Harrisburg Campus Nature Trail

A nature trail on what was previously a City dumping area was also created by the Facilities staff at Harrisburg.  This nature trail is adjacent to and complements the locally renowned Wildwood Lake Sanctuary - a haven for countless species of flora and fauna, especially migrating water fowl. The trail provides a pleasant walking path and is a living educational laboratory with native wildflowers including milkweed, ironweed, and eupatorium; and fauna such as fox, deer, and groundhogs; and insects such as bees and the Monarch butterfly.

The trail is lined with bird boxes designed to encourage population of various cavity nesting birds such as:

• Eastern Bluebirds
• Tree Swallows
• Chickadees
• Prothonotary Warblers.

The Prothonotary Warbler, in particular, has suffered habitat loss in recent years and is considered endangered in Canada. Since the establishment of the bird boxes, the rarer Prothonotary Warbler has been seen and heard along the trail.

Due to the success of the nature trail, an increase in the number of bluebirds has created a need to erect additional bluebird boxes throughout campus. Several bee hives, constructed by a faculty member are now producing honey.

The HACC campus at Harrisburg is classified as an arboretum and, with the nature trail, is a part of the Capital Area Greenbelt which surrounds Pennsylvania's capital city of Harrisburg.