WILLISTOWN CONSERVATION TRUST

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  • Rushton Conservation Center

Nature at Night: Native Plants for Your Landscape

April 9, 2021 By Communications Team

What if you treated your backyard as a piece of the larger mosaic of a habitat and added native plants to your landscape? The Trust’s Preserve Manager, Mike Cranney, for an overview of native plants and why they’re important to birds and other wildlife.  Mike will be joined by Julie Snell and Lisa McDonald Hanes of Redbud Native Plant Nursery, located in Media, PA. Julie and Lisa will share their growing and sourcing practices, selecting the right plants for your space, and how to develop a thriving native plant landscape!

REDBUD NATIVE PLANT NURSERY

The mission of Redbud Native Plant Nursery is to be the primary source of sustainably raised native plants for retail buyers in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Building on the base established over the past seventeen years, the nursery will continue to provide unique stock at a location where customers can see, touch and smell native plants in person and interact with knowledgeable staff. 

To learn more about Julie and Lisa’s nursery, please visit Redbud Native Plant Nursery’s website: www.redbudnative.com

Filed Under: Native Plants, Nature, Nature at Night, Nature Education, Nature Preserves, Stewardship, Uncategorized

Kirkwood Sign Dedication

November 4, 2020 By Erik Hetzel

Fifteen years ago, the 83-acre Kirkwood Preserve was established thanks to a public/private partnership that included Willistown Conservation Trust, Willistown Township, the Chester County Department of Open Space, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.  On the misty autumn afternoon of October 26, 2020, we celebrated that momentous accomplishment with the dedication of a new sign and a small gathering of the visionary people who made it all possible. 

The story begins over 20 years ago when Willistown residents voted to approve the Open Space Referendum of 1999 and agreed to allow the Township to levy an additional 1/8% of Earned Income Tax to raise funds for the protection of land for recreation and preservation of the Township’s natural, agricultural, scenic, and historic resources.  Willistown’s Open Space Fund was established with these taxpayer revenues, and it was a significant contribution from the Township along with matching funds from Chester County, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and generous private donors that enabled Willistown Conservation Trust to acquire the 83-acre Kirkwood Preserve.  The preserve was part of a much larger conservation effort that included the protection of Kirkwood Farm, a magnificent 324-acre property in the heart of the Trust’s program area.  Also known as the “Hardie Scott property”, Kirkwood Farm has always been considered the very essence of the Willistown countryside and defines the unique natural, scenic, and rural character of our area.

Bordering the Crum Creek and known for beautiful views from Grubbs Mill Road of its large grassland areas, rolling hills, mature woodlands, and wetlands along the creek, Kirkwood Preserve contains some of the most environmentally sensitive lands in the Township.  Willistown Conservation Trust manages the stewardship of the preserve, providing a protected habitat for nesting and foraging grassland birds such as the declining Eastern Meadowlark and the Bobolink.  Native tree plantings in the riparian areas and proper landscape management practices promote the health of the Crum Creek, which is designated as an Exceptional Value Stream.  Most importantly, Kirkwood is open to the public every day from sunrise to sunset, allowing Township residents and others to enjoy its scenic natural beauty.  The acquisition of Kirkwood Preserve was a true public/private partnership and the direct result of Willistown residents choosing to see their tax dollars used for open space preservation.

Fast-forward to 2020, when a global pandemic has altered how we interact as humans and with nature.  Kirkwood Preserve is a place where Willistown residents can exercise, reflect, and safely interact outdoors in a time where indoor spaces are limited for such activities.  The physical and mental health benefits of being outside are well documented, and the availability of publicly-accessible open space is as important now as it has ever been.

The gathering at Kirkwood on October 26 was a celebration of a successful partnership that we hope to strengthen and use again to protect hundreds of more acres into the future.  Recalling the details of a complex and intricate process that ultimately resulted in the preservation of hundreds of acres of land, Willistown Conservation Trust’s Executive Director Bonnie Van Alen expressed her gratitude to the many players who made it happen.  “The Willistown Conservation Trust is exceedingly grateful to the conservation partners who have so magnanimously supported this acquisition.  First and foremost, our heartfelt thanks go to Willistown Township which made a very generous commitment from its Open Space Fund toward the acquisition.”

Also present at the gathering were current Township Supervisors William Shoemaker and Bob Lange, who, along with former Supervisor David Rawson, provided political leadership for the project at the time.  Each recalled their memories of the preserve’s acquisition, and all three hailed Willistown Conservation Trust’s successful efforts protecting open space in the Township.

Mary Hundt was working for Willistown Conservation Trust in the late 1990s and was instrumental in garnering public support for the Open Space Referendum, eventually seeing it result in the acquisition of Kirkwood.  Now, as Director of Parks and Recreation for Willistown Township, she is currently involved in the process of updating the Township’s Comprehensive Plan.  This will be the Township’s road map for managing growth and development over the next 10 years.  It will also guide the planning of important public amenities, like open space.  In recalling Township residents’ passion for saving open space when the referendum was approved, Mary explained that the same sentiment is strong in the community today.  “The Open Space Referendum of 1999 asking residents if they would agree to an additional tax to protect natural, scenic, and recreational resources passed with 80% of the vote, and the 2020 Comprehensive Plan Survey reveals that this strong preservation mindset in Willistown still stands today.  A total of 97% of Willistowners find the protection of open space, the environment, and scenic landscapes as important efforts with 80% defining them as “very important”.  The preservation of trails, passive recreation parkland, and historic buildings are important to 94% of Willistowners.  These statistics reinforce the overarching sentiment and desire of this community to protect such special places as Kirkwood Preserve.”

Filed Under: Conservation, Land Protection, Nature Preserves, Trails

Join Us for a Pop-Up Picnic Dinner to Help Kick Off Art on the Trails

October 8, 2020 By Kelsey Lingle

A week-long event Art on the Trails: Preserve Gallery Walk with a pop-up picnic dinner on the lawn at the Rushton Conservation Center provided by our friends at Taste of Puebla. Wander the trails of Rushton Woods Preserve, enjoy the original Plein Air artwork by LandArt Events artists, and stay for a picnic with your group!

Pop-Up Picnic with Taste of Puebla
Friday, October 16th
from 4:30 – 7:00 pm
Rushton Conservation Center

Join us for a pop-up picnic dinner provided by our friends at Taste of Puebla held outside on the lawn at the Rushton Conservation Center. This event is BYOB, blanket, and chairs. There will be plenty of space to maintain social distancing while enjoying a menu featuring ingredients from Rushton Farm and other local Chester County farms. Guests are welcome to picnic on site or take their dinner to-go.

Ticket sales end at 12:00 pm on Thursday, October 15, 2020.

Art on the Trails:
Preserve Gallery Walk
October 17th – 24th from 8 am – 6 pm
Kirkwood, Ashbridge, Rushton Woods Preserve and Farm

Explore the Trust’s preserves through a Plein Air artist’s eye during our week-long, self-guided gallery walk. Trail markers will display the artist’s artwork along the trails of Kirkwood Preserve, Ashbridge Preserve, and Rushton Woods Preserve for you to enjoy from the same location the artist set up their easel. The preserves are open from dawn to dusk for you to wander the trails and collect a canvas for your own home. Visit landartevents.com to purchase the original artwork. LandArt Events donates 15% of all sales to WIllistown Conservation Trust.

Pop-Up Picnic Dinner Menu
Art on the Trails

Filed Under: Farm, General, Nature Preserves, Sustainable Agriculture, Trails, Uncategorized

Trails Workshops (Part 1 & 2)

September 28, 2020 By Communications Team

Do you love trails? We do! Willistown Conservation Trust is offering virtual trails workshops! Hosted by Andrew Kirkpatrick, Director of Stewardship and Mike Cranney, Preserve Manager, they’ll be discussing trail planning, construction, and maintenance. Learn more about materials, tools, and demonstrations of techniques like bog bridge construction, turnpikes, grade reversals and how to handle wet spots on trails. 

This workshop is funded in part by the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Pennsylvania Recreational Trails Program funded through the Federal Highway Administration. 

Trails Workshop: Part 1 | Trail Materials

Trails Workshop: Part 1 | Trail Tools

Trails Workshop: Part 2 | Turnpike

Trails Workshop: Part 2 | Bog Bridges

Videos created by Sophia Gross, Communications & Marketing Intern.

Filed Under: Nature, Nature Preserves, Stewardship, Trails

History of the Trails Team

September 23, 2020 By Communications Team

Besides its abundance of over 7,500 acres of countryside permanently protected from development, Willistown has long been known for its lovely network of trails, consisting of both eased (permanently protected) and uneased equestrian and pedestrian trails. In October of 2012, the “Willistown Trails Team” was formally created as a subcommittee of the Trust’s Land Protection committee.

The Team’s purpose
With the support of the community, the Trails Team Subcommittee is committed to assuring the ultimate connectivity and preservation of our precious trail network. Its goals are to:

(1) identify and map critical equestrian and pedestrian trail corridors within the Trust’s program area
(2) develop strategies for acquiring trail easements on currently unprotected trails
(3) coordinate with landowners to improve access to, and maintenance of, both protected and unprotected trails.

The Trails Team continues the good work of the Willistown Area Trails Association (WATA) and is staffed by volunteers who are a hardworking group of land conservation advocates, fox hunters, recreational riders, and outdoor lovers.

Andrew Kirkpatrick, Director of Stewardship Testimonial.

Filed Under: Nature, Nature Preserves, Stewardship, Trails, Volunteers

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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.

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Rushton Conservation Center

Rejuvenate at Rushton Wellness Retreat

915 Delchester Road, Newtown Square, PA

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

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