News, ideas, questions, and observations from Willistown Conservation Trust Staff as we use local conservation to make a broad impact.

Honoring Bonnie’s Legacy and Looking to Willistown Conservation Trust’s Future

Monica McQuail / October 5, 2021

Within the ever growing area of Chester County lies a hidden swath of land that sits in stark contrast to...

Watershed

Flooding 102

Anna Willig / August 30, 2021

Flooding 102 Last week we looked at the basics of flooding, learning about what constitutes a flood and how floods...

Conservation Education Land Protection Science Watershed

Flooding 101

Anna Willig / August 23, 2021

As we approach the last few weeks of summer heat and humidity, we approach peak seasons for thunderstorms and flooding....

pollution

Conservation Education Land Protection Science Watershed

Shining a Light on a Different Type of Stream Pollution

Zach Smith / August 11, 2021

Lights are everywhere around us and have many uses, often at night, that benefit our health and safety. We put...

pollution

native wildflower meadow Nature Nature Preserves wildflower meadow

Wildflowers at our Nature Preserves

Mike Cranney / July 8, 2021

Across all of our preserves and properties, Willistown Conservation Trust boasts unique habitat supporting a wide variety of native wildflowers....

Native Plants native wildflower meadow Nature wildflower meadow

Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants

Andrew Kirkpatrick / July 6, 2021

Every time I walk into a nursery or big box store I feel a great temptation to purchase the prettiest...

Plastic Free July Science Watershed

Microplastic Pollution is No Small Problem

Zach Smith / June 30, 2021

By Zack Smith Mankind’s mass production and consumption of plastic has reached all corners of our globe, from the depths...

Plastic Free July Staff

Plastic Free July: Tips from the Trust

Monica McQuail / June 30, 2021

Planning Plastic Free Events This year, in honor of Plastic Free July, consider throwing a Plastic Free 4th of July...

Plastic Free July Watershed

Plastic Free July Resources

Watershed Protection Team / June 30, 2021

Watch A Plastic Ocean | You may remember this documentary from our film presentation - it's now available on Netflix!Plastic...

Plastic Free July Staff

WCT Goes Plastic Free!

Monica McQuail / June 30, 2021

This month of July, the entire staff of Willistown Conservation Trust is taking the challenge to go plastic free for...

Nature Science

Creek Week: Harmful Algae Blooms

Watershed Protection Team / June 25, 2021

The arrival of warm weather means summer is coming and peak swimming season is right around the corner. However, when...

Nature Science Watershed

Creek Week: Agricultural Grazing & Its Impact on Streams

Watershed Protection Team / June 24, 2021

Headwaters throughout the United States constantly face many pressures that threaten their integrity. New housing developments, new roads, yards and...

Nature Science Watershed

Creek Week: A Hidden Stream Engineer

Watershed Protection Team / June 24, 2021

Ecosystem engineers are species that change the habitats in which they live. In the Trust’s program area, one ecosystem engineer...

Nature Science Watershed

Creek Week: Crayfish Commotion

Watershed Protection Team / June 23, 2021

Chester County is home to some of the most beautiful landscapes on the east coast with its rolling hills, beautiful...

Nature Science Watershed

Creek Week: Beaver Business

Watershed Protection Team / June 22, 2021

In the middle of our spring tree planting, the Watershed Protection Team had quite the surprise when we spotted evidence...

Nature Science Watershed

Creek Week: The Trouble With Lawns

Watershed Protection Team / June 21, 2021

Few landscape features define American suburbia like the lawn. Drive through a neighborhood anywhere in the US and you are...

Conservation Land Protection Nature at Night Stewardship Uncategorized

Celebrating Preservation Month

Erik Hetzel / May 25, 2021

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF LAND CONSERVATION IN THE WILLISTOWN COUNTRYSIDE The Biden administration...

Conservation Nature at Night Uncategorized

Historic Sugartown & Willistown Conservation Trust: Where Preservation Meets Conservation

Communications Team / May 14, 2021

Historic Sugartown and Willistown Conservation Trust are teaming up to offer a program that explores the preservation of the 19th-century...

Uncategorized

Stream Exploration: Discovering Ridley Creek

Communications Team / April 23, 2021

Do you know what watershed you live in? Ridley Creek is a historically important waterway and continues to play a...

Stewardship Tree Planting Volunteers Watershed

The Power of Trees in a Watershed

Lauren McGrath / April 20, 2021

Trees that grow along waterways play a critical role in maintaining a healthy stream or river. Trees provide a huge...

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Citizen Science Watershed

Darby Creek Headwaters Monitoring Program

Lauren McGrath / April 14, 2021

The Watershed Protection Program has teamed up with Darby Creek Valley Association (DCVA) and Stroud Water Research Center to create...

Uncategorized

The Campaign for Rushton Woods Preserve

Tripp Way / April 14, 2021

THE NEED HAS NEVER BEEN GREATERFor over forty years, land conservation has been a primary focus of our mission resulting...

Native Plants Nature Nature at Night Nature Education Nature Preserves Stewardship Uncategorized

Nature at Night: Native Plants for Your Landscape

Communications Team / April 9, 2021

What if you treated your backyard as a piece of the larger mosaic of a habitat and added native plants...

Education Interns, Co-Ops

Willistown Conservation Trust Welcomes 12 Student Interns This Season

Communications Team / April 2, 2021

Internships are an integral part of Willistown Conservation Trust’s (WCT) work. Each year hardworking students join our team and bring...

Bird Banding Bird Conservation Stewardship Volunteers

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT: Joan Swirsky

Mike Cranney / March 30, 2021

Since the Willistown Conservation Trust (WCT) stewardship team began our weekly volunteer days last year, Joan has been our most...

Culinary Event

Sharpen Your Knife Skills for Spring Cooking!

Communications Team / March 22, 2021

We are thrilled to welcome chef Donna Laveran back to the Rushton Conservation Center and resume our sustainable cooking series!...

Bird Conservation Conservation Nature

American Woodcock

Tripp Way / March 22, 2021

American Woodcock. Photo by Mike Rosengarten. American Woodcock (Scolopax Minor) An Interview with Lisa Williams, Ruffed Grouse, American Woodcock, and Webless...

Bird Banding Bird Conservation Bird Events Nature at Night

Nature at Night: Ornithology 101 (Part 1&2)

Communications Team / March 19, 2021

Join Blake Goll, Education Programs Manager, for a virtual two-part session that introduces the study of birds. We will begin...

Women's History Month

The Wonderful Women of Willistown!

Kate Etherington / March 3, 2021

Celebrating Women in Conservation: Past, Present, and Future Willistown Conservation Trust Co-Founders Alice Hausmann and Bonnie Van Alen. This March...

Bird Banding Bird Conservation Bird ecology Bird Events Nature

For the Love of Birds

Blake Goll / February 26, 2021

Join Blake Goll, Education Programs Manager, for a virtual session that introduced birds through the lens of why we love them.

Bird Conservation, Birds

agroecology Farm Nature at Night Sustainable Agriculture

Nature at Night: Let’s Get Growing!

Kelsey Lingle / February 26, 2021

Join the Rushton Farm Staff for an informative look at starting seeds for the upcoming season. We will look at...

agroecology Farm Native Plants Nature Science

The Bees of Rushton Farm: A Pollinator Perspective on Willistown Conservation Trust & Environmental Education

Benjamin Reynard / February 13, 2021

One Sunny midsummer day in 2012 on Rushton Farm, the bees decided to swarm. Noah, a certified apiarist--and the sustainable...

Bird Conservation Conservation Flappy Hour

Flappy Hour: Black Vultures in the Backyard

Kelsey Lingle / January 15, 2021

We are excited to welcome Bracken Brown, Biologist-Naturalist at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, to join us and discuss the Black Vulture....

Conservation Lunch & Learn Science Watershed

Road Salt and Its Impact on Fresh Water

Evan Hunt / January 12, 2021

As winter quickly approaches so does the threat of salt pollution. Since the 1940s, salt has been the number one...

Stewardship

Winter Solstice

Andrew Kirkpatrick / December 21, 2020

Solar system planets set. The Sun and planets in a row on the universe stars background. Elements of this image...

Bird Banding Bird Conservation

Celebrating 11 Years of Bird Banding at Rushton Woods Preserve

Blake Goll / December 16, 2020

Established in 2009 with a grant from the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club (DVOC), our banding station has been a huge success over the years...

Bird banding, bird banding data, bird migration

Uncategorized

A New Path Forward – Our Statement on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Communications Team / December 4, 2020

Dear Friends, It has been nearly six months since I wrote to you about the tragic death of George Floyd...

Uncategorized

Giving Thanks to the Okehocking People

Mike Cranney / November 23, 2020

With Thanksgiving approaching, it is an appropriate time to reflect upon our connection with the indigenous people who first lived...

Uncategorized

Flappy Hour: Secrets of the Saw-whet Owl

Communications Team / November 13, 2020

The Trust has been studying the populations of this small migratory owl for the past 10 years as part of...

Conservation Land Protection Nature Preserves Trails

Kirkwood Sign Dedication

Erik Hetzel / November 4, 2020

Fifteen years ago, the 83-acre Kirkwood Preserve was established thanks to a public/private partnership that included Willistown Conservation Trust, Willistown...

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