RIGHT: New Stewardship team members Andrew Kirkpatrick (far right) and Mike Cranney lead “The Hunt for Skunk Cabbage” in late February in Ashbridge Preserve.
New Faces, Same Commitment The Trust welcomes new Stewardship staff members Andrew Kirkpatrick and Mike Cranney.
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ndrew Kirkpatrick, who joined the Trust in October, is leading the department as Director of Stewardship, and Mike Cranney, hired in February, is our new Preserve Manager. Andrew and Mike, with their impressive backgrounds, bring energy and vision to the department, building on our legacy of stewardship. Andrew’s prior position was Land Stewardship Manager at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, where he managed a 340-acre preserve, led trail projects, coordinated volunteer activities, and managed a retail native plant nursery. His passion for the natural world intensified while thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, and it was his own awareness of nature, being immersed in it dayafter-day, that led Andrew from the trail to an MSLA degree in Landscape Architecture and Ecological Restoration from Temple University, and a career in conservation.
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Mike Cranney earned his MS in Environmental Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, where he gravitated toward work in the field. He interned at Morris Arboretum and worked there for a short time as a gardener. He loves to roll up his sleeves, lead volunteers and get his hands dirty. As Preserve Manager, Mike will be responsible for managing the Trust’s 400 acres of nature preserves, managing and working with volunteers, and conducting easement monitoring. ELEVATING OUR PRESERVES Andrew and Mike have laid out an ambitious vision for the Trust’s stewardship initiatives. “My first goal is to increase the visibility and connectivity of our preserves for the benefit of our community, both local and regional, as well as improve the health of the ecosystems for wildlife, with birds as a top priority, through habitat restoration”, shares Andrew.
