WILLISTOWN CONSERVATION TRUST

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Meet our Watershed Protection Program co-ops!

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Each summer, Willistown Conservation Trust hosts students who are pursuing degrees related to the conservation work we do here. We asked Maddy and Kacy, co-ops in our Watershed Protection Program, each a series of 5 questions. Here are their responses… Stay tuned for posts about other students working at the Trust this summer.

Kacy Reitnauer (l) and Maddy Sabo (r) – Behind them is a trap Maddy is using to study differences in insect habitat.

Kacy Reitnauer – Drexel University (Watershed)

1. What’s your major?

Major: environmental science with a concentration in ecology and conservation Minor: environmental studies

2. What interests you the most about working with Willistown Conservation Trust?

I am super excited to work for WCT and to learn about the inner workings of a non-profit land trust. The main goals of the Trust really resonate with me. I think it will be interesting to see how these goals and various projects are incorporated into education and outreach programs. 

3. What do you hope to learn during your co-op experience?

I am very interested to learn about the various tasks involved with watershed protection. I hope to gain a variety of skills related to freshwater ecology, water quality, and education and outreach.

4. If you could design your ideal job, what would it be?

My dream job would allow me to travel around the world to educate communities about environmental topics to instill environmental stewardship. I would love to work with nonprofits that are working to improve their communities and the environment. 

5. When you’re not doing science stuff, what do you like to do?
I enjoy cooking, camping, kayaking, going to concerts, and reading.

6. How do you hope to make an impact in your chosen career path?

By choosing a career in environmental science, I hope to inspire others to appreciate, respect, and learn about the natural world. I believe educating young people about the environment is key to establishing community based conservation and a sustainable future. 

Kacy and Maddy taking a well-deserved rest after helping plant 125+ trees to restore a riparian buffer zone in Ashbridge Preserve.

Maddy Sabo – Drexel University (Watershed)

1. What’s your major?

Environmental science

2. What interests you the most about working with Willistown Conservation Trust?

The thing that interests me the most about working with Willistown Conservation Trust is using science and preservation to connect with a surrounding community. I think it is so important to connect people with nature, and teach people of all ages about the importance of protecting the Earth. Science is a bridge and should be able to reach everyone, not just scientists. I am particularly interested in water conservation, which is something I will be devoting a lot of time to working with WCT and I’m very excited!

3. What do you hope to learn during your co-op experience?

Getting technical, I hope to learn a lot about macroinvertebrates and how they are used to analyze the quality of water. However, I am also hoping to learn more about how non-profits dedicated to conserving land function and meet the people that WCT impacts.

4. If you could design your ideal job, what would it be?

In the past couple of years I’ve found a passion for entomology. My dream job (although possibly not attainable) would be traveling to under-researched areas in the tropics where there are undoubtedly hundreds of thousands of undiscovered insects, and studying and documenting them. There is so much left to discover and so much more to learn in the field of entomology! 

5. When you’re not doing science stuff, what do you like to do?

When I’m not doing science stuff or anything school related I love to play games with my friends. Over the past four years we’ve come to have a pretty large collection of card and board games. I love the strategy and competition and creativity of them all. I also enjoy cooking and photography. And in any extra free time I walk dogs, where I get exercise, explore the different neighborhoods of Philadelphia, and get lots of puppy love

6. How do you hope to make an impact in your chosen career path?

I’ve chosen to study environmental science for one simple reason: I want to make a difference, even if it’s just a small one. I presume the how and where will grow and evolve with time as I do. That being said, I hope to somehow preserve the green space that remains and protect the incredible plants and animals that live there. There’s so much to learn and so much to do the opportunities are endless!

Refill Your Water Bottle

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Human reliance on commercially bottled water is one of the single largest contributors to plastic pollution. At Willistown Conservation Trust, we collect carelessly discarded plastic bottles from Ashbridge Preserve every week! 

Americans buy more than 29 billion bottles of water each year. And out of every 6 purchased, only 1 is recycled. A single bottle will need 1,000 years to disintegrate, all the while leeching toxins. 

So, pick up a few nice reusable bottles, filter your tap water at home using one of several commercially available water filtration systems and skip the disposable bottle. Take the #PlasticFreeJuly challenge at https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/ and say no to plastic water bottles (and more)!

Return on Environment: The Economic Value of Protected Open Space in Chester County, PA

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Protected open spaces provide substantial economic, environmental, and health benefits to surrounding communities, but these benefits are often overlooked or undervalued in policy debates and investment decisions. A better understanding of these benefits can demonstrate how protected open space contributes to economic development and fiscal stability and can reverse the common misconception that conserved undeveloped land is non-productive and non-revenue producing.

Chester County’s open space preservation program began in the 1980s amidst a growing public concern that the county’s vistas and landscapes were disappearing in a tide of suburban sprawl. Chester County voters overwhelmingly passed a $50 million bond referendum in 1989 for open space preservation, and funding has continued ever since. As of the end of 2018, over 28% of Chester County’s land is preserved- a testament to the coordinated effort by County leadership, municipalities, nonprofit partners and supportive citizens.

Willistown Conservation Trust was proud to partner with Chester County and other major land conservancies active in Chester County, as well as the Chester County Economic Development Council and Chester County Association of Township Officials to produce a report that estimates the economic impact of the County’s robust open space preservation initiative.

Our own Rushton Farm and Rushton Woods Preserve are the subject of one of the case studies featured in the report. Please take a moment to review the full report, which clearly shows the significant and positive effects of open space.

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Here are some articles in local press covering the Return on Environment study:

Money May Grow on Trees After All

Chester County Open Space Report “Not Surprising.”

Preserving Open Space Fueling Chester County Economy

Willistown Conservation Trust featured on Front Page of Philadelphia Inquirer

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Front Page of Philadelphia Inquirer

Kat Gord, Director of Rushton Conservation Center, and Bonnie Van Alen, Executive Director, are shown walking through the fields at Rushton Farm on the front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

On June 19, 2018, Philadelphia Inquirer’s lead article explored how land trusts have become a growing force for good in the region, together protecting thousands of acres of picturesque and environmentally sensitive lands from development. The Trust is honored to be included in this important recognition of what the land trust community has done for this region and beyond. ​ – ​The article highlights Willistown Conservation’s Trust’s strong community support for land conservation, our partnership with the Academy of Natural Sciences, our public nature preserves, our commitment to education and community outreach through the under-construction Rushton Conservation Center, and Rushton Farm’s important role in providing food for our community and local food banks​. ​ – The piece was published online on June 14th and was printed on the front cover of the Philadelphia Inquirer on June 19th. – Read the article online.

Willistown Conservation Trust and the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University Announce Collaboration Establishing Field Study Site

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Willistown Conservation Trust (the “Trust”) is pleased to announce a collaboration with the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University (the “Academy”) that establishes the Trust’s geographic focal area—encompassing the headwaters of four major tributaries of the Delaware River, the Chester, Crum, Ridley and Darby Creeks— as an official Field Study Site of the Academy and Drexel University. The agreement, set forth in a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Bonnie Van Alen, Executive Director of Willistown Conservation Trust, Donna Morasko, Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences of Drexel University, and Scott Cooper, President & CEO of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formalizes the Trust’s program area as a Field Study Site for use by the Academy and Drexel University for collaborative research, education, and outreach activities, with a particular emphasis on watershed activities and the activities of the Center for Academy Science and the Department of Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science.

Willistown Conservation Trust, located in Chester County, is a land trust whose founders have overseen the protection of more than 7,200 acres of open space in the Willistown area since 1979. For the past two decades, the Trust has worked with researchers from many regional academic institutions, including Drexel University, to explore the science behind important issues in conservation, with particular focus on ornithology, agroecology, land use, and habitat restoration. A 2017 grant from the William Penn Foundation allowed the Trust to expand its efforts into watershed protection. In collaboration with researchers from the Academy and co-op students from Drexel University, and pursuant to methodology developed by the Delaware River Watershed Initiative (DRWI), the Trust’s Field Study team is working to establish watershed protection priorities and restoration projects with the goal of enhancing water quality in the four local headwater streams. Results from this Field Study Site initiative will be presented to land trusts and other organizations with a goal of encouraging them to undertake similar watershed protection initiatives in collaboration with research partners.

This Memorandum of Understanding formalizes what has been a longstanding partnership between the Trust, the Academy, and Drexel University. Bonnie Van Alen, Founder and Executive Director of the Trust, is a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Academy, and in 2014, she received an honorary degree from Drexel University’s College of Arts and Sciences. Because of its unique combination of rich natural resources and proximity to Philadelphia, the geographic focal area of the Trust is the frequent classroom of students from the Academy and Drexel, among other area universities and schools. Designation as an official Field Study Site will facilitate similar experiences for professors and students from the Academy and Drexel, including work study experiences for students participating in Drexel’s co-op program. The Trust hopes to provide similar opportunities to additional university partners and will use this Memorandum of Understanding as a model to guide these relationships.

The William Penn Foundation, founded in 1945 by Otto and Phoebe Haas, is dedicated to improving the quality of life in the Greater Philadelphia region through efforts that increase educational opportunities for children from low-income families, ensure a sustainable environment, foster creativity that enhances civic life, and advance philanthropy in the Philadelphia region. In partnership with others, the Foundation works to advance opportunity, ensure sustainability, and enable effective solutions. Since inception, the Foundation has made nearly 10,000 grants totaling over $1.6 billion

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.

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WHERE WE WORK

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