LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The work of Willistown Conservation Trust takes place on the ancestral lands of the Lenni Lenape. We honor the Lenape and other Indigenous caretakers of these lands and waters, the elders who lived here before, the Indigenous today, and the generations to come. We acknowledge the Lenni Lenape as the original people of this land and their continuing relationship with their territory. In our acknowledgment of the presence of Lenape people in their homeland, we affirm the aspiration of the great Lenape Chief Tamanend, that there be harmony between the Indigenous people of this land and the descendants of the immigrants to this land, “as long as the rivers and creeks flow, and the sun, moon, and stars shine.” As we enjoy and protect the beauty of Willistown and surrounding areas, we cannot forget its original inhabitants and how their way of life echoes throughout the conservation of this land and its natural resources. While we preserve the land we must also preserve its history and the history of the Indigenous people. By sharing their story with the community, and working with local Native American organizations including the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania, we can hope to ensure that their legacy lives on with the land.

The mission of Willistown Conservation Trust is to preserve and manage the open land, rural character, scenic, recreational, historic, agricultural, and natural resources of the Willistown area and nearby communities, and to share these unique resources with people of all ages and backgrounds to inspire, educate, and develop a lifelong commitment to the land and the natural world.

Over the years, we have watched southeastern Pennsylvania develop exponentially, to the detriment of the nature we all love and need. Willistown Conservation Trust has heeded the call to save, study, and share land, water, and habitat — work that is only made possible thanks to the dedication of landowners, neighbors, and private citizens just like you.

Since the 1980’s, the Willistown community has united in the name of conservation. A movement was started by Bonnie Van Alen and the many landowners who donated their land under conservation easement to save it from encroaching development. It is thanks to their foresight to permanently protect their land that we are able to hike though protected woodlands, ride on horseback over permanently protected trails, and find reprieve in wild and natural spaces. We continue to expand our work into surrounding communities as we seek to promote the value of open space.

Founded in 1996 to uphold this conservation movement, Willistown Conservation Trust is devoted to the continual protection of 28,000 acres within Chester and Delaware Counties. Our organization has helped save over 7,500 acres from development, but there are many more species, ecosystems, and future nature preserves still in need of our protection.

As Executive Director of Willistown Conservation Trust, it is my goal to help you protect your land with the very best Land Protection team we can offer. We have found the conservation easement to be an incredibly successful tool that ensures permanent protection of your land, offers flexibility to you, and gives us all the assurance that your land and legacy will remain safeguarded and upheld well into the future.

Willistown Conservation Trust is an accredited land trust, and we have the skill and experience to manage complex land conservation issues. As a lifelong resident of this area, and as your neighbor, community member, and fellow conservation easement donor, I can personally attest for the importance of contributing your property to open space. When we protect our land, we create a network of connected parcels that provide important habitat for our deteriorating numbers of bird species, increase the health of our streams, and offer nature to our children and their children to continue exploring. We make an impact, one that lasts forever.

I hope you will consider joining the conservation movement by donating a conservation easement.

610.353.2562, EXT. 100