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Behold the Hackberry!

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The Society of Municipal Arborists recently announced its 2020 Tree of the Year. It’s the Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis). This tree is related to the American Elm and upon the introduction of Dutch Elm Disease, the Hackberry became a very popular substitute.

According to the US Department of Agriculture’s website, the common hackberry varies in size from a shrub to a tree exceeding 100’ in height. So why are we telling you about this? It just so happens that we have a remarkable specimen hackberry at Kirkwood Preserve, right at the corner of Goshen and Grubbs Mill Roads.

Measuring a leader on the Hackberry – this one is 8’9″

It is definitely larger than most hackberries at an estimated 70’ tall. Its girth is equally remarkable, with its trunk measuring roughly 15’ in circumference at the base and with three leaders measuring 6’5”, 8’9” and 6’7”. As for the age, it’s hard to estimate without looking at the rings. Hackberries are a faster-growing tree. This specimen is also out in the open (as opposed to being in a forest), which can further increase its rate of growth.

Hackberries are wonderful shade trees. They are also adaptable to a wide range of soil types and tolerate heat, drought, salt spray, wind, ice and even short-term flooding. All of those characteristics make it a great urban tree. But it’s equally well-suited to living on preserved land! As a bonus, the hackberry provides food for birds and small mammals.

Looking up – you can see the beautiful fissured bark

So, next time you’re out, stop by Kirkwood Preserve and take a look at our specimen hackberry. It’s particularly beautiful in summertime when its deep green foliage is on display. But winter offers you a chance to see its complex structure and deeply textured bark.

With the Spotted Lanternfly it’s Always Squash Season

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At our most recent free lunch & learn at the Rushton Conservation Center, Meagan Hopkins-Doerr provided a wealth of useful information about the invasive and destructive Spotted Lanternfly (SLF). Meagan is Coordinator for the Master Gardeners of Chester County and Master Watershed Stewards of Chester & Delaware Counties, and she travels the area providing informative sessions like this one on a variety of topics.

Background

SLF is an invasive species that was discovered in Berks County back in 2014. With few natural predators, it has spread and threatens the Pennsylvania economy. It is critical to manage this pest now. SLF was also introduced in South Korea, which is similar in size to Pennsylvania.

So, here are some of the highlights of actions you can take now:

Destroy the Eggs

The SLF adults have now died from the cold, but have left behind their egg masses. Here’s a photo of what they look like.

Photo: Penn State University Extension – Image by Erica Smyers

Females will lay eggs on virtually any outdoor surface. In addition to trees you may find them on:

  • Fence posts
  • Grills
  • Sheds
  • Lawn furniture
  • Outdoor seating cushions
  • Exterior walls (siding, brick, stone)
  • Flower boxes
  • Bird feeders

Careful inspection of your property for the egg masses is an important step in controlling the spread of the SLF. Each egg mass can contain, on average, 37 eggs. Therefore it’s important to destroy any you see. When you see one, here’s what you do:

  • Scrape the egg mass into a jar or similar container
  • Soak the eggs in isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol
  • Dispose of the container

You can also smash the egg masses, or burn them if you have a fire pit.

Limit the Spread

Willistown Conservation Trust’s program area is within the quarantine zone. At all stages of growth, SLF are very efficient hitchhikers. There are some things you can do to limit the spread of the SLF:

  • Check your car (wheel wells, grille) and any trailers and remove all SLF before departing. This is important ESPECIALLY before driving out of the quarantine zone.
  • Don’t park under infested trees
  • Do not transport firewood
  • Inspect any material stored outdoors before transporting it elsewhere

Remove Tree of Heaven

If you use landscapers or arborists, ask if they have received an SLF permit from the PA Department of Agriculture. For more information about the permit visit: https://extension.psu.edu/does-your-business-need-a-spotted-lanternfly-permit

Though the SLF will feed on other plants, the Tree of Heaven is one of its preferred hosts. If you have Tree of Heaven, it is important to remove them. You MUST use an appropriate herbicide to treat the tree before cutting it down or it will multiply.

Get Ready for Hatching

Banding. When the SLF eggs hatch in the spring, the nymphs will begin to forage. By banding trees they prefer, you can help to capture them. Bands should be checked regularly and replaced as needed. Excluder cages should be used to  keep other animals away from the bands. Read more about use of traps here: https://extension.psu.edu/using-traps-for-spotted-lanternfly-management

Insecticides. If you have an infestation, it may be necessary to use insecticides. There are a variety of systemic and contact insecticides with varying degrees of efficacy against the SLF. Always read and follow the label before applying any insecticide. Additional information can be found here: https://extension.psu.edu/spotted-lanternfly-management-and-pesticide-safety

See the Penn State Extension website for instructions on how to band trees and for selection and use of insecticides.

Report. Report. Report.

Researchers need data. By reporting sightings of SLF you will help researchers understand how the SLF are moving. To report SLF you can go online to extension.psu.edu/spotted-lanternfly or call 1-888-4BADFLY.

Learn More

You can download a variety of helpful information at the PSU Extension website. The Trust also has some print materials left over from the lunch & learn. You’re welcome to stop by our office and pick up some while supplies last. We also have a small supply of scraper cards, which also have helpful information on them including the number to call to report SLF.

Watch for more informative lunch & learns coming up.

Welcome Andrew Kirkpatrick

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We are thrilled to have Andrew Kirkpatrick join the Willistown Conservation Trust staff as Associate Director of Stewardship, working with Director of Stewardship, Bill Hartman. He joins us from the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education where he was Land Stewardship Manager, in charge of its 340-acre preserve. As part of his duties, Andrew led trail projects, coordinated volunteer activities, and managed their retail native plant nursery.

So how does a guy with a bachelor’s degree in politics and government wind up in land conservation and stewardship? Well, it started in Georgia and ended in Maine.

But before that, fresh out of college, Andrew worked for the Department of the Treasury. It was a great fit for his background and interests at the time. But he found the work, in his words, “really boring.”

He decided to take a little time-out and hiked the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Pennsylvania. He walked home, as he put it. Then after a short hiatus, he picked up where he left off and continued on to the northern terminus in Maine.

Along the way, he marveled at how well the small, tightly knit community of hikers communicated. The way he describes it, the flow of information was organic and seamless, which turned it into a literal and figurative voyage of discovery. Through-hikers like Andrew usually have a trail name – his was Leaf Treader, taken from a Robert Frost poem that describes an individual’s awareness of nature and its cycles. And it was his own awareness of nature, being immersed in it day-after-day (even grim periods of non-stop rain), that led Andrew from the trail to a career in conservation.

He learned about a master’s program in Landscape Architecture and Ecological Restoration at Temple University from his wife. Upon graduation from that program, he started on the path of his new career at Morris Arboretum. And the rest is history.

Andrew is most excited to learn more about conservation easements and monitoring. He and Bill have already hit the ground running conducting monitoring visits throughout our program area and with more than 100 easement properties, there will be plenty of opportunity to learn!

Not surprising, in his free time, Andrew enjoys gardening and hiking with his 7-year old daughter, Stella. When you see him out-and-about, please say hello and join us in welcoming him to the Trust!

Public Notice of Accreditation Renewal

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The land trust accreditation program recognizes land conservation organizations that meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever. Willistown Conservation Trust is pleased to announce it is applying for renewal of accreditation. A public comment period is now open.

The Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, conducts an extensive review of each applicant’s policies and programs. In 2008, Willistown Conservation Trust was one of the first land trusts nationwide to be awarded accreditation by the Commission. According to Bonnie Van Alen, the Trust’s President and Executive Director: “Our accredited status should assure our contributors, easement holders, project partners and other stakeholders of our commitment to meeting the highest national standards of performance and procedures. In other words, not only are we protecting important lands, but we’re doing it in the right way and for the long term.”

The Commission invites public input and accepts signed, written comments on pending applications. Comments must relate to how Willistown Conservation Trust complies with national quality standards. These standards address the ethical and technical operation of a land trust. For the full list of standards see http://www.landtrustaccreditation.org/help-and-resources/indicator-practices.

To learn more about the accreditation program and to submit a comment, visit www.landtrustaccreditation.org, or email your comment to info@landtrustaccreditation.org. Comments may also be faxed or mailed to the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, Attn: Public Comments: (fax) 518-587-3183; (mail) 36 Phila Street, Suite 2, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866.

Comments on Willistown Conservation Trust’s application will be most useful by November 14, 2019.

Volunteers Plant 300 Trees To Improve Ridley Creek Watershed

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As the sun rose over the meadow that was formerly Ashbridge Lake on October 4, the first of our three days of tree planting, I stood and surveyed the planting area that was soon to be home to 300 trees and shrubs and felt a sense of excitement (and some stress) for the event that was about to take place.  Months of effort and planning had gone into making sure the next three days were to go smoothly.  Now, as I stand at the edge of the meadow and gaze at all of the beautifully planted and caged trees I have only one feeling: gratitude.   I was recently taught my first Lenape word: Wanishi (“Wah-ni’-shee”), which is a profession of gratefulness. Used to start every meeting, it feels appropriate to start this post of appreciation for all of the effort that went into this project.

Thank you to each and every volunteer who came out over the course of the summer to help prepare the planting site –from weedwacking and digging holes,  to planting, caging and watering the trees.  A major thank you to Mother Nature, who was thoughtful enough to break the drought with a gentle rain the day before the planting was due to take place, which made life much easier for the group of hunters who had volunteered to assist yours truly in digging holes for the trees. 

Each planting day was cool, clear, and perfect for all of the labor that took place.  Over 60 incredible volunteers came out over the course of three planting days – families, individual volunteers, friends, coworkers – each day was filled with laugher as friends, old and new, bonded over planting new life into the meadow.  Our fabulous Watershed team was reunited, as past interns and Drexel co-op students returned with friends; enthusiastic freshmen in the Drexel University Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Sciences (BEES) program came out with their fearless leader and professor Dr. Marie Kurz; a local scout family came to work hard; Tree Tenders from Goshen and elsewhere leant their expertise and guidance. Two teachers from Kennett Square school district came out – neither of which knew the other had signed up!  Rain began to fall as the final cages were being placed around the trees, saving us from hauling buckets of water to our new plants.

We could not have done this vital work without the hard work of every single volunteer. Your effort is helping to improve the habitat both on the stream banks and in the channel.  As the roots of each tree grow into the soil, they will stabilize the sediment and slow the rate of erosion.  Over the coming years, the canopy will spread and begin to shade the stream and keep the water cool.  The impact of each tree will improve the water quality in our watershed, and we are excited to monitor the changes that take place over the next several decades.  Already, I am starting to see an improvement to the ecological value of this meadow (before it was filled with invasive canary reed grass and mile-a-minute vine and inhabited by a stunning number of non-native Chinese praying mantis). In the areas that we have cleared since the spring, we are seeing native sedges begin to appear and an increase of butterflies using the area.  I have been observing the wildlife starting to use the space – birds now move in each morning, hopping from tree to tree and exploring the new habitat.  As the birds learn, so do the deer, but the cages that were placed around the trees by volunteers should help to keep them safe from the curious white tails.

The next time you’re talking a walk through Ashbridge Preserve, please take a moment to pause in the planting site.  I hope you feel the same way I do as you look at trees growing in the meadow. We’re already planning the next round of planting, so please watch for announcements if you want to join us!  Also, take a look at the time lapse video we shot over the tree days.

Of course, none of this would have been possible without the generous funding provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and TreeVitalize. A special thank-you goes to REI.  As if the joy of planting trees was not enough, they donated amazing door prizes to raffle off to a lucky volunteer each day!