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

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...

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

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Watershed

Clean Water Science Pioneer – Ruth Patrick

Watershed Protection Team / May 13, 2020

Dr. Ruth Patrick was one of the most important scientists to study freshwater systems. She was a pioneer when it...

Bird Banding Bird Conservation Motus

Moving Targets

Communications Team / April 29, 2020

If you’ve ever run a 10K, a marathon, or a turkey trot, you’ve probably pinned a bib to your shirt...

Conservation General Nature

Seeking the Healing Power of Nature on Earth Day

Bonnie Van Alen / April 22, 2020

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.-John Muir In 1970, millions of Americans pledged to...

Stewardship Volunteers

Stewardship Volunteer Program

Mike Cranney / April 20, 2020

We hope to resume weekly volunteer sessions at our preserves in June.

agroecology Farm Sustainable Agriculture

Plants Want to Live

Fred De Long / April 20, 2020

Plants want to live...

farm, greenhouse, regenerative farming, Rushton Farm, sustainable farming

Bird Banding Bird Conservation

How the Trust Helps Birds

Communications Team / April 20, 2020

How is a small land trust like Willistown Conservation Trust helping the global effort to help birds? Take a look...

Stewardship Watershed

Marvelous Macroinvertebrates

Watershed Protection Team / April 20, 2020

Watch this video webinar of Lauren McGrath, Director of Watershed Protection, to learn more about the secrets of stream insects...

Bird Banding Bird Conservation migration Motus

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Provides Grant to Track Species of Greatest Concern in Northeast

Bird Conservation Team / April 20, 2020

A major grant gives wings to NE Motus Collaboration.

American Kestrel, Bird banding, Conservation, Monarch butterfly, Motus Wildlife Tracking, nanotag

Nature Nature Education Rushton Nature Keepers

Nature Escapes for Kids: Create Your Own Headdress

Blake Goll / April 9, 2020

Role playing is such a wonderful way for children to mentally escape and be transported to a different time and place.

environmental education, kids and nature, nature activities, nature education, nature headdresses, nature play, rushton nature keepers

Interns, Co-Ops Watershed

Meet Our Newest Watershed Team Members

Watershed Protection Team / April 8, 2020

The Watershed Protection Program is thrilled to introduce the newest members of our team: Evan Hunt, Jules Smith and Zack...

Bird Conservation Rushton Conservation Center

Designing the Future of Motus

Bird Conservation Team / April 6, 2020

Birds are on the ropes in our rapidly changing world. One recent report suggests that North America’s bird populations have declined...

Nature Nature Education Rushton Nature Keepers

Nature Escapes for Kids: Healing Forest Art Walk

Blake Goll / March 26, 2020

"The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls. "

art and nature, forest walk, healing forest, nature activities, nature and kids, nature art, rushton nature keepers

Nature Nature Education Rushton Nature Keepers

Nature Escapes for Kids: Building Toad Abodes and Heart Space

Blake Goll / March 24, 2020

In doing something as simple as building a place for a toad to rest his head, a child is actually creating a healing space in his/her heart to return to as an adult.

children and nature, nature activities, nature education, nature play, rushton nature keepers, toad abodes