In his new book, Wild Philly: Explore the Amazing Nature in and Around Philadelphia, Montgomery County writer-naturalist Mike Weilbacher offers a guide to exploring all the natural gems around the Main Line.
The book published by Timber Press features 25 field trips to parks, preserves and natural areas and includes illustrated maps to help with navigation.
You can buy it online at bookshop.org.
Weilbacher who lives in Merion Station is also an environmental educator and spent time as the executive director of the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education in Roxborough.
Eils Lotozo of Main Line Today spent some time with the author to get the scoop on the new book.
One of the things that surprised Weilbacher while doing research for the book was the Lenape’s history of managing the land.
He explained that new scholarship shows that “they were burning parts of the landscape to keep certain plants, like nut trees, around.”
He also discovered that the beaver was the first animal to go extinct in the region because of trappers wanting their pelts.
On what he hopes his readers will take from the book, he said, “I’m hoping they realize just how much interesting nature there is in this area. In the center of Manayunk, you can see peregrine falcons nesting in a church steeple or walk along the Manayunk Canal and see trees that have been chewed on by beaver…”
Read more of the Q&A with the Montgomery County writer in Main Line Today.
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Hiking in Philly.
