By Jonathan Long, NextGen Council member

Hello all, my name is Jonathan Long.  I’m a member of Natural Lands’ NextGen Council.  For a day job, I’m a land use and property attorney in West Chester, Chester County, but I’ve always had a love of the outdoors and hiking after growing up in central Pennsylvania in the woods on the side of a mountain.

As professions go, law can be pretty stressful, so I lean into destressing activities, which for me are hiking and photography.  Hiking allows me to clear my head and photography provides a creative outlet.  Over the years, I have found that there are perhaps no better spots for enjoying hiking and photography together than Natural Lands’ preserves.  My home preserves–Stroud, ChesLen, and Bryn Coed–are my favorite spots, but I’m always looking for new spots.  The preserves’ combination of woods, grass lands, native flowers, and strategically placed scenic overlooks provides a plethora of motifs and subjects.

One of my absolute favorite things to do is to get up early, grab coffee, and head out to Stroud when the world, and the sun, are just waking up. There’s something so magical about catching shots of the morning mist still clinging to the hillsides, dew drops on cobwebs strung between grass stems, or bees and butterflies lazily enjoying the native flowers in the fields.

I hope you enjoy the pics and I hope to see you out at one of the preserves someday!

By Daniel Barringer, Preserve Manager.

We are thrilled to announce that we now have a mediation labyrinth at the Warwick Woods part of Crow’s Nest Preserve. It was the initiative and effort of our long-term residential intern, Elwood Harney, who has enjoyed them at other places and wanted to create one here.

The labyrinth is a walking meditation, not a maze. Labyrinths can be used for different reasons: coping with grief and loss, opening the flow of creativity, relieving stress, or just needing some time to clear your mind. A labyrinth is often used as a metaphor representing the journey to the center of your deepest self and back out into world with a better understanding of who you are. (Source: brochure for the meditation labyrinth at St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church in Douglassville, Pennsylvania.)

We think that our labyrinth is particularly wonderful because it is located in a beautiful natural setting. It occupies one of the former campsites at Warwick Woods, so it takes up little space in an area that was already a gravel pad. We had a couple pallets of used bricks available, and we decided that a brick and gravel labyrinth would be easy to maintain. Special thanks go to our Buildings Stewardship staff and Excavator George Albright for their work adding and spreading the gravel.

You can find the labyrinth just west of the meadow at Warwick Woods, on the Meadow Loop Trail. It does not yet appear on trail maps so we hope you enjoy the discovery of it as you explore Crow’s Nest Preserve. Our interns add a lot to the experience of working and volunteering at Crow’s Nest, and a project is often a highlight of their time here. Our paid long-term internship includes provided housing and includes work in both land stewardship and environmental education.

By Daniel Barringer, Preserve Manager.

Yes, I know it’s only half over. But strange!

We had a hard frost in mid-April. That’s not remarkable; our last “possible” frost date here is May 15—two more weeks from now, and we’ve had them even later than mid-May a couple times. What was unusual—and damaging to so many plants—is that the frost was preceded by a few days at close to 90 degrees. Unfortunately a lot of trees had leafed out; their very small leaves were still susceptible to the cold and have been killed. So now, a few weeks later, the landscape partly looks like spring—green grass and some species fully leafed out—while other trees are bare like it’s still winter. You can see the difference even as you pull in our parking lot.

Cold air must have pooled in the low-lying valley (in which most of Crow’s Nest Preserve is located) because the oaks on the surrounding ridges appear relatively unscathed while many in the valley entirely lack leaves, or have shriveled leaves and flowers (photo above). The lead photo, an aerial view of the woods surrounding French Creek, shows plenty of pin oak minus leaves while other species are already green. Below, a shag-bark hickory with shriveled leaves.

Compare the photo above with another hickory nearby that has normal growth (below):

In addition to some oaks and hickories, yellowwood (Cladrastis kentukea, photo below), black gum (Nyssa sylvatica), sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua), and hackberry (Celtis occidentals) also had their leaves killed. Redbud (Cercis canadensis) flowered beautifully but now the leaves look like they were damaged. Black walnuts and ash (we still have a few) are always later to leaf out, and though they might have been affected, it’s difficult to tell. Some tuliptrees (Liriodendron tulipifera) look a little thin; others look ok.

Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) took a hit but new leaves have already greened up behind the dead ones (see below):

Things that leafed out fine include red maple (Acer rubrum), ironwood/American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana), and American dogwood (Cornus florida). American beech (Fagus grandiflora) looks ok, except that the leaves in the last couple years have already been appearing discolored and distorted by beech leaf disease and there’s a fair chance that many of these will be defoliated by summer. Blackhaw (Viburnum prunifolium) is flowering now and the leaves look great—those leaves are a little leathery and that seems to help.

Interestingly, a couple species that we understand might be negatively affected by the heat stress of summers under a changing climate (we’re near the southern end of their range) have full leaves: black cherry (Prunus serotina) and sugar maple (Acer saccharum).

I didn’t notice any of our typical invasive plants affected by the frost, except for Asiatic bittersweet vine (Celastris orbiculatus). I don’t see any changes to evergreen conifers like white pine or red cedar, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t affected.

Among herbaceous plants, of course sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis) was knocked back—that’s why it’s called sensitive fern. That will return after a bit of time. We’ve had a very good year for spring ephemeral wildflowers, some spectacular displays of anemone, bishop’s hat, sessile bellwort, hepatica, bloodroot, spring beauty, mayapple, nodding trillium, and Dutchman’s breeches. My sense is that although they experienced the same conditions, their leaves were sufficiently formed and hardened off by the time of the cold snap. Now we also have blooms of Solomon’s seal, showy orchis, and Jack-in-the-pulpit to enjoy.

I worry about the stress trees will experience having to form a second set of leaves, especially given the drought conditions we are also experiencing this spring, and following a winter of notably low temperatures. This will be one of those years with narrow growth rings, I expect. Right now things look a little grim, but we can hope that everything will recover in a month. A lesson I take away from this is that we should try to have as much species diversity in our forests as we can.

by Tanya Dapkey, NextGen Council member

Hello, my name is Tanya Dapkey and I am a member of the NextGen Council at Natural Lands. I am also an ecologist and entomologist who loves going outside, and right now is the perfect time to start going outside if you love insects the way I do.

I have loved open spaces for as long as I can remember, and Hildacy Preserve holds a special place in my heart. I have conducted Moth Night events at Hildacy since 2016, bringing my love of insects to the public and also bringing my family along for the ride.

Recently, I took a nice long walk through Hildacy and found some of my favorite insects: ground-nesting bees (important pollinators), cranefly larvae in the leaf packs along Crum Creek, and some adorable sweat bees (also important pollinators). I also found a Chinese praying mantis ootheca, which I destroyed. These invasive insects can out-compete our beautiful native mantis, the Carolina mantis (Stagmomantis carolina). (Here’s a post showing the difference between native and invasive praying mantises, and what to do if you find an invasive egg case.)

ground-nesting bee

cranefly larvae

sweat bee

The Greater Philadelphia City Nature Challenge is a great springtime activity, always occurring around Earth Day each year. If you can, join thousands of nature enthusiasts as we head outdoors to explore the natural world around us. Start at one of your favorite Natural Lands preserves or any park or open space near you. iNaturalist does all the identification for you so you can enjoy the outdoors while learning more about what lives in the world around us all. Check out the iNaturalist information collected at Hildacy Preserve.

I hope to see you outside on one of the preserves enjoying the sunshine and… insects. 🙂

By Daniel Barringer, Preserve Manager.

Sometimes, we all need a little help. We all forget things, drop things, or put our water bottle on the roof of our car before driving away.

At Crow’s Nest Preserve we’ve accumulated a stash of hats, sunglasses, water bottles, and other hiking accessories that were left in our parking lot, but we have always struggled with how to reunite these items with their owners.

Feel free to contact us if you think you have left something here. I am pleased share an incredible story that a wedding ring lost along our trails was found a few years later and reunited with the couple who had reached out to us—we kept their names and email on file in case it turned up.

But until now we had no self-service method of getting commonly-dropped items back to their owners. And stuff was piling up in the visitor center. I asked Luke DiBerardinis in Building Stewardship to create a sturdy, weatherproof box that could be mounted in the parking lot next to the information kiosk. The lid had to be designed so it could not be left open. Done—you can see the results above. Graphics Designer Kristen Bower made an attractive little sign to identify the box.

I find it unbelievable that I have to say this—but the box is not a seat, the way it was used twice in the first day it was installed. We do have more than 20 Leopold benches, Adirondack chairs, and other seats around the preserve that we hope you enjoy.

But please lift the lid and check if you left something here on an earlier trip. There’s already a pair of reading glasses in there, and only a little worrisome, a lug nut from the wheel of a car.

 

By Daniel Barringer, Preserve Manager.

Earlier this spring Scouts from Troop 140 assisted Eagle Scout candidate Ethan Graef with his Eagle Project at Crow’s Nest Preserve. The purpose of an Eagle Project is for a Scout to demonstrate leadership in completing a service or improvement for a nonprofit or public organization.

Our old telephone-pole footbridge on the Creek Trail was showing its age. It’s one of the first projects I did at Crow’s Nest almost 30 years ago, and it spanned about 30′. The bridge was easily on its 3rd or 4th generation of deck boards, but the base the deck is screwed into was becoming so rotted it would no longer hold screws. It was time to replace it with a modern bridge over one of the several areas that let floodwaters expand and recede along French Creek while keeping the trail open.

Removing the old bridge was no small task, but after staff cut up the poles with a chainsaw, Scouts carried out the pieces for disposal. The location is only reachable on foot, not with wheeled equipment, so Ethan designed the replacement bridge to be built in sections in his garage. Then Scouts’ many hands transported the modules to the final location where they were bolted together. The old bridge was cabled to trees to keep it from washing away in floodwaters; the new footbridge is anchored at all four corners with concrete footers.

We’re thrilled with how it turned out and are looking forward to many years of use, joining three other Eagle Scout footbridges (and two others built by staff) along the Creek Trail. We hope you enjoy the improvement.

By Eduardo Dueñas, NextGen Council member

Hi, everyone. My name is Eduardo Duenas, and I’m proud to serve as a member of the Natural Lands’ NextGen Council. Recently, my family rescued a puppy and—let me tell you—our lives have completely changed in the best way.

Bella, our energetic and curious pup, loves to walk and explore new places. As new dog parents, we’re always looking for safe, scenic, and welcoming spaces where she (and my twin eight-year-old boys) can stretch their legs and discover nature.

I had been hearing incredible feedback from fellow dog owners about Saunders Woods Preserve, so we decided to experience it ourselves. And, wow—it did not disappoint.

From the peaceful wooded trails to the sense of calm you feel as soon as you step onto the path, it’s truly a special place. Bella loved every second of it, and it has quickly becoame one of our favorite weekend adventures. Watching her explore reminded me exactly why protected open spaces matter—not just for wildlife, but for families like ours who rely on these natural places to recharge and connect.

We highly encourage everyone—especially fellow dog lovers — to visit this beautiful preserve. It’s a gem. (Just remember to keep your dogs leashed at all times and pick up their waste.)

Now we’re officially on the lookout for our next Natural Lands dog walk adventure.

If you value preserved open spaces, I encourage you to consider donating or becoming a member of Natural Lands. Organizations like this ensure that these places remain protected, ecologically healthy, and accessible for generations to come.

See you on the trails!

MEDIA, Pa., January 5, 2026 – Natural Lands announced today the permanent preservation of a 23.4-acre property in East Bradford Township, Chester County. The land, now protected under a conservation easement held by Natural Lands, is connected to hundreds of acres of open space, offering important contiguous habitat to wildlife.

“We are grateful to the landowners, who wish to remain anonymous, for their generous donation of a conservation easement on their property and to East Bradford Township for their enthusiastic support of this project,” said Sarah Turner, land protection project manager for Natural Lands. “Conservation of this beautiful property increases the acreage of protected open space in East Bradford Township, helping to ensure the area’s natural and scenic values are protected in perpetuity.”

An easement is a legally binding agreement that keeps land in private ownership while ensuring it is conserved from development. It applies to present and future owners of the land. Natural Lands currently holds 500+ easements on more than 26,000 acres and monitors these properties regularly to ensure the terms of the easements are being upheld.

Natural Lands’ 571-acre Stroud Preserve is located less than a half of a mile from the now-conserved land. The organization’s most recent strategic plan, entitled Thriving Nature, Thriving Communities, Thriving Organization, includes goals to protect special places that provide conservation benefit and cultural significance to the community. Natural Lands’ nature preserves are just such places, and the plan calls for preservation of land adjacent to and nearby existing nature preserves, a goal that this conservation easement meets. Natural Lands’ strategic plan will guide the nonprofit’s priorities through 2030 and can be viewed at natlands.org/strategicplan.

The property was identified by East Bradford Township as a conservation priority in their 2016 comprehensive plan, and they are an enthusiastic partner in seeing this property conserved.
“East Bradford Township is proud to partner with Natural Lands to permanently protect more than 23 acres in the western portion of the township,” said Mandie Cantlin, township manager. “This conservation easement reflects our shared commitment to preserving open space, protecting natural resources, and ensuring that this land remains protected for the benefit of future generations.”

The landowners donated to value of the conservation easement and East Bradford Township covered Natural Lands’ expenses as well as a $20,000 contribution to the easement stewardship fund, which underwrites Natural Lands’ costs to monitor and manage the easement in perpetuity.

Natural Lands is dedicated to preserving and nurturing nature’s wonders while creating opportunities for joy and discovery in the outdoors for everyone. As the Greater Philadelphia region’s oldest and largest land conservation organization, Natural Lands—which is member supported—has preserved more than 136,600 acres, including 40+ nature preserves and one public garden totaling more than 23,600 acres. About five million people live within five miles of land under the organization’s protection. Land for life, nature for all. natlands.org.

Please note: “Natural Lands” is the organization’s official operating name and should be used instead of its legal designation (Natural Lands Trust, Inc.).

Media Inquiries:
Kit Werner, Senior Director of Communications
610-353-5587 ext. 267

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Every fall, Monarch butterflies across eastern North America travel thousands of miles to spend the winter in the mountaintop forests of central Mexico. They cluster by the hundreds in oyamel fir trees, waiting for early spring when they’ll begin the journey back to our region. For the past two decades, scientists in Mexico have estimated the population of Monarchs overwintering there by measuring the acres of trees occupied by the butterflies.

Last winter, the population of winter Monarchs in Mexico occupied about 4.4 acres, double the area of the previous year, giving hope for this beloved pollinator that has faced decades of decline. Experts believe the surge in numbers was due to favorable weather conditions during fall migration, unlike the previous couple of years when there were extended droughts and major storm events.

But, before we start to celebrate this nearly 100 percent increase, scientists believe 15 acres of roosting Monarchs is needed for the population to stabilize. While planting native milkweed species—the only plants on which adult Monarchs lay eggs and larval Monarchs feed—is critical, it’s only a part of the complex puzzle of this species’ survival.

avoid captive rearing.

One recent study, which aggregated about 2,600 community scientists’ observation of Monarch “roosts” along the fall migration route, showed that roost sizes declined from north to south along the flyway. These data show the roosts in Texas are about 80 percent smaller than they were 17 years ago. This indicates an issue during migration.

While experts don’t fully agree on the reasons for this decline, many point to a dramatic increase in captive-bred Monarchs. On the face of it, rearing Monarch caterpillars in predator-proof enclosures seems like a great way to help the species. Yet, captive breeding—which has increased apace with concern for the threatened species—can negatively impact overall species health. It can spread disease, reduce genetic diversity, and create competition for limited resources. Several studies have shown that captive-bred Monarchs have lower survival rates.

plant only native milkweed.

A little protozoan parasite, Ophryocystes elektroscirrha or OE for short, is causing big problems for these imperiled pollinators. High OE levels in adult Monarchs have been linked to lower migration success as well as reduced lifespan, mating success, and flight ability. The parasite travels with Monarchs, and, as they sip on milkweed flowers, the butterflies inadvertently deposit it on the plants’ leaves. When caterpillars hatch and feed on the tainted foliage, they ingest the OE.

When native milkweed species die back, the parasite dies along with them. However, non-native tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) remains evergreen through winter, allowing OE levels to increase year over year. Additionally, emerging research suggests that tropical milkweed may become toxic to caterpillars when the plants experience the warmer temperatures associated with climate change.

As a way to help feed Monarchs, more and more people have been planting tropical milkweed. Ironically, much like captive breeding, well-meaning people are contributing to the butterfly’s challenges.

plant lots of natives, in addition to milkweed.

Native milkweed species—which include common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), and poke milkweed (Asclepias exaltata)—are essential for Monarch caterpillars. In fact, milkweed is the only species of plant the caterpillars can eat. It is also a great source of nectar for all pollinators.

But milkweed alone is not enough for adult butterflies. Planting a diversity of summer- and fall-flowering native plants ensures there are food sources throughout the adult stage of their life cycle. This not only helps Monarchs, but also beneficial native bees, wasps, and flies. Top choices include goldenrods, coreopsis, monarda, purple coneflower, Joe Pye weed, asters, phlox, and ironweed.

“At Stoneleigh, we’ve observed a few nectar superstars that draw an impressive number of pollinators, including wild mint (Mentha arvensis), anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum), showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa), clustered mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum), and aromatic aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium),” said Ethan Kauffman, director of Stoneleigh: a natural garden. “These plants enrich biodiversity and are incredibly beautiful—great additions to any yard, garden, or container.”

add your observations.

The International Monarch Monitoring Blitz is a call to action for anyone interested in the species’ conservation to contribute to community science conservation efforts. The information collected by thousands of volunteers each year helps researchers assess population trends. For example, gathering data on the number of both Monarch caterpillars and milkweed plants allows for the calculation of a “cat”-to-milkweed ratio. Researchers use this ratio to estimate the size of the Monarch population.

continue to support conservation.

By supporting Natural Lands with your membership, you help Monarchs and other pollinators. The land conservation and stewardship work that is core to Natural Lands’ mission ensures native species have access to flower-filled meadows, clean water, and biodiverse flyways.

Your financial contribution also underwrites engagement programs that introduce children and adults to butterflies, moths, and other insects as well as conservation concepts. By providing impactful experiences with the wonders of nature, you help cultivate future generations of caring conservationists.

counting winged things.

A fifth (22 percent) of U.S. butterflies have disappeared since 2000. About 33 percent of species underwent “significant shrinkage” in populations.

The study, published in the journal Science this past spring, combined data from 76,000 surveys including those by community scientists. Of the 554 species included, the scientists had enough data to make conclusions about 342 species. Their results revealed 13 times more species declined than increased, with 107 species losing at least half of their populations.

For the past three decades, volunteers and staff at Mariton Wildlife Sanctuary have been counting butterflies as a way to evaluate species populations and biodiversity. The participants count an average of 17 different species per year at our Easton, PA, nature preserve.

“There are some species that were noted in years past that are now absent, but we’ve also seen new species show up,” said Zane Miller, preserve manager.

“For example, last year was a huge year for Huron Sachem, a southeastern U.S. species that migrates north each year. They seem to be expanding their northerly range due to climate change. Red-banded Hairstreaks are another southern species that have started showing up more frequently in recent years.”

The Mariton community scientists have noted a steep decline in Monarch butterflies that correlates with regional observations.

“Observers counted only two Monarchs in 2015,” Zane said.

“But the past couple of years have been more hopeful. This past summer, we recorded 20 of them. Maybe the attention this poster-child pollinator has received in recent years—and the increase in milkweed many folks are planting in their yards—is helping turn the tide for Monarchs.”

MEDIA, Pa., December 18, 2025 – Natural Lands is celebrating a banner year for tree planting in 2025.  The non-profit conservation organization has planted 22,500 trees across 75 acres at four of its nature preserves. The seedlings are all native species. As they mature, the trees will help reduce erosion, filter and recharge groundwater, clean and cool the air, sequester carbon, and provide habitat for insects and wildlife.

The large-scale plantings transformed meadows, former farm fields, and stream corridors at Diabase Farm Preserve (New Hope, Bucks County), Peacedale Preserve (Landenberg, Chester County), Sadsbury Woods Preserve (Coatesville, Chester County), and Stroud Preserve (West Chester, Chester County). These preserves are free and open to the public year-round.

In addition, Natural Lands hosted several volunteer and member tree planting events where community members planted more than 1,000 trees at ChesLen (Coatesville, Chester County) and Stroud Preserves.

The seedlings planted include red maple, silver maple, hornbeam, redbud, tuliptree, black gum, sycamore, white oak, swamp white oak, pin oak, chestnut oak, elderberry, and flowering dogwood. Planted at a density of about 300 trees per acre, the seedlings are protected from deer by five-foot-tall tree shelters that photodegrade over time. The trees and shrubs were planted in 12-foot rows, wide enough to allow preserve stewardship staff to mow between them, which will reduce competition from other vegetation until the seedlings have matured.

“It’s really quite remarkable how much of a positive impact planting trees has on water quality,” said Gary Gimbert, vice president of stewardship for Natural Lands. “As these species mature, their roots allow water to penetrate deep into the ground, which reduces flooding and recharges underground aquifers. Alongside creeks, the tree roots stabilize the soil to reduce erosion.”

In addition to improving water quality, the planting projects will re-establish forest cover and improve wildlife habitat. In particular, woodlands are essential for migratory songbirds—such as Scarlet Tanager and Wood Thrush—that rely on the dense forest for food and protection from the weather and predators.

When Europeans first explored Pennsylvania, trees covered 90 percent of the territory. Though the Native Americans who had lived in the region for thousands of years did clear some land for hunting and agriculture, famed naturalist John Bartram still found forests so thick it was “as if the sun had never shown on the ground since the creation.” But by 1850, millions of acres had been cleared for farming, timber, and firewood.

Natural Lands’ is committed to restoring habitat on their nature preserves, which cover more than 23,000 acres of land across Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Planting seedlings that will someday become thriving forests is part of this stewardship ethos.

Funding for these projects were provided by:

• Conservancy Grant Program, Commissioners of Chester County, Pennsylvania
• E. Kneale Dockstader Foundation
• Generous donors to Natural Lands’ Preserve Restoration Fund
• Growing Greener Grant provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
• USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

Please see this video about the yearlong reforestation project across Natural Lands’ preserves.

Natural Lands is dedicated to preserving and nurturing nature’s wonders while creating opportunities for joy and discovery in the outdoors for everyone.  As the Greater Philadelphia region’s oldest and largest land conservation organization, Natural Lands—which is member supported—has preserved more than 136,600 acres, including 40+ nature preserves and one public garden totaling more than 23,600 acres. About five million people live within five miles of land under the organization’s protection. Land for life, nature for all. natlands.org.

Please note: “Natural Lands” is the organization’s official operating name and should be used instead of its legal designation (Natural Lands Trust, Inc.).