The Merrill Linn Conservancy and the Union County Historical Society will host a Winter Solstice Camp Fire and Lantern Walk on Friday, December 20 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Dale’s Ridge Trail, located at 1471 Strawbridge Road, off Route 192, west of Lewisburg. The winter solstice occurs twice yearly, when one of the earth’s poles (North or South) has its maximum tilt away from the sun. It is the day with the shortest period of daylight and longest night of the year, when the Sun is at its lowest daily maximum elevation in the sky. Since earliest times, people around world have celebrated the winter solstice and return of lengthening days.
The public is invited to join in this tradition and welcome the return of longer days with a lantern walk, camp fire, singing, and community. Hot cocoa and roasting snacks for the camp fire will he provided. Visitors are encouraged to bring their own mugs for cocoa, to reduce the use of disposable. Participants are also encouraged to bring a lantern to carry. In preparation for the event, the public is invited to make lanterns at the Donald Heiter Community Center on Sunday, December 15 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Supplies will be available to create different types of lanterns. For complete information visit
www.linnconservancy.org or call 570-524-8666.
The Merrill Linn Conservancy is a nonprofit volunteer organization that works to preserve and protect significant ecological sites in Union, upper Northumberland and contiguous counties and to educate the public on conservation issues critical to the health of our environment.
Susan Chlebowski, the Conservancy’s newest Board member, is the teacher/director of BVRA’s Nature Preschool. She is certified by the American Montessori Society to teach children ages 3-6.In her work, she combines her enthusiasm for nature and Montessori pedagogy to provide hands-on, child-centered learning experiences while fostering a strong connection to the natural world. Susan also brings elements of Waldorf and Reggio-Emilia (art based) early childhood philosophies to her teaching, as well as an emphasis on open-ended play, curiosity-driven learning and outdoor exploration. Susan lives just outside New Berlin on a small farm with her husband Jim. She has 3 adult sons and one teenage son. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time outside, cooking, gardening, and riding a tandem road bike with her husband.
