The Leaflet - Fall 2017

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WILLISTOWN

CONSERVATION TRUST BOARD OF TRUSTEES Jeanne B. Van Alen President/Executive Director Elizabeth C. Hucker Chair V. Richard Eales Vice Chairman Alice E. Hausmann Vice Chair Mark Ledger Treasurer John F. Stoviak, Esq. Secretary Bryan D. Colket Assistant Secretary Timothy B. Barnard, Esq. L. Clarke Blynn Gary A. Cox Kathryn Kinkade Gord William T. Howard George F. Krall, Jr. Leanne M. McMenamin Collin F. McNeil Elizabeth R. Moran* Janice Murdoch Christine S. Seving Peter S. Strawbridge Matthew E. Taylor Carolyn W. Turner James L. Van Alen II Tana Wall** Alejandro Zozaya *HONORARY TRUSTEE **TRUSTEE EMERITUS

STAFF Todd Alleger William R. Hartman, Jr. Agroecology Project Manager Director of Stewardship Kristen Henwood Chelsea Allen Stewardship Associate Rushton Farm Assistant Field Manager Eric Hetzel Director of Land Protection Sue R. Costello and Public Grants GIS Coordinator Lisa Kiziuk Fred de Long Director of Community Farm Director of Bird Conservation Stephanie Kuniholm Laura de Ramel Associate Director of Director of Development and Development Community Outreach Kelsey Lingle Alison Fetterman Communications Associate Bird Conservation Associate Susie MacDonnell Blake Goll Nature Education Coordinator Events and PR Coordinator Lauren McGrath Eliza Gowen Watershed and Field Study Community Farm Site Coordinator Outreach Assistant Joyce D. Spragins Noah Gress Rushton Farm Field Manager Manager of Communications and Technology

WILLISTOWN CONSERVATION TRUST 610.353.2562 LAND@WCTRUST.ORG

Willistown Conservation Trust is a nonprofit, taxexempt corporation under Section 501(c)3 of the I.R.S. Code. Donations are tax-deductible. A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the PA Department of State by calling toll free, within Pennsylvania, (800) 732-0999.

Registration does not imply endorsement.

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Striving for

CLEAN WATER

S

New Watershed Initiative is Launched

Since its founders began conserving land in 1979, the Willistown Conservation Trust’s geographic focal area has been organized around the Ridley, Crum, and Darby Creek watersheds. The headwaters of these streams begin here, bubbling out of the ground where they start their journey to the Delaware River, and eventually, the Atlantic Ocean. We have long known that our land conservation efforts improve water quality, but thanks to a new grant from the William Penn Foundation and a partnership with Drexel University and the Academy of Natural Sciences, we will begin to formalize our understanding of the impact of our work through research and education.

The Trust’s new Watershed Conservation Program began in June with the hiring of Lauren McGrath, a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Master of Environmental Studies program and a passionate advocate for water quality.

Lauren’s first steps have focused on identifying existing regional watershed research and initiatives, meeting with other water conservation organizations in the area, and exploring and observing all three streams.

Lauren will be working on collecting data that will provide an in-depth look into the health of the three watersheds by establishing several long-term water quality monitoring sites. Each of these monitoring sites will continually track water chemistry, and each location will be regularly monitored for insects, fish, and algae to help increase our awareness of the health of each stream system and provide insight into the effects of land management practices.

Lauren will initially select and establish a “reference monitoring site” at each of the three streams where ideal conditions are present. Later, two or three more comparison sites will be added to assist our understanding of what steps can be taken to improve the water quality in those locations. An important part of the program will be to establish the permanence of the monitoring sites by locating them on conserved properties and incorporating their protection into existing and future conservation easements, ensuring a long-term commitment to our study and understanding of water quality improvement.

A healthy stream starts with a healthy landscape, and the water monitoring program aims to give a better understanding of how land conservation positively impacts the region.

COVER: Watershed Field Study Coordinator Lauren McGrath explores the Crum Creek near

T I O N Kirkwood T R U S TPreserve, searching for an ideal location for a permanent water monitoring site.

Photo by Catie Ritchie.

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n w e s

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BONNIE VAN ALEN

Watershed Field Study Coordinator Lauren McGrath and Director of Stewardship Bill Hartman survey the Ridley Creek at Ashbridge Preserve.

Thousands Of People Get Their Drinking Water From Your Watershed

Find Your Watershed

Schuylkill River Watershed

Chester County

476

•

Ridley Creek Watershed

202

How can you help?

Phila Delaware County

• • Brandywine Creek Watershed

• 1

95

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Be aware of pesticide, herbicide, and fertilizer use.

The chemicals that are used to maintain lawns are toxic to freshwater ecosystems.

Plant native plants, especially near streams.

Pay attention to water and energy use.

Watch what you put down the drain! Try to avoid using chemicals or using harsh cleaning solutions that will wash into our waterways.

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Migration Mystery Where Do Migrating Birds Fly? First State-wide Motus Array Will Help Provide Some Answers THE NORTHEAST MOTUS COLLABORATION (NMC) IS A PARTNERSHIP THAT WAS ORGANIZED TO FILL A GAP OF MOTUS RECEIVER STATIONS IN THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES. THE NMC IS COMPRISED OF WILLISTOWN CONSERVATION TRUST, THE NED SMITH CENTER FOR NATURE AND ART IN DAUPHIN COUNTY, AND PROJECT OWLNET, HEADED BY LISA KIZIUK, DAVID BRINKER, AND SCOTT WEIDENSAUL RESPECTIVELY.

Fueled by an unparalleled passion for birds, a remarkable team assembled by the NMC completed the first state-wide array of receiver stations in Pennsylvania this past July, constructing 18 towers in 17 days. The network promises new hope for scientists who are working to save declining bird populations. And now that the state-wide array is in place, conservationists, students, and citizens can look forward to a plethora of eye-opening new data about where and which species are migrating through Pennsylvania. The information will help both bird and land conservation organizations like the Trust learn which places are most critical for birds’ survival and most worthy of protection.

The team’s response to the challenges presented by the installation of the towers is an extraordinary story of resilience, persistence, technical problem-solving ability, and physical endurance. Each tower had its own unique set of challenges, as the different installation sites included fire towers, rooftops, mountain tops, meadows, a greenhouse, and a cell phone tower.

The installation tested the team’s mechanical, electrical, computing, solar, and crane-renting skills, just to name a few.

The project began with hundreds of deliveries from Amazon arriving at the Trust’s office almost daily beginning in June. All of the pieces and parts for the 18 towers were gathered in the tractor shed at Rushton Farm where the team began sorting through the labyrinth of boxes and crates and mapping out their plan of attack across the state of Pennsylvania.

“As prepared as we thought we were, almost every tower required some piece of hardware that we did not already have in our kit,” shares Todd Alleger, one of the members of the technical team. “From bedrock to soft soils, we saw every site condition imaginable, and now we are experts in installing a tower using something appropriately called a duckbill anchor,” reports Alison Fetterman, the team’s project coordinator.

Viewing tools and applications that display the data gathered at Motus receiver stations are continuing to evolve, and we look forward to sharing them via our website as soon as they become available. In the meantime, visit motus.org and zoom in on the Motus Network map and Explore Data/View Tracks sections to see some of the migration data gathered to date.

BELOW LEFT TO RIGHT: The new Motus array will help us better understand the migration paths of declining species like this Black-throated blue warbler,

banded in September at Rushton Bird Banding Station. Todd Alleger works on a receiver station from a rented cherry picker in Blue Marsh and Waggoner’s Gap, PA. Todd adjusts cables from a solar panel supplying power to the receiver station at Snow Shoe Fire Tower in Centre County.

ALISON FETTERMAN

LISA KIZIUK

JESSICA SHAHAN

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INSET: (Left to right) Ross Wood (Bird Studies Canada), Jon Rice (Carnegie Museum of Natural History), and Alison Fetterman (Willistown Conservation Trust) pose with landowner Jay Drasher alongside the newly erected tower installed at Neversink Mountain Preserve in Berks County.

Motus technology employs a miniaturized radio transmitter that is attached to a bird’s back. The transmitter emits a pulse that is picked up by any Motus receiver station near where the bird flies.

Motus provides bird migration data that is shared with major bird research facilities globally.

ALISON FETTERMAN

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We Are

Breaking Ground!

RUSHTON CONSERVATION CENTER

After almost four years of planning, construction of the Rushton Conservation Center is nearly set to begin. The Center will enhance the Trust’s research and education programs and provide important meeting space for students, researchers, and members of the community. Please consider helping fund the new center by making a donation to the Willistown Countryside Forever capital campaign. Several underwriting and naming opportunities remain, including those for kitchen equipment, technology, and furnishings. Contact Laura de Ramel at 610-353-2562 ext. 21 or lkd@wctrust.org for more information.

How many ways can we tell the farmers that we love them?

So many ways! Rushton Farm’s 10th anniversary has inspired much reflection and celebration this year, including the creation of a fantastic red oak bench handcrafted

by CSA member and faithful volunteer Cindy Scheeler (on left in upper right photo).

Engravings were added by Peter Hausmann (upper right), one of the Trust’s founders.

Enjoying the new bench in the photo above are farmers (left to right) Todd Alleger, Chelsea Allen, Noah Gress, Molly Clark, and Fred de Long. Photos by Eliza Gowen.

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STAFF AND TRUSTEE NEWS

Movers and Shakers LEFT TO RIGHT: Alex Zozoya and Lauren McGrath. Photos: Matt Szoke, Catie Ritchie.

Alejandro (Alex) Zozaya joined the Board of Trustees in July of this year. Alex is Chief Executive Officer of Apple Leisure Group (ALG), North America’s fastest growing luxury leisure travel company and largest provider of allinclusive luxury vacation experiences throughout Mexico and the Caribbean.

“Alex is an accomplished business leader and is committed to conservation,” said Bonnie Van Alen, Executive Director of Willistown Conservation Trust. “He and his family have supported the Trust for many years and we know that the Trust will benefit from his energy, insights, and counsel.”

Alex and his wife Janine reside with their four daughters at their home on White Horse Road in Berwyn, which they purchased through a “Community Conservation Partnership” in 2000, and subsequently placed under conservation easement with Willistown Conservation Trust. Their recent purchase of Donegal Farm adjacent to Kirkwood Preserve adds to the protection of a beautiful expanse of conserved lands. The Zozaya family is dedicated to a variety of philanthropic causes in the United States as well as in Honduras, where they are actively involved with an orphanage, Amigos de Jesús.

Lauren McGrath is the Trust’s newest staff member, joining the organization in June as our Watershed and Field Study Site Coordinator. Having grown up surrounded by vibrant streams and waterfalls in the area near Ricketts Glen State Park in north central Pennsylvania, Lauren is a devoted and passionate fresh water scientist. She holds a Master of Environmental Studies degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a BS in Biology and Environmental Studies from Ursinus College. She has a background in research and teaching at various scientific and academic institutions, including Stroud Water Research Center, University of Pennsylvania, and the Delaware River Basin Commission.

Newly married, Lauren and her husband Nate reside in Downingtown with their dog Bombadil and cat Gaffer. They enjoy hiking and kayaking in their spare time.

There are many ways to remember the Trust in your will.

Join the Legacy Society today by including the Trust in your estate plan. No matter the size of your estate, and

regardless of your age, you can support land conservation now and well into the future. Help us ensure that future generations will be able to enjoy the same beautiful, natural places that we enjoy today.

Contact Stephanie Kuniholm at 610-353-2562 ext. 19 or srk@wctrust.org for more information.

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The Leaflet

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID SOUTHEASTERN, PA PERMIT NO. 96

WILLISTOWN CONSERVATION TRUST 925 Providence Road Newtown Square, PA 19073

Tickets & info

wctrust.org *rain date October 22nd

October 21, 2017*

Many thanks to our Business Sponsors!

AK Fencing, LLC Altus Partners Aqua America Arader Tree Service, Inc. Audi Devon BHHS Country Properties Office

Barnard, Mezzanotte, Pinnie and Seelaus Benner & Sons Painting and Wallcovering

Blue Water Home, LLC Brandywine Realty Trust Bryn Mawr Landscaping Bryn Mawr Trust Cherokee Construction Conlin’s Digital Print & Copy Center Countryside Consulting, Inc. County Lines Magazine

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Cover & Rossiter CPAs Oliver Heating, Cooling, Plumbing E.C. Trethewey Building Contractors, Inc. & Electrical Elite Group, LLC Peter Zimmerman Architects FireCraft Ranieri & Kerns Associates, LLC Gardner/Fox Associates, Inc. Reed Smith LLP Glennbrook Farm Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP GreenWeaver Landscapes Shreiner Tree Care Griffiths Construction, Inc. Stoltzfus Construction Hawthorn PNC Family Wealth of LanChester LLC James Brown Plumbing Heating & AC, LLC Stratus Foundation John Milner Architects, Inc. with flyADVANCED Jonathan Alderson Landscape Architects, Inc. Sycamore Racing King Construction Company, LLC TableArt Kreischer Miller Warren Claytor Architects, Inc. Main Line Overland WEEDS, Inc. Naturescapes Landscape Specialists, Ltd. White Horse Village

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