The late Paula Sculley had a vision for an outdoor space in Sewickley Heights. She convinced G. Whitney Snyder Sr. to donate property to the Sewickley Heights borough in 1997, a gift of land that created the opportunity for outdoor and educational experiences at the Fern Hollow Nature Center.
Sculley was the founder and the first board president of the Fern Hollow Nature Center. Though she died in 2017, her legacy will live on.
A generous gift of $500,000 in her memory was donated by her husband, David Sculley, and his wife, Christa and the entire family. The announcement of the money to help with the current capital campaign for improvements to Fern Hollow was made Dec. 2 at Bar Noel Sewickley, a holiday pop-up bar inside Mi Cita bar and lounge.
Sculley was a passionate conservationist and horticulturist who served as president of the Garden Club of Allegheny County, where she co-founded Botany-In-Action, an organization dedicated to conserving plants and indigenous botanical knowledge worldwide.
She also co-founded Pizzazz, a boutique shopping event that raises money for the Garden Club of Allegheny County’s many projects, with Susan Boyle.
Sculley also served on the boards of Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Oakland and the Amazon Conservation Team.
Her obituary asked that, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to the Fern Hollow Nature Center.
David Sculley said his late wife was involved in nature her entire life.
“She loved nature and would be a little embarrassed for being recognized,” he said. “She was a modest lady and the most remarkable woman. She is so deserving of this and would love that Fern Hollow has been so successful.”
He recalled her as a nature guide at Sewickley Creek and how Snyder was inspired by her idea. He said she had a long illness that took her eyesight, but she never complained and was always concerned about how others were doing.
The nature center, which serves more than 10,000 visitors each year, is housed in an original Sears and Roebuck prefabricated house. That and the surrounding space need to be updated.
Plans include two new classrooms with indoor and outdoor access that are more accommodating for everyone and allow for more people. The Sculley family will be naming one of the new classrooms “Paula’s Workshop.”
There will also be a meeting room, a rooftop garden and bioswales — landscape features that replace traditional concrete gutters to remove debris.
“Fern Hollow Nature Center is near and dear to my heart,” said board member Anthony Roppa, who also owns Bar Noel. “This new addition is going to be spectacular.”
Roppa, a Quaker Valley High School graduate who lives in Sewickley Heights, recalled many walks on the Fern Hollow grounds with his wife Danielle when they were dating. The couple and their daughters, Caralee, 7, and Juliet, 4, and the family’s goldendoodle Malfi spend many days at the nature center.
“So many people have helped us get to this point,” Roppa said. “We’re going down this journey of building this fantastic new addition that will help educate thousands of students in this community and throughout the Greater Pittsburgh area.”
Board member Francye Kinney, the liaison with Sewickley Heights Borough, read the announcement about the donation to 60 guests.
“This gift honors a legacy of a person who had an unwavering vision to create a nature center,” Kinney said. “Paula was about making positive change and creating awareness. She understood the importance of getting out in nature and learning about the natural gifts we’ve been entrusted with for our benefit.”
In addition to the Sculley gift, Fern Hollow received an $84,000 grant from the state of Pennsylvania.
State Rep. Valerie Gaydos said she talked with Fern Hollow’s executive director Sam Capezzuto three years ago about what was important for the center.
“We hope there will be more (grants),” Gaydos said. “I’ve spent a lot of time at the nature center. I want to thank all the board members for their steadfast focus on getting the center done.”
To date, the campaign has raised $1.8 million and has a goal of $2.5 million.
When Capezzuto heard about the gift and the grant, she said it brought tears to her eyes.
“We just moved up almost $600,000 in a matter of a month,” Capezzuto said. “Paula and her family have just been so instrumental in making sure Fern Hollow is something that will be here for Paula’s great, great, great, great grandchildren. She was just this sweet, modest little lady, but her force and her power and determination were bigger than life.”
The nature center serves more than 10,000 visitors each year with a variety of programs for all ages, nature walks and community events, as well as educational programming for local schools specifically aligned with their curricula, Capezzuto said.
The groundbreaking is set for the first quarter of 2026 and it should be ready later in the year, Capezzuto said.
“We will have the most gorgeous community and nature center in the world,” Capezzuto said. “Fern Hollow is more than a nature center. It is a place where the community comes and gathers and has their birthday parties and other events. This money is a game changer.”