Our Preservationists, and what they are doing

Brandywine Conservancy: The conservancy holds more than 510 conservation and agricultural easements and has facilitated the permanent preservation of over 70,200 acres – including over 1,900 acres in Delaware, which mostly support farming. The group, based in Chadds Ford, is a leader on the Brandywine Creek Greenway, a 40-mile conservation and recreation corridor along both branches of the Brandywine, boasting over 36,000 acres of protected open space.

Delaware Nature Society: The society manages nearly 2,000 acres in Delaware, including 1,400 in New Castle County. Some properties can be explored only on programs; others have trail access daily dawn to dusk. One key tract: Coverdale Farm Preserve, near Greenville, with 200 acres of restored native meadows, forest and stream valley, plus a 177-acre farm. Volunteers help monitor nearly 200 nest boxes, participate in tree planting, control invasive plants and help with other activities. Areas protected for the long term protect waterways that supply drinking water to thousands and “mitigate against the impacts of climate change by reducing flooding, supporting wildlife, sequestering carbon and reducing temperatures,” said marketing manager Stephanie Sturmfels.

Delaware State Parks: The division manages more than 2,000 acres in northwestern New Castle County, including Alapocas Run and Wilmington state parks (521 acres), Auburn Valley State Park (471), Brandywine Creek State Park (955), Flint Woods Nature Preserve (143 of the preserve’s 217) and Tulip Tree Woods Nature Preserve (24). Brandywine Creek’s rolling meadows provide habitat to native pollinators, ground-nesting birds and rare native plants. Those “open meadows are excellent for picnics, kite flying, and disc golf, and in the winter, for sledding and cross-country skiing,” the park’s website says, noting the park maintains trails for fitness, wildlife observation and photography; stocks Wilson’s Creek with fish; runs canoeing and other interpretive programs; and hosts outfitters that rent canoes, kayaks and tubes for rides down the Brandywine.

First State National Historical Park: The Beaver Valley tract east of the Brandywine covers 1,100 acres, some farmed, with miles of trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding. Woodlawn Trustees developed the trails and amenities when it owned that land, and it still owns a lot of acreage to the east.

Longwood Gardens: The gardens cover 1,100 acres, with 750 in forests, fields, streams, meadows and wetlands, and of that, 100 acres that can be explored via trails. The acreage supports more than 200 species of birds and more than 760 species of native plants. Longwood researches environmental change and tests land management practices. It is also taking over the 505-acre Granogue estate.

Mt. Cuba Center: Mt. Cuba conserves more than 1,000 acres of natural lands – including meadows, forests, streams and riparian corridors – surrounding its manicured gardens. Its long-term plan includes moving its main entrance to Old Wilmington Road, for easier access for buses. Trails cross the natural lands, with benches for resting and water-bottle-filling stations for hydration. The center has been involved in protecting more than 13,000 acres in the mid-Atlantic.

Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library: Winterthur’s 978 acres are protected by an easement with the Brandywine Conservancy, with half naturalized meadow and a fifth woodland. Founder Henry Francis du Pont “loved the rolling hills of the Brandywine and intended to preserve them so that people could enjoy them,” said CEO Chris Strand. “The garden is crisscrossed with paths that encourage exploration. And we offer walks and programs that equip people to explore the landscape.”