The blooming of ephemeral flowers is one of the early signs that spring has finally sprung, and warmer weather is—hopefully—here to stay. However, not all spring ephemerals are a welcome start to the season. Don’t let the sweet buttercup appearance of lesser celandine fool you. This early, sprouting invasive species grows vigorously, quickly forming large mats and outcompeting native ephemerals before they even have a chance. Lesser celandine can wreak much havoc in its short lifecycle which makes early detection and control key to protecting our native nectar sources of spring.

We’re looking forward to the 4th Annual Bike the Brandywine coming up on September 28th and if you haven’t registered yet, now’s the time!

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.

In the summer of 2015, pitch pines in Nottingham County Park and nearby sites started showing signs of stress. The crowns of the trees had started yellowing. Later, pea-sized globs of white resin were noticed on the bark of a few trees. At the time the Southern Pine Bark beetle was not yet considered a threat. They had been known to affect a damaged tree from time to time, but had never mounted a large infestation in Pennsylvania. By the fall of 2017 nearly every single pitch pine in the area was dead or dying. The infestation stretched from nearby state forest lands in the south to privately held tracts to the north.