Conservancy Blog

Conservancy Blog

Project Spotlight: Honey Brook Animal Hospital

Peek inside a recent project to help protect water quality downstream by addressing stormwater drainage issues at Honey Brook Animal Hospital, located at the headwaters of the Brandywine Creek.

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Turning Yard Waste into Garden Gold: Composting Through the Fall and Winter

As the temperatures cool and leaves start to change color, many might be wondering how to best prepare their properties and gardens for winter. While dead plant matter in garden beds may seem unsightly to some, leaving the fall cleanup until spring has a whole host of benefits.

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Agriculture Spotlight: Summer

Summer has finally arrived—farm fields are filling in and fresh local produce is becoming available at our local farm stands. Summer not only brings warm weather but more rain as well, with our weather becoming increasingly variable over the past several years. Not only have we experienced more...

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Invasive Species Spotlight: Creeping thistle

In Pennsylvania, Creeping thistle (Cirsium arvense) has a recorded presence approaching 200 years, with the first recorded observation of the species in the Commonwealth happening in the Great Valley near Malvern in 1828. Even then, farmers, botanists, and legislators recognized the threat posed by an established population, and legislation for its control was enacted in 1862. Despite this early awareness, the species established populations throughout the country. Today, it is considered a noxious weed in 43 states.
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Piedmont Spotlight: Sycamore – Mixed Hardwood Floodplain Forest 

Join us as we continue our exploration of the vegetative communities of the Piedmont region of the Eastern United States. In this ongoing series of blogs, we will spotlight specific vegetative communities, define their historic structures, describe the processes that created them, examine past and ongoing threats to their survival, and provide suggestions for long-term, sustainable forest management to help steward them into the future.
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