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Winter Scenes and Cleaner Streams

Thursday, September 5, 2019

By: Jan Bowers, P.G., Director of Facilities, Chester County

As we prepare for the winter months ahead, learn about some of the challenges associated with keeping icy roads safe and waterways clean with this special guest article by Jan Bowers, P.G., Chester County's new Director of Facilities, and former Executive Director of Chester County Water Resources Authority (CCWRA). Throughout the years, monitoring has shown increased chloride levels over time due to a "runoff cocktail" of road and pavement deicers, wastewater treatments, fertilizers and animal manure. Read about how these increased chloride levels impact our waterways, as well as actions you can take to reduce your salt footprint at home.

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Helping Pollinators Thrive at the Laurels Preserve

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

By: Grant Folin, Laurels Preserve Manager

Pollinators play a crucial role in every ecosystem and ensure the reproduction of many flowering plants. In recent years, scientists have observed a worldwide decline in pollinators, including native bee species—most notably in honeybees—and some butterfly and moth species. It is believed that the decline has been caused principally by habitat loss and more intensive use of pesticides on crops. In order to thrive, it is important that pollinators find nectar from plants available to them throughout the growing season.

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Adapting to Beavers

Wednesday, June 5, 2019

By: Susan Charkes, Easement Steward

North America’s largest rodent, the beaver (Castor canadensis), is supremely well adapted to life in and around fresh water. In December 2018, Conservancy staff discovered a new beaver dam and lodge at Waterloo Mills Preserve that had re-routed a stream and inundated the Preserve’s wet meadows. While some of the adverse impacts included the destruction of healthy trees, there have also been some surprising benefits as a result of the Preserve's newest inhabitants.

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Invasive Species Spotlight: Common Reed (Phragmites australis)

Sunday, June 2, 2019

By: Kelly Ford, Easement Stewardship Intern

Many invasive species become such a large and familiar part of our landscape that we stop noticing them. Common Reed or Phragmites australis may be one of these plants. It lines highways, fills drainage basins, dominates floodplains and in some places covers thousands of acres. It is so common that even though it often grows to well over 10 feet, we barely notice it. In the northeastern United States and Canada this one plant has cost millions to state and local economies.

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Delay the Haying to Help Bobolinks Thrive

Thursday, May 30, 2019

How would you feel about a visitor who arrives without warning, then decides to camp behind your house for a few weeks, singing loudly and raising a family? And oh yes, he’s brought a dozen friends?You might feel differently if your visitors are Bobolinks. These brilliantly colored...

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The Greenhouse at Penguin Court

Friday, May 10, 2019

By: Melissa Reckner, Program Manager, Penguin Court

In 2015, the Brandywine Conservancy took ownership of Penguin Court, Richard M. Scaife’s former family estate in Laughlintown, Westmoreland County, PA...

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