Blog

Every winter as inclement weather approaches, deicing chemicals are liberally applied to roads and walkways. As a result, half of the streams in northern metropolitan areas experience elevated levels of sodium and chloride from the meltwater that washes downstream. Sodium…

Chances are you’ve heard us use the term “riparian buffer” before, and you probably have a general idea it concerns keeping trees and shrubs along streams. But why are so they important,  and how do they work?

Last month, we welcomed the French & Pickering community to our Thomas P. Bentley Nature Preserve for a special nighttime program – a Moth ID Night Hike! Using white sheets, black lights, the right placement, and a little luck, we…

Sometimes it’s difficult to make the best decision to reduce our impacts in a world we have designed for consumption, but perhaps it can be as easy as turning off a light switch.

You may be familiar with “no mow May” but what if less mowing could be a yearlong change? There are over 2 million acres of lawn in Pennsylvania, and from an ecological perspective, our lawns are sterile habitats, or…

Everybody loves beautiful flowers and there are many to see when you visit the Thomas P. Bentley Nature Preserve. We have insects and other pollinators to thank for this beauty and diversity. Many plants flower and offer sweet nectar to…

Pollinators are crucial for many aspects of our environment and society. They aid in food production, are the cornerstone of healthy environments, and they create plant diversity through cross-pollination. Creating a pollinator-friendly yard is a fantastic way to support our…

This fall, forgo the yard clean-up and consider leaving the leaves for the health of your local ecosystem. Fallen leaves return nutrients to the soil, provide insulation for plants, and create important overwintering habitats for a host of wildlife from…

In May, the Mid-Atlantic Center for Herpetology and Conservation (MACHAC) conducted bog turtle surveys at two of French & Pickering’s voluntary conservation easements in northern Chester County. These surveys are part of a long-term management plan that includes surveys every…