A lovely surprise #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration

#PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration

Grafted pawpaws in sterile patches. In theory, these will bear fruit in a few years which will help them grow and spread. There’s a mix of cultivars and wild stock from the vicinity #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration

Hey butterflies! Come see me talk about butterflies! #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration
#ukelele
#banjolele maps.app.goo.gl/MuGbWCUYMxet...

#ZebraSwallowtailTrails #pawpawpathways #pittsburghpawpawpathways #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration

I’m, not dead, I should be in Pittsburgh #Frankblack #reidpaley #Pixies #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration #ukelele TikTok video by Gobbism

Here’s a song that I sing daily that is like a prayer #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration
#ukelele www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8jmJ3tM/

here we go! #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration

This butterfly is a result of a stray that came from somewhere close to Greensburg that landed in Greenfield.

It’s happening! This is a very, very rare butterfly in Pittsburgh thank you @laughingmantis.bsky.social #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration

A big thank you to all who came to my fireside last night. There was no fire due to rain but I told the story inside #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration
#ukelele

Hey Butterflies! Come sit by a fire, have some beer and hear the story of the zebra swallowtail & its history in Pgh and beyond 1130 S Braddock Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15218 #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration #ukelele

Ai isn’t all bad. I was at a function where I googled some people that I met and decided to google myself. Here’s an AI result. #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration

I love this view of the zebra swallowtail because it shows its spoilers. Butterfly wings are not 2 dimensional!

I wrote an article that is a valentine to NYC because I am writing a book about my work in Pittsburgh. Any ideas of publishers in the NYC area? #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration
#NYCzebraswallowtail

Just some zebra swallowtails i posted to TikTok a while ago #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration

COMMUNITY HAPPY HOUR - Paw Paws and Zebratails Few people are as passionate as Gabrielle Marsden when it comes to the Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly. Once common in Pittsburgh, loss of habitat and pollution are the primary reasons for its disappearan...

Do you like fire, beer and butterflies? Well I’ve got just the thing for you! #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration 3riversoutdoor.com/blogs/events...

Nipper helped supervise the construction. I specifically designed it to start pawpaw seedlings and to house canoes, both of which are necessary for the restoration of the zebra swallowtail. I used hooped cattle panels and reflectix insulation. To keep the critters out it is encased in hard cloth. This also helps with the structure.

My first canoe is a duosport 13 of carbon Kevlar construction. This has been indispensable for my work. It has seen all of the local rivers here. Slipstream Watercraft is the company that built this canoe for me.

Pawpaw seedlings from a dozen or so unique wild locations in the Pittsburgh area. They get partial sun which is what pawpaws need when they start. In addition they are raised on benches a foot above the ground to prevent Asian jumping worm infestations. As I plant these out in the wild I do not want to spread them.

The roof is from an old billboard. It’s the most cost effective durable way to go and I’m recycling! GO STEELERS! Hey, I am in Pittsburgh so i must be a Steelers fan!

I few years ago I built a shed to house canoes and pawpaw seedlings. #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration

Tacquería El Mariachi is very good! Pittsburgh is finally getting better Mexican food!

There are a bunch of clean brick piles there. I need to look into the history

Here’s one of my trees! It’s still just a whip but soon it will soar!

Plum Creek

A few highlights from yesterday. I wanted to see how the pawpaws that Oakmont got from me were doing. It’s been 11 months since they were planted. #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration

Monongahela River where the zebra swallowtail definitely flies. The river is lovely here

I have seen 4 beavers on the Monongahela, 1 in Pittsburgh proper, one by Homestead and 4 very close to where I found this piece of handiwork

A railroad bridge next to Friendship Hill

A long dismantled lock.

The Monongahela a bit upstream of Pittsburgh. This is absolutely amazing! If you have a boat that you paddle, come here! #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration

I think this is Duncan Run on the Youghiogheny. I saw a baby turtle there. This is under the Great Allegheny Passage.

This is Chartiers Creek where we did a clean up with Allegheny Cleanways

I think this is Girty’s Run in Millvale.

In the background is the Rankin Bridge. This is on the GAP trail and is the spot that made me decide that I had to get a boat if I wanted to restore pawpaws to this area. This had been a railroad yard and as you can see, the pioneer plants are a bit stunted as there’s not a lot of soil to grow on but they are persevering

Did a search for bridges and picked a few at random. Bridges are very important and everywhere in the Pittsburgh area. See alt text for more info #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration

On this section I paddle just onto this map. You can see Kennywood from the river here. It’s in this area that I found honeyvine, a host plant for the monarch butterfly growing

This book has descriptions of bridges and locks

Note the detailed descriptions HOMESTEAD GRAYS HIGHWAY BRIDGE CHANNEL SPAN MLE 7.25 VEERA COCANNES A POCK STAGE 612: • AT SPRING UNC. 19.5 CLEAR, AT E CSX TRANS. (HOT METAL) RALROAD BRIDGE CHANNEL SPAN 250.0 UNION RAILROAD BRIDGE CHANNEC SPAN VLE 9.25 ELEVATION OF LOw AT POO. STACE HORIZONTAL CLEARANORE OF SPAN 508+ CROSSING AERIAL POWER CROSSINGS ELEVATION CLEARANCE 84.7 74.0" MR. 16. 200 RANKIN HIGHWAY BRIDGE CHANNEL SPAN 938 SAT POOL STACE 45.0: HORCONTAL CLEARANCE ArL. 1s CE AT 803.23 BRIDGE SCALE 冬 ELEVATIONS LOOKING DOWNSTREAM

This really is one of my favorite stretches to paddle on. However, Nine Mile Run frequently fails E. coli tests so I monitor sewage overflows before heading out. If you want to go out on the river I can take you. This is my test stretch because it is close to home. I tend to let my co-pilot guide how long we’re out and how hard we paddle. I like to go slow and on this stretch I usually go ashore at Whitaker, AKA White Acre, and Homestead Run. I also like to practice playing my ukulele. This stretch has the site of the battle of Homestead when the Pinkertons came up on barges by the CSX Railroad Bridge.

I spend a lot of time on our rivers. Todd found this book, Monongahela River Charts for free online that’s useful. #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration #canoe

I believe that in one or more of the unclaimed green spaces in the map that pawpaws grow. I intend to find them. It’s those super steep spaces that keep our remnant pawpaws. #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration

They made pipes there

A puddle

Like many riverfront places, there’s a tunnel leading under the railroad tracks that you can walk through that allows water to flow, in this case Dead Man’s Run. The water here is excessively high because of the dismantling of the Elizabeth Dam. Coal barges pass frequently through that stretch of the Monongahela. The water levels left coal barges bottoming out so they needed to dredge the river and keep the barges lighter than usual. A temporary solution is keeping the water level high. This is on the Youghiogheny though!

Dead Man’s Hollow Conservation Area is a favorite place. Note the flooded tunnel #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh

Graffiti under 22 by Thompson Run

Thompson Run polluted

Thompson Run old bridge

Violet, sorry, not sure what species

Today I decided to post things from a specific area. This is around Monroeville on a secret trail. There are pawpaws here that appear to be wild
#PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration

Forgotten Fruit - A Documentary Film About Pawpaws Help fund a feature documentary about North America's largest native, edible fruit—the pawpaw! | Check out 'Forgotten Fruit - A Documentary Film About Pawpaws' on Indiegogo.

Help get this film done! www.indiegogo.com/projects/for... #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration #filmmaker

So far people are NOT clamoring for me to play my instrument. This is a banjolele

I figured out a way to safely transport these together

My ukuleles and banjolele are fine in the water

Of course all of them are decorated with a likeness of the zebra swallowtail

My 2 ukuleles and my banjolele. Can’t play or sing well, but I do have one propaganda song for the zebra swallowtail—I’m not dead, I should be in Pittsburgh #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration
#ukelele #banjolele

Pipevine swallowtail Battus philenor, hand reared release

Zebra swallowtail Eurytides marcellus hand reared

Eastern tiger swallowtail Papilio glaucus, in the wild, maybe on the Monongahela River

Hyalophora cecropia, hand reared

Here’s a few butterflies and a moth. Habitat restoration is the way to go but sometimes hand rearing can give them a boost #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration

Some zebra swallowtails that I raised last year. This would have been impossible without @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social who saw what I thought was impossible in his backyard #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration

Monongahela cat pipe

Monongahela unregulated sewage

Brush Creek tailings from Tinkers Run

Perry Mill Run, County Corner

Waterways are often routed under roads, railroads, mills, and cities. #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration #waterways #tunnel

Monongahela River

Pawpaws in the wild

Button bush, food of the mastodon

Water willow, prettiest flower you never noticed

There’s a place I call Conflict Cove because it’s close to Friendship Hill. You may only reach it from the water. Pawpaws grow, and the zebra swallowtail flies there. #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration

Youghiogheny River

Pawpaw tree

Pawpaw leaf

Broken trowel

There are pawpaws growing on the Great Allegheny Passage in Buena Vista. A few years ago I added a couple trees to increase their chances of fruiting. Many patches seldom fruit #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration

Before the long winter started, I hiked by Point Marion, a place where pawpaws are plentiful and the zebra swallowtail still flies #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration