🥵 Cool for the summer | Outdoorsy Newsletter

My friends and family call me the “queen of hydration” because I constantly — sometimes annoyingly — remind them to drink water. It’s an ironic crown to bear, considering I also need the reminder at times.

Aside from some people seeming to be hydrophobic, there’s the issue of access to clean drinking water. Remember the Delaware River chemical spill in March? It was during that crisis that I learned the Pennsylvania Constitution states people have a right to pure water.

It’s important to stay hydrated in order to function on a daily basis, but it’s especially crucial during the brutal summer months. Before you take on any adventure outdoors, water should be at the top of your checklist. (Bonus points for emotional support bottles.)

📮 Do you struggle to drink water regularly? What’s #1 on your outdoorsy checklist? Tell me about your experience by emailing me back.

Today, I’m sharing ways to cool off in the heat, but we’ll also dig into a bit of history about our drinking water, and learn how to photograph prime shots of wildlife. Grab your H₂O and let’s go.

⛅ Your weekend weather outlook: Expect some scattered showers and temps in the mid- to high 80s.

Editor’s note: a previous version of this newsletter spelled the photographer’s name incorrectly in one instance. He is Anwar Abdul-Qawi.

— Paola Pérez (@pdesiperez, outdoorsy@inquirer.com)

Heat waves are no joke, and neither are summers in our region.

I’m a Florida girl, born and raised in the Dominican Republic, so I’m used to blazing hot, tropical weather. This scorching sun is something else!

Heat waves (three or more straight days with temps reaching 90° or higher) occur at least once a summer. Experts say they are becoming more frequent and enduring. This week, Earth saw its hottest day on record, and summer is just getting started. Ouch.

Forecasters are closely monitoring conditions to see if we’re entering our first official heat wave of the year. Soaring temps are certainly in store, so here’s a quick rundown on how to stay cool in Philadelphia:

🧊 Find a pool or sprayground. There are 61 public pools open for the summer in Philly. Check this map to find one near you and see operating times before you go. New Jersey’s State Park Service has this list of state parks, forests and recreation areas with lakes and beaches open for swimming.

🧊 Stop by cooling centers. They will be open when the city declares a heat emergency. Some Philly libraries also become spaces where people can go to escape the hot sun, and use other amenities. Get details on NJ’s cooling centers here.

🧊 Know the signs of heat exhaustion. Untreated dehydration can contribute to heatstroke, reduced blood pressure, fainting, and seizures. There’s also hotline to get help from nurses from the city’s Health Department. Call 215-765-9040, between noon to 8 p.m.

🧊 Other major tips: Drink water (seriously, hydration is your best friend — do not wait till you’re thirsty!), look for shade, wear light colors, and check on relatives and friends to make sure their fans and ACs are working.

Get more details on everything you need to know to weather this season.

🎤 Now I’m passing the microphone to Jason Nark. You’ll always find his work here.

Animal parts, raw sewage, and a noxious brew of dangerous chemicals poured into Philadelphia’s rivers on a daily basis back in the late 1800s. It was the height of the Industrial Revolution, and city officials were ready to abandon the Schuylkill as a source of drinking water. “At one point, you could smell the rivers from City Hall,” said Arthur M. Holst, author and retired Philadelphia Water Department employee. “It was disgusting.”

Joseph Wharton, one of the city’s wealthiest industrialists, had a plan. Wharton, the founder of the Wharton School, had settled into a quieter life among the cranberry bogs in New Jersey’s Pine Barrens, where he owned 150 square miles of that sandy, seemingly worthless land. The Cohansey Aquifer, its 17 trillion gallons of water among the purest in America, sat beneath it.

Holst, author of the article “Water for Philadelphia: Joseph Wharton and the Pine Barrens,” believed the businessman knew his water was valuable. With the city ready to seize part of his estate in Philadelphia to build a reservoir, Wharton proposed building a series of canals and lakes from the Pine Barrens, channeling the water west, into a pipe that would cross beneath the Delaware, into Philadelphia. — Jason Nark

Keep reading on why lawmakers opposed this idea, and what happened next.

When I’m in nature, I find myself wishing I could immortalize what I’m seeing into a tangible photograph. Like I could press a button, and then save a printed image of what I just saw right in front of me.

That’s obviously not possible (...yet). But using our devices is the easiest way to capture beauty all around us.

That’s why I want to introduce you to Anwar Abdul-Qawi. He’s the animal programs manager at Drexel University’s Academy of Natural Sciences, and he’s got a special eye for capturing Philadelphia wildlife.

Curious about the city’s creatures, he started photographing anything he could find — pigeons, squirrels, geese — on his phone during nature walks. His work was featured in the Academy’s “Conversations With Birds” exhibit in May.

Adbul-Qawi hopes more people get outside to explore and take pictures of the rich wildlife all around them. That gorgeous picture of the wood duck above? He took that at Valley Green.

“This is a really beautiful bird,” he said. “You can see the green head crest, the beautiful red chest with white spots.”

How does Abdul-Qawi do it? Keep reading as he walks us through how he got one of his favorite shots in this fun interactive feature.

Last week, we followed fireflies to find out what’s up with the lightning bugs. Their numbers are in decline globally, but researchers are unsure why.

I asked my Outdoorsy readers for special firefly memories, and you certainly delivered. Here’s one from Ryley Wilson of Chester County, Pa.:

“I grew up in suburban Missouri where even now my parents yard is pretty filled with them every summer. My brother and I would catch multiple and put them in a jar with a small twig and some leaves and then we’d sleep on the living room floor with the jar between us. At some point in the night my parents would get the jar and release the fireflies back into the yard. Additionally at my grandmother’s farm you can routinely see fireflies in the thousands lighting up the fields and making the edges of the woods twinkle. It’s probably the most beautiful sight I have under appreciated.”

Heartwarming and sweet. Thank you for sharing that twinkly moment with us, Ryley.

📮 Give us a review of your outdoors experience for a chance to be featured in this newsletter by emailing me back.

I’m off to celebrate my birthday. Take care — and hydrate!!!