NEW FACES, SAME COMMITMENT

RIGHT: New Stewardship team members Andrew Kirkpatrick (far right) and Mike Cranney lead “The Hunt for Skunk Cabbage” in late February in Ashbridge Preserve.

The Trust welcomes new Stewardship staff members Andrew Kirkpatrick and Mike Cranney.

Andrew 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.

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.

BLAKE GOLL STEVE RYAN/WCT

Imagine if landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead had come to Willistown and designed our preserves; they would be a beacon for the community of the beauty and importance of preserving nature for its own sake. That is my target: to create space in nature that people find irresistible and nourishing. - Andrew Kirkpatrick Director of Stewardship “ “

NEW FACES (cont’d) While our nature preserves are beautiful oases of conserved space, defining the distinct personality and characteristics of each will be our guiding principle to incorporate into individual master plans. Developing master plans for each preserve will afford us the opportunity to add simple design elements that will resonate with the public and keep them coming back to enjoy our preserves every season. Realigning trails to create views, providing seating for respite, and adding aesthetic flourishes that recall the history of the area are all ways this can be accomplished. Kirkwood Preserve can shine as an example of both upland and riparian meadow habitats. Ashbridge Preserve can become a living classroom where we can educate students and the public on the importance of restoring and protecting wetlands and riparian corridors. Rushton Woods Preserve and Rushton Farm can be the ecological interface between the community and the shrub/scrub forest matrix. Our newest preserve (stay tuned for a future announcement), can be a destination to find repose and solace with nature while exploring the complex web of woods, edges, fields, and streams that is typical of the region, yet rapidly disappearing in the face of continuing development. And the Okehocking Barn may someday be a space where the community can gather to celebrate art, music and literature surrounded by nature. Working with the trails team, we plan to create a trails master plan that can facilitate increased use of the trail system and improve the physical conditions of the trails for the benefit of equestrians and pedestrians alike. If we use the preserves to showcase the beauty and value of our natural ecosystem, we can do the same with our conserved trails. An important part of the preserve enhancement initiative will be a detailed invasive species management plan to target invasive species of greatest concern for each preserve. We will then use these plans to encourage landowners to address these species on their own properties, particularly Chinese Silvergrass which threatens all of our meadows.

STRENGTHENING COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS We plan to enhance and further develop our diverse array of stewardship programming that engages audiences of all ages and for professionals and the public. Collaborating with allied institutions will result in partnerships that help increase our capacity and reach beyond what may otherwise be possible. Furthering our relationships with local universities will enhance our programs and research. We envision a stewardship training program for volunteers and professionals to assist us in the care and maintenance of our preserves.

NATURE PRESERVES MASTER PLANNING PROCESS This highly collaborative process will take a holistic look at each of the Trust’s nature preserves, its resources and how they are used by the community. Steps in the master plan include:

1. Examine how various stakeholder groups use the preserve, including visitors, volunteers, and our various programs (e.g. Farm, Watershed, Birds, Habitat). 2. Identify and inventory the preserve’s resources, including trails, habitat, and wetlands. 3. Begin to lay out a vision for future interaction and the interface between the community and nature at the preserve. Benefits of the Master Planning Process

• More efficient use of time, labor and money • A better experience for all preserve stakeholders • More effective long-term stewardship of Preserve resources We look forward to engaging with our many stakeholders as we prepare our first master plan for Rushton Woods Preserve this spring.

NEW FACES (cont’d)

GROWING OUR VOLUNTEER BASE

Providing connections to our preserves physically, psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually will be critical to maintaining them sustainably. A thriving volunteer base that recognizes the individual strengths and abilities of volunteers and acknowledges their contributions to the organization will be essential. Incorporating an educational component into all of our volunteer initiatives will multiply our efforts beyond local conservation. And developing volunteers from corporations and local businesses will further solidify our financial sustainability. While we restore, enhance, and connect our preserves, we will have the opportunity to connect with diverse constituents in new and meaningful ways. Facilitating grassroots conservation and empowering underserved communities to be stakeholders in our efforts can be the key to achieving our goal of increasing our diversity, equity and inclusiveness. To first introduce, then educate, and finally engage students from these communities as volunteers we can open a broad new plane of programmatic opportunity. At the same time we will strengthen our connections to the greater Chester County community while setting an example for others to follow.

High Tech Stewardship

Every fall, the Stewardship staff at the Trust begins its annual duty of monitoring our 100+ conservation easement properties, trail easements, and nature preserves. We make sure that the terms of the easements are being followed by landowners, look for encroachments from neighbors, and build upon our relationships with the people we serve. A new software solution has greatly streamlined the process, and gone are the days of juggling paper maps, handwritten notes and cameras in the field, all of which are susceptible to rain and foul weather. The Stewardship team began using the new LANDSCAPE software in 2018 and it has truly delivered us into the digital age. Freed from the constraints and limitations of paper, we can be much more efficient. Developed by a land trust professional from Dendroyka, LLC of Madison, Wisconsin, LANDSCAPE provides an all-in-one data gathering clearinghouse for collecting information to support all of the Trust’s monitoring activity. The best part is that with this software we can generate the reports while we are in the field monitoring the property. We can use a tablet or smart phone to fill out data fields which the software then incorporates into a report that can be printed with just a click. The functionality does not end there. The software is integrated with our database of digital maps that includes parcel boundaries; so as we walk the properties we can track our route and see our location. We are able to take photos which are automatically geotagged and located in the map to document the location of buildings and natural features, for example. We can add captions in the field as we take photos or wait to do so back at the office. This new process has exponentially increased our operational efficiency and accuracy. Spending less time on the reports means we can spend more time using our human touch to build relationships with our community, steward our nature preserves and educate the public on land stewardship topics. If you are one of our easement landowners and would like to see this process in action, be sure to join us next fall when we walk your property. Contact Andrew Kirkpatrick at ajk@wctrust.org for more information.