WILLISTOWN CONSERVATION TRUST

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Welcome to the Willistown Conservation Trust Blog

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

Uncategorized

Plastic Free July 2022: Will You Join the Challenge?

Monica McQuail / July 1, 2022
During the last couple of years, and especially during the heights of the pandemic, we have witnessed a drastic increase...
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Education Interns, Co-Ops

Meet WCT’s 2022 Seasonal Interns

Communications Team / June 29, 2022
Internships are an integral part of Willistown Conservation Trust’s (WCT) work. Each year hardworking students join our team and bring...
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Nature Science Watershed

The Tale of Two Streams

Anna Willig / June 25, 2022
Every four weeks, the Watershed Protection Program heads over to East Goshen to visit two branches of Ridley Creek near...
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Nature Watershed

A Cycle of Give and Take

Watershed Protection Team / June 24, 2022
Within our streams, there are many players that work to create a functioning, thriving ecosystem. From the tall trees that...
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Nature Watershed

Dragonflies: Nature’s Most Successful Predator

Watershed Protection Team / June 23, 2022
With their flashy colors, compound eyes, and two sets of wings, dragonflies can be found in abundance, flying around wetlands...
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Nature Watershed

Beavers Beyond the Dam

Watershed Protection Team / June 22, 2022
Beavers are known and loved as one of North America’s favorite stream architects. With historic removals of these lovely creatures,...
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Nature Watershed

Wetlands & Bogs: Aquatic Ecosystems Undercover

Watershed Protection Team / June 21, 2022
Wetlands are a critical ecosystem in the protection of our watersheds. But what are wetlands exactly? They are just as...
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Nature Watershed

Welcome to Willistown Conservation Trust’s 2022 Creek Week Sponsored by Aqua!

Lauren McGrath / June 20, 2022
Established in 2017 through a generous grant from the William Penn Foundation, the Watershed Protection Program Team has been working...
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Conservation Land Protection Nature Stewardship

Advocacy Alert! PA Growing Greener Would Invest Millions in Conservation and Outdoor Recreation

Monica McQuail / June 1, 2022
Dear Friends and Neighbors, Currently, there is a proposal in the Pennsylvania General Assembly called Growing Greener 3, and its funding affects...
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Education Nature Rushton Nature Keepers

Rushton Nature Keepers: Inspiring tomorrow’s conservationists

Blake Goll / May 31, 2022
In the midst of today’s chaotic pace and uncertainty, children need more than ever those timeless moments in nature...
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environmentaleducation, kidsandnature
Conservation Education Film Land Protection Nature Preserves Photography

Step Back in Time with Owen McGoldrick

Monica McQuail / May 24, 2022
All photos are currently on display and for sale in the Rushton Conservation Center, May 17 - August 28. INTRODUCTION...
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Conservation Land Protection

WCT Update: Promising News about Kirkwood Farm

Kate Etherington / April 14, 2022
Dear Friends and Neighbors, Last month, I shared with you that Kirkwood Farm — a 218-acre parcel in the heart...
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Uncategorized

Rushton Woods Banding Station Annual Songbird Banding Report 2021

Bird Conservation Team / April 7, 2022
By Alison Fetterman, Bird Conservation Associate & Northeast Motus Project Manager and Blake Goll, Education Programs Manager In April 2021,...
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Uncategorized

Open Space and Water Quality | Lessons Learned from Three Years of Stream Monitoring

Watershed Protection Team / April 7, 2022
By Anna Willig, Watershed Conservation Associate and Lauren McGrath, Director of Watershed Protection Program Since 2018, the Watershed Protection Program...
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Conservation Land Protection

WCT Update on Rock Hill Farm

Kate Etherington / March 18, 2022
Dear Friends and Neighbors, I am writing to you once again with another important land protection update.  As many of...
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agroecology Farm Interns, Co-Ops Staff

Women in Agriculture: Testimonials from Rushton Farmers

Molly Clark / March 7, 2022
In honor of Women's History Month, we are going to hear from the women farmers -- previous staff, interns, and...
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agroecology Farm

Women in Agriculture: The Future of Sustainable Farming

Molly Clark / March 7, 2022
Women’s history month is an excellent time to draw attention to the significant, yet historically underappreciated, role that women play...
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Native Plants native wildflower meadow Nature Stewardship

Rethinking Lawns: Fighting Climate Change with Native Plants

Monica McQuail / February 28, 2022
By Monica McQuail, Willistown Conservation Trust Communications Specialist Photos by Blake Goll, Willistown Conservation Trust Education Programs Manager With the...
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Conservation Land Protection

WCT Update on Kirkwood Farm

Kate Etherington / February 24, 2022
Dear Friends and Neighbors, For over 25 years, land protection has been the core of Willistown Conservation Trust’s (WCT) mission....
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Bird Banding Bird Conservation

The Rhythm of Winged Creatures

Blake Goll / February 9, 2022
Rushton Farm Bird Banding Station | Annual Year in Review 2021
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Bird banding, Bird Conservation, migration, regenerative farming, songbirds
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Creek Week: Harmful Algae Blooms
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...
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Creek Week: Agricultural Grazing & Its Impact on Streams
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...
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Creek Week: A Hidden Stream Engineer
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...
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Creek Week: Crayfish Commotion
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...
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Creek Week: Beaver Business
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...
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Creek Week: The Trouble With Lawns
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...
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Celebrating Preservation Month
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...
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Historic Sugartown & Willistown Conservation Trust: Where Preservation Meets Conservation
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...
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Stream Exploration: Discovering Ridley Creek
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...
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The Power of Trees in a Watershed
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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Darby Creek Headwaters Monitoring Program
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...
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The Campaign for Rushton Woods Preserve
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...
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Nature at Night: Native Plants for Your Landscape
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...
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Willistown Conservation Trust Welcomes 12 Student Interns This Season
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...
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VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT: Joan Swirsky
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...
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Sharpen Your Knife Skills for Spring Cooking!
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!...
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American Woodcock
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...
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Nature at Night: Ornithology 101 (Part 1&2)
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...
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The Wonderful Women of Willistown!
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...
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For the Love of Birds
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.
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Bird Conservation, Birds
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OUR NATURE PRESERVES

Our nature preserves are open to the public 365 days per year from sunrise to sunset, providing natural places that offer peace and respite for all. Willistown Conservation Trust owns and manages three nature preserves in the Willistown area - Ashbridge, Kirkwood and Rushton Woods Preserve. We maintain these lands for the … Learn more about our nature preserves.

Upcoming Events

07 July

Stewardship Volunteer Thursdays

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13 July
Rushton Farm

“Just Show Up” Volunteer Wednesdays at Rushton Farm

911 Delchester Rd, Newtown Square, PA

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14 July

Stewardship Volunteer Thursdays

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Invest in Nature! ENGAGE CONNECT SPONSOR LEAVE A LEGACY   If you would like to make a gift of securities, such as stocks, bonds, or mutual fund shares, please contact us at 610-353-2562 for instructions. For more information on … Donate Today

CONTACT

925 Providence Road
Newtown Square, PA 19073
(610) 353-2562
land@wctrust.org

OUR STORY

Willistown Conservation Trust's mission is to: "preserve and manage the open land, rural character, … read more

WHERE WE WORK

The work of the Willistown Conservation Trust is concentrated on 28,000 acres of Willistown Township … read more

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