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June 22, 2015 By admin

June 2015

On Mother’s Day 2015 Philadelphia Chapter members Steve Bugaj MN’09 and Doug Soroka FN’06 along with Lynn Kleina spent a Chapter ‘Day in the Field’ kayaking the Mullica River in New Jersey. The trip along the 11 miles took in some of the best bird and turtle watching while also enjoying the entire river day to ourselves, not a single other boat was either seen or heard.

Members gathered in NY to view the opening of the Napoleonic treasure which the Club still holds. Seven of the books were opened for viewing and the exhibited illustrations were of daily life along the Nile River, illustrations of birds and sea creatures, interior of temple tombs, Monuments, and mummies. The colors were outstanding for the age of the books and were remarkable in the fine detail of the plates. Club dinner consisted of lecture of how French and Egyptian taste pallets have inter twined and

Robert McCracken Peck FN’83 was awarded one of the highest honors bestowed by The Garden Club of America (GCA), the Sarah Chapman Francis Medal. This award was presented at the GCA’s annual meeting, recognizing his outstanding literary achievements. In honoring Peck, the GCA observed that “his books, lectures and scholarly work have encouraged preservation of the natural and human treasures about which he writes so passionately.”
Peck is the author of A Celebration of Birds: The Life and Art of Louis Agassiz Fuertes (1982), Headhunters and Hummingbirds: An Expedition into Ecuador (1987) and William Bartram’s Travels (1980), and he is co-author of All In The Bones: A Biography of Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins (2008) and A Glorious Enterprise: The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and the Making of American Science (2012). Peck’s explorations have traced travel routes of several 18th- and 19th-century naturalists, including John James Audubon, William Bartram, John Muir and Henry David Thoreau. His research expeditions on behalf of The Academy of Natural Sciences have included Botswana, Ecuador, Guyana, Mongolia, Namibia, Nepal, Siberia, South Africa and Venezuela.

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Tim Stevens MN’89 and his 12 year old son Philip joined the crew of the Skipjack “Sigsbee” for a sailing adventure on the Chesapeake Bay for a week in Mid-August. Through the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, the crew received hands on experience in seamanship and navigation much like sailors in the late 18th and 19th century. There was further instruction in marine ecology, conservation and history on one of the last remaining skipjacks on the bay. A highlight of the program was a stopover at the Horn Point environmental research facility of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences where the crew participated in an oyster restoration project.

Michael Gasbarro MS’13 performed bacterial analysis to determine the water quality of Dead End Lagoons in NJ. The dense concentration of houses and recreational activity in coastal towns increases exposure to contamination from point and non-point bacterial and chemical sources. Test sites were located in southern New Jersey and focused on storm drains that empty into the dead end lagoon channels. Enterococci and Fecal Coliform bacteria were used as indicator organisms to predict human or animal waste contamination. Even though these bacteria are usually not harmful themselves, if there is fecal contamination other seriously pathogenic organisms could be present. Determinations were made whether the lagoons were safe for swimming according to EPA standards and elevated levels were reported to local water/health authorities. Many people use the lagoons to swim, kayak, paddleboard and boat. While shellfish beds and beaches are tested for fecal contamination by health authorities, the lagoons are not tested despite there being thousands of families living on the water and using the lagoons and bays as recreational areas. Residents of coastal communities could unknowingly expose themselves to bacterial contamination by swimming or boating in waters they consider to be their backyard.

Last August, Philadelphia Chapter member Dan Lieb, FN ’06 led an expedition to record the remains of the Coast Survey vessel “Robert J. Walker.” The diving portion of the expedition also included Explorer Club members Jim Delgado, Joe Fiorentino, Matt Partrick, Steve Nagiewicz, Mike Pizzio and Herb Segars. The crew, which include professional and amateur archaeologists, treasure-hunters, historians, salvors, and sport divers spent four days diving the wreck. Nominally, twelve divers made two dives a day lasting about a half hour on the bottom. All tolled, 48 hours were spent mapping, photographing and videoing the site. The data collected will be used to produce a drawing for commemorative plaques placed on the boardwalk opposite the wreck site in Atlantic City and at the nearby Absecon Lighthouse.

Filed Under: Logs

June 22, 2015 By admin

Dec 2014

Philadelphia Vice Chair Doug Soroka FN’06 and Lynn Kleina attended the Explorers Museum Inaugural Gala opening at Charlerville Castle Ireland in September. This is the ancestral home of distinguished explorer Charles Howard Bury who was the leader of the first Everest Reconnaissance Expedition in 1921. Co-founders Former EC President Lorie Karnath FI’89 and Tim Lavery gave opening remarks followed by a fire side chat with Dr. Terry Sharrer on the importance of museums with the vision of this institution. The Gala evening keynote speaker Sir Ranulph Fiennes spoke of his adventures as the first person to reach both the north and south poles by surface and the first person to cross Antarctica by foot.

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Photo #1 (628) Doug Soroka and Sir Ranulph Fiennes

Photo Credit – Lynn Kleina

 

The first Philadelphia Challenge coin was awarded to Dr. George Gephart CEO of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. Founded in 1812 the Academy is one of the oldest American museums and is situated in downtown Philadelphia.   The Chapter reestablished ties with the academy on areas of mutual interest in sharing speakers, expertise, and space. Chapter Chair A.J. Buddy Obara MN’08 with members Robert Peck FN’83, James Robinson MN’14 and Doug Soroka were treated to seeing a Bison skull donated by Buffalo Bill Cody a set of Oryx horns from Dr. Livingston and the Lewis and Clark mastodon jaw bone.

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Photo # 2 (004) Robert Peck, Buddy Obara presenting to George Gephart a Challenge Coin and Doug Soroka

Photo Credit – Jamie Robinson

 

The Philadelphia Chapter is proud to announce that Chapter Chair A.J.” Buddy” Obara MN’08 has been elected to receive the first Rolex Artist in Residence Award. This has been based on a lifetime of wildlife sculpture in Bronze and other mediums. Mr. Obara has produced over 275 works from his studio on the Brandywine River in Pa. Some have been acquired by several US Presidents, Royalty and many other works that reside in major museums, corporate and private collections around the world.   Buddy’s style is to render each animal in its natural habitat and capture the spirit and visceral mille- second that defines it. Mr. Obara will donate a bronze Emperor Penguin to The Explorers Club. He also intends to gather a list of artists, sculptors and photographers from which the Club may utilize specialized skills to document expeditions and enhance reporting via the fine arts.

 

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On Tuesday October 8th, 2013 The Philadelphia Chapter hosted in Center City Philadelphia – Dee Breger FN‘95, spoke about the Tonguska Blast in Russia in 1907. She was there on an expedition for the 100 year anniversary searching for fragments of the meteorite and investigating some of the local folk lore that has grown over the years.   This impact event was the largest blast in recorded earth history and it is estimated that over 80 million trees (830 sq. miles) were knocked down. We were allowed to view a tree cross section which may hold actual particles of the original meteorite.   Part of the presentation was the different ways that this event has woven its way into local culture through stories, art and interpretive dance.

 

Capt. Joel Fogel ME’73 was a guest speaker aboard the SOLSTICE of Celebrity Cruises and spoke about his various expeditions around the world.   He also observed bridge activities aboard the Mexican Navy Frigate El ARM Galeana (F-202) off the coast of the port of Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico.

 

In late October, Greg Vizzi, former Chapter Chair Doug Soroka FN ’06 and Capt. Fogel visited Hawk Mt., Hamburg PA to view the migrating hawks.

 

During Columbus Day Doug Soroka FN’06 spent the long weekend kayaking the small lakes and rivers in the northern area of the Adirondack Park New York.

Filed Under: Logs

June 22, 2015 By admin

Philadelphia Chapter member wins 2012 Lowell Thomas Award

Dear Chapter members,

it is with great pleasure that I am able to announce one of our chapter members, Dr. Bill Thomas FN’89, is the winner of the 2012 Lowell Thomas Award.  To be given at this year’s Lowell Thomas Awards Dinner in October, it was awarded for the first time on the occasion of the Club’s 75th anniversary, October 17, 1980, by Club President Charles F. Brush. On special occasions this award is presented by the President of The Explorers Club to groups of outstanding explorers. The achievements of each individual recipient contribute special distinction to the other recipients.  This year, Dr. Thomas was nominated by our own membership development coordinator and past chapter chair Capt. Joel S. Fogel.

Dr. Thomas is Director of the New Jersey School of Conservation. He has a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Arizona State University. His research interests include ethno-ecology, conservation and traditional ecological wisdom of indigenous people. Since1988, he has conducted ethno-ecological research in Papua New Guinea. He has been recognized by the United Nations for the development of research methodologies now recognized as one of the “Best Practices” in the use of indigenous knowledge.

Please join us on congratulating him on this lifetime achievement.  More information about his work can be found here:

http://www.montclair.edu/csam/nj-school-of-conservation/

Please keep an eye out in your inbox for news of upcoming events for the fall.  We plan on lecture meetings in September, November, January, and April with some other more informal parties mixed in between.

 

Thanks again,

The Board

Filed Under: Logs

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