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

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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....

Bird Banding Bird Conservation

The Rhythm of Winged Creatures

Blake Goll / February 9, 2022

Rushton Farm Bird Banding Station | Annual Year in Review 2021

Bird banding, Bird Conservation, migration, regenerative farming, songbirds

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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...

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...