Honoring Bonnie’s Legacy and Looking to Willistown Conservation Trust’s Future By Monica McQuail, Communications Specialist
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ithin the ever growing area of Chester County lies a hidden swath of land that sits in stark contrast to the noisy highways and developments that surround it. Here, the rolling hills dotted with an abundance of wildlife, luscious pastures, and scenic woodlands offer a quiet reprieve to passersby, one that has remained nearly untouched since the early settlers first arrived. Today, this special place is known as Willistown, and its rural charm and 7,500 acres of protected open space would not exist if it weren’t for Bonnie Van Alen. Born in Chester Springs, Bonnie Van Alen (née Bartholomew), grew up on her family farm, where she spent her time working and riding her pony across the countryside. She describes her childhood as “free range,” one without boundaries aor constraints that afforded her a deep connection with nature and the great outdoors. “I loved every aspect of it: the animals, the wildlife, and the freedom,” she says. Following her education at Agnes Irwin School and later at Penn State University, Bonnie returned to Chester County with her sweetheart, Jim Van Alen. The two married and settled in Jim’s childhood home of Willistown in 1969 where they lived next door to Jim’s family on Delchester Road. It was there that they raised their three boys — Jimmy, Alex and Rob — who spent their younger years exploring creeks and woodlands around the farm. During this period in the 1980’s, the Van Alens and their neighbors grew concerned over development pressures threatening to disrupt the important habitat and rural characteristic of this area. Bonnie took it upon herself to explore a new tool that the Brandywine Conservancy had been using to restrict uncontrolled development: conservation easements. Leaving her work with the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Bonnie launched a satellite program under the Brandywine Conservancy with the purpose of conserving Willistown properties with conservation easements that would be held by Brandywine. After a crash course in conservation easement law and easement drafting, Bonnie and her conservation partner
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Kathe McCoy got to work drawing a map by hand to identify their focus area within the headwaters of the Crum, Ridley, and Darby Creeks: about 28,000 acres. After systematically identifying strategic properties and their owners, the duo began approaching landowners with this new concept of conservation, and they found that many were thrilled to contribute to this greater cause. As Bonnie explains, “These first landowners who donated easements took a risk and a leap of faith. And as the years went on, this land ethic grew and developed to build a true community of conservation.” Of course, not every neighbor was moved to permanently protect their land. In 1995, a 200-acre, centrally located farm went on the market, and the owner submitted a plan to the township to construct 80 houses on it, along with the necessary infrastructure to support these homes. Gathering their neighbors, Bonnie and Kathe, guided by local attorney, Peter Somers, formed a community partnership of investors to acquire the property for resale to conservation minded buyers. This became the model for the nonprofit Delchester Group, Inc., which, under the leadership of Bonnie, Peter and Alice Hausmann, and others has since been used to create community partnerships to acquire and save 17 properties comprising over 2,000 acres that would have otherwise been bulldozed and developed within Willistown. After completing 90 conservation easements with the Brandywine Conservancy, in 1996 Bonnie and Alice took the next steps to turn their satellite organization into its own independent 501(c)(3) charity with the support of the community and the blessing of friend and Brandywine Conservancy President, Frolic Weymouth. Called Willistown Conservation Trust, the organization soon began preserving public trail easements and three public nature preserves — Ashbridge Preserve, Kirkwood Preserve, and Rushton Woods Preserve — in addition to completing many more conservation easements with local landowners. Under Bonnie’s leadership, the Trust expanded to over 25 employees, 22 Trustees and hundreds of volunteers, and today it offers six nationally renowned programs for public engagement and research, including the Bird Conservation,
