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 Hartman Meadow, Ashbridge, Kirkwood, Kestrel Hill and Rushton Woods Preserves. We maintain these lands to preserve and enhance … Learn more about our nature preserves.
ECOcentric Experience | Uncovering Living Clues to Stream Health
Join Conservation Data and GIS Specialist, Anna Willig, for an interactive stream walk at Ashbridge Preserve! Attendees will learn about the basics of stream ecology including the intricate interactions that occur between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. We’ll have a chance to wade into Ridley Creek and investigate under rocks for macroinvertebrates (aquatic insects), some of which can be reliable indicators of stream health. Participants will leave with a heightened awareness of how each of our individual actions can make a difference in our shared watershed.
Wear shoes that can be immersed in water, boots, or waders. This is your chance to activate your inner child as we flip rocks and look for animals!
Accessibility: This program is entirely in the field with no access to bathroom facilities. Hiking will be light and easy, with the exception of a stepping stone stream crossing. Otherwise, we will be wading in a shallow stream (below the knees).
This program is part of our ECOcentric Lecture Series for adults.
ECOcentric Experience | Get out of your head and into nature!
Spreading ecological awareness, fostering environmental literacy, and inspiring activation.
Ecocentric is defined as having a serious concern for environmental issues. It is a mindset that values the entire environment and all life within rather than only what is useful to humans. In other words, it is a deliberate shift toward the balance that can be achieved when we make nature our center rather than ourselves.
The human experience is heightened when we nurture our fundamental relationship with the earth. As we navigate a rapidly changing world, fighting ecological unconsciousness will be paramount to our success and sustainability as a species. Join us in this series as we learn more about the natural world and explore the actions we can all take at home to seek harmony with nature.
Through a variety of educational lectures and immersive field experiences with WCT staff and professionals, adults will gain a holistic foundation in four major conservation topics: birds and wildlife, regenerative farming, watersheds, and habitat stewardship. Students will gain a sense of ecological awareness and feel empowered to enact change in their own lives.
