in the challenge Using iNaturalst, your observations will be uploaded and added to a database of all our observations. Experts will look at each of your observations and identify them. Each identified observation is then uploaded to the project record for you to see either on your Smart phone or your computer.
If you would like to see what a project record looks like, you can see the results of our Bioblitz project from last year. Click Chartiers Creek Bioblitz 2017 |
Spring Migratory Bird Count - Saturday May 12, 2018
|
-
education on environmental issues
-
prudent and ethical land use policies to protect and enhance natural resources
-
awareness of the value of our natural landscapes
-
recognition of the enjoyment and benefits of natural spaces within our community
-
activities that promote harmony between people and nature
-
watershed restoration and re-introduction of native plant species
Current Issues:
Strip Mining - The Risk is Past
|
Mayview State Hospital property will be developed without mining The developer does not plan to either strip mine or conduct fracking on the site. USC CLS actively encouraged the South Fayette Planning Commission not to approve a zoning change which would have enabled the site to be strip mined before developed for longer term uses. We are pleased that this is not going to happen. We will be following the project as it develops and encourage responsible land use practices when appropriate.. |
|
Boyce Mayview Park has become one of the most successful stories of conservation in Upper St. Clair, as well as a fantastic resource for our community with the Community and Recreation Center, many hiking trails, and The Outdoor Classroom. USC CLS is proud to have been a voice in the process that has allowed the Master Plan to come to life on the 450 acre site. However, while the development of the site into an accessible and popular park has been inspiring, it is important to consider the effects that any development have on the natural spaces nearby. One of the main issues that comes into play with any developed space is light pollution. As of July 1, 2013, Upper St. Clair Township has approved temporary lighting for the ball fields at Boyce Mayview Park, including the Miracle Field. USC CLS understands the appeal of lighting the fields for evening ball games with bright, stadium-style lighting in the park. However, USC CLS is hoping to eliminate any unnecessary use of these lights in order to minimize the effects that light pollution will have on not only the habitats in Boyce Mayview Park, but also the wildlife and people living in surrounding areas. What is light pollution and why is it a concern? Light pollution can be described as the often disruptive impact of artificial light on both the darkness of the night sky and the light-related biological rhythms of life in the lighted area. As stated in a 2008 National Geographic report on light pollution, “Ill-designed lighting washes out the darkness of night and radically alters the light levels—and light rhythms—to which many forms of life, including ourselves, have adapted. Wherever human light spills into the natural world, some aspect of life—migration, reproduction, feeding—is affected.” You are likely already familiar with the effects of light pollution if you have ever compared the view of the night sky in a city to a rural area. However, the effects of light pollution are not limited to cities; the type of lighting proposed for the athletic fields at Boyce Mayview Park would bring the same negative outcomes of light pollution to the surrounding areas in USC. We are calling for a sensible plan for the management of these lights, including exploring options such as timers and pay per use similar to the successful setup of the township tennis bubbles. Below
are some useful links to learn more about light pollution,
including the website of the International Dark Sky Association. http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/plandev/Downloads/Athletic_Field_Lighting_draft0710.pdf http://www.treehugger.com/culture/darkness-natural-resource-and-were-losing-it.html |
Looking to get involved? Volunteer with us!There are many volunteer opportunities with USC CLS. Are you a student in need of service hours? Are you retired and looking for a way to stay active and involved in the community? Do you have special skills that you could use to assist a small community group? Do you simply love the great outdoors? No matter what your interests, USC CLS can use your help! We are a friendly, passionate community and would love to have you on board. Please contact us at usccls@usccls.org for more information. |
Search
Search the USC Citizens for Land Stewardship web site using Google
Visit this page often for the latest CLS news and events!