Life on the Basking Ramps
Photos by Alyssa Mattei, Zoe Finney, Xianwei Zeng
Our basking sites are key to multiple animals livelihood within the reservoir. This lake lacks natural shorelines due to the man-made structure, making it difficult for wading and diving birds to perch, or for our turtles to sunbathe and thermoregulate. With the help of fellows, interns, and students from other universities, we now have three basking sites in the reservoir, visited by animals everyday.
July 2025: Our AWE Fellow Alejandro lead the volunteer initiative of creating our first basking ramp to support bigger, wading birds like our great blue herons or Canada geese. The ramp was treated with a seed oil to delay decay, and supported with plastic bottles for buoyancy. Check out the ramp with binoculars on the water walk, or along the trail during the Winter time.
Turtle Ramps built by Villanova Students
April 2024: VU Urban Ecology class conducted a restoration project of creating a turtle basking site to help support wildlife near our boating ramp. See what life it supports during our future Canoe and Conservation programs. Read more here!
Our first basking ramp!
July 2023: Our AWE fellow Su tackled our lack of structure within the reservoir and created our first ramp for turtles and birds. Visit in the Spring and Summer time to see our turtles and cormorants use this tool.
Included in this picture is our new waterwalk sign created by ‘25 AWE fellow Alejandro, and fabricated by Fresh Artists.