It’s all about the light, say the physicists. Everything we perceive as solid matter is nothing but gravitationally trapped forms of light energy. As Fred Alan Wolf, aka, Dr. Quantum explained in an e-mail, all matter is made from two forms of light he calls luxons. "God’s command: ‘Let there be light,’ writes Wolf, “now takes on a new meaning: everything is made of luxons—we are all made of luxons and the universe is a light show on a grand scale.” 

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This gallery celebrates a small part of the big cosmic show as seen in a place on planet Earth called White Clay Creek Preserve, a popular nature refuge on the outskirts of Newark, Delaware. Every year thousands of people seek the sanctity and beauty of the White Clay Creek watershed while fishing, hiking, running, biking, canoeing, birdwatching, or just enjoying the peace and quiet of the woods. Runners and walkers like it here because it’s shady and relatively cool in the summer and the soft dirt trails are easy on the knees. Fly fishermen value the preserve for the abundance of game fish and many photographers and painters deem the area a rich aesthetic resource. Art critic Robert Hughes once said, “The basic use of art is to provide oases in a fallen world.” For visual artists, White Clay Creek Preserve can be just that — an oasis of light.

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The entire preserve now exceeds 5,000 acres thanks to the efforts of Dorthy P. Miller and the local community of dedicated activists. Pennsylvania White Clay Creek Preserve and Delaware White Clay Creek State Park comprise a wild and scenic watershed rich in flora and fauna with more than 500 native plant species, 500 wildflowers, including nine native orchids, and trees such as beeches, oaks, sycamores and tulip poplars. Fish are also abundant throughout the watershed, which is habitat for over two dozen freshwater and saltwater species. 

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The Preserve is valuable for significant economic reasons as well. According to the University of Delaware Institute for Public Administration Water Resources Agency, “The water, natural resources and ecosystems of the watershed contribute an economic value as high as $1billion annually to the economies of Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland.”