WILLISTOWN CONSERVATION TRUST

12.7 More Acres Conserved Forever

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The map of permanently conserved land in the Willistown area just got a little greener, thanks to Lawrie Harris. Lawrie donated a Legacy Conservation Easement to the Trust on November 11, 2019, protecting her 12.7 acres on Twinbrook Road from development forever. Located on Twinbrook Road in Easttown Township, in what is known as the Leopard Tract, the gently sloping site is primarily wooded and features a small tributary to Crum Creek named Grubb Mill Run. Several acres of open meadow area surrounds Lawrie’s home and garage, the only structures on the property.

The easement will limit further subdivision of the property and will protect its natural features that serve as important wildlife habitat, support the surrounding ecosystem and contribute to scenic views along Twinbrook Road. The easement defines most of the property as Sensitive Riparian Area, which include wetlands, hydric soils and floodplain, and limits the amount of disturbance allowed in these areas.

Lawrie shares her late husband Jay’s passion for the environment, and wants to conserve the land to ensure it will stay just as it is today, so both people and wildlife can enjoy it forever. Her decision to donate the easement was prompted, in part, by neighbors Kate and Ben Etherington’s recent decision to do the same. We are grateful to Lawrie for her foresight and generosity.

“I want to be absolutely certain that future owners will keep this property intact and take care of the stream and woodland. We don’t have many places like this left and we need to preserve them,” said Lawrie. “And the process of working with the Trust has been easy and enjoyable. Willistown Conservation Trust has a 40-year legacy of protecting land in our area.”

When you look at a the Trust’s protected lands map, you see a mosaic of open space comprising preserved parcels of all sizes – from hundreds of acres to just a few. And in an era when conserving habitat, protecting the quality of our water supply, and offsetting the impact of human activity is so vital, every acre counts.

We developed Legacy Easements, like the one that protects Lawrie’s land, specifically so owners of smaller parcels of land could protect their land in perpetuity. Legacy Easements are generally less complicated than traditional ones and can be tailored to protect features of an owner’s property that are personally and/or environmentally significant.

Thank you Lawrie, another hero of our countryside!

Variety is the Essence of Life

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The old saying goes that variety is the spice of life. In nature, variety is the very essence of life.

Hopefully you’ve read and enjoyed our recent blog posts about the importance of riparian buffers and tips for planting trees and shrubs, if you haven’t yet please take a look. You’ll find helpful guidance, which will be handy for World Planting Day coming up on October 22!

An important aspect of healthy riparian buffer is planting a variety of species, which will help support a variety of insects, animals, bacteria, fungi and other living things. A variety also looks nice, providing different colors and textures in your landscape.

To help you, we’ve assembled a collection of our favorite native trees and shrubs that grow well in riparian buffers.

You can also download a PDF here for future reference.

For detailed information about each of these, you can consult wildflower.org. You can also talk with a reputable native plant nursery or landscape designer about what variety of plants to select for your particular area.

Riparian Buffer Planting – Step 3. Preserve

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The final blog post in our series of 3 is designed to help you plant native trees and shrubs in a riparian buffer (the land that borders streams and other waterways). While we have been focusing on planting in a riparian buffer, most of the tips provided will apply to planting trees or shrubs in other locations on your property.

Once your trees and shrubs are planted, it is important to protect them from deer damage! Placing tree guards or constructing your own fencing (photos below) around individual trees or shrubs is the best way to protect them from deer until they become large enough to survive without protection (typically 8-10 years).

  • Create your own fencing to protect your newly planted tree or shrub. Or…
  • …use commercially-available tree guards. These can be time-savers for large planting projects.

Once installed, periodically check the plants and manually remove any aggressive vines climbing on the tree guards or fencing. Avoid the use of chemicals to fight the vines in riparian zones; they can harm the plants, insects and our waterways.

See our post about the importance of riparian buffers and our first post about preparing to plant and our second post about planting.

Learn how to give your trees and shrubs a strong start by attending one or more of our upcoming tree planting events on October 4, 5, and 6.  Click here to learn more about these upcoming plantings and sign up to volunteer!  

Riparian Buffer Planting – Step 2. Plant

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Welcome to the second in a series of 3 blog posts to help you plant native trees and shrubs in a riparian buffer (the land that borders streams and other waterways). Most of the tips provided in these posts also apply to planting trees or shrubs in other locations on your property.

When planting, dig the hole as deep as the pot and twice as wide. Be sure to keep the root flare (where the roots start to spread from the trunk) just above ground level.

Spacing your trees and shrubs approximately 12 – 15′ from each other, you may plant in rows or in more naturalistic groupings to better echo the more organic patterns found in nature – or a combination of both. Get creative!

Many of your trees and shrubs will likely arrive in pots. Dig the holes as deep as the pot and twice as wide. Remove the plant from the pot and loosen the roots, especially if they are tightly bound. Adjust your plant in the hole, adding or removing soil as needed so the root flare (where the roots start to spread from the trunk – see photo below) is just above ground level. Take care not to bury  the plant too deep or cover the trunk with soil, while making sure your plant isn’t sitting too high, with its top roots exposed. Tamp the soil around the root ball as you fill the hole to ensure that the plant is firmly planted.

A TreeTenders instructor with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society points out root flare on a young tree. Photo by PHS.

See our post about the importance of riparian buffers and our first post about preparing to plant.

You can gain some practical planting experience by joining us for a one or more of our native tree planting days – October 4, 5, and 6 – at Ashbridge Preserve. Click here to learn more these upcoming planting events and sign up to volunteer!

Riparian Buffer Planting – Step 1. Prepare

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This is the first in a series of 3 blog posts to help you plant native trees and shrubs in a riparian buffer (the land that borders streams and other waterways). While we will focus on planting in a riparian buffer, most of the tips provided in these posts also apply to planting trees or shrubs in other locations on your property. Read our post on why these riparian buffers are so important.

First, choose a location along your stream where a riparian buffer area is lacking or could be enhanced and measure the square footage of the area you intend to plant. If your project involves planting where no buffer exists, measure outward from where the bank drops off to the stream, and while there is no specific ideal buffer width, the wider the buffer area, the greater the environmental benefits. We suggest a minimum of a 25’ buffer width.

  • Example of a riparian buffer area prepared for planting. The grass was mowed prior to marking the plant locations and digging the holes.
  • Work with a reputable native plant nursery or a landscape professional to help select your plants and determine the quantity needed.

Once you know the size of the area you will be planting, you can work with a landscape professional or reputable nursery that specializes in native plants to estimate how many trees and shrubs should be ordered. Typically, plants are spaced 12-15 feet apart.

Prior to planting, you should prepare the project area by mowing it to facilitate digging the holes.

To get an up-close look at a riparian buffer area and gain some practical planting experience, join us for a one or more of our native tree planting days – October 4, 5, and 6 – at Ashbridge Preserve. Click here to learn more and sign up to volunteer!

Connect With Us

Willistown Conservation Trust

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

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Click Here to Take Action at SpareOurTrees.org