Stories of Land and People

Delaware Canal State Park Location: Washington’s Crossing (Bucks County) Organization: Wildlands Conservancy Near the very banks where George Washington launched his nation-defining attack, an 80,000 square-foot shopping plaza was planned. Busi...read more

State Game Lands 321 and Sproul State Forest Location: Pottersdale (Clearfield County) Organizations: Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation It’s hard to call anyone in a township of 34 a trespasser—that just ...read more

Gerstemeir Farm Location: Worcester Township (Montgomery County) Organization: Montgomery County Lands Trust (now Natural Lands) Fieldstone buildings grace the rolling farmland of Worcester Township, Montgomery County. Two- hundred year old white stu...read more

Tannersville Cranberry Bog Location: Tannersville (Monroe County) Organization: The Nature Conservancy On spring days, the Tannersville Cranberry Bog belongs to fourth-graders. In the bog they see their lessons come alive. They touch plants in the de...read more

Witmer and Lightner Properties Location: Cumberland County Organization: Central Pennsylvania Conservancy Blue Mountain stretches over 200 miles from northern New Jersey down through 11 Pennsylvania counties to the Maryland state line. For hundreds o...read more

The Ponds of Woodward Location: Chadds Ford (Delaware County) Organization: Natural Lands (formerly Natural Lands Trust) When Denise and Greg Bayley sit in their backyard, they are surrounded with quiet and a 50-acre apple orchard. The view from thei...read more

Green Ribbon Trail and Preserve Location: Montgomery County Organization: Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association One by one, the fields and farms of Ellen Lea’s childhood are disappearing. Ellen and her brothers had spent their childhood days...read more

Dead Man’s Hollow Location: McKeesport (Allegheny County) Organization: Allegheny Land Trust Dead Man’s Hollow Wildlife Preserve—400 acres of protected forest and streams—provides peace and quiet to its visitors. Factories, strip mall...read more

Tucquan Glen Location: Lancaster County Organization: Lancaster County Conservancy Like Lancaster County’s quilts, the Tucquan Glen Nature Preserve is a work of art comprised of many pieces. The Lancaster County Conservancy protected a square o...read more

Montandon Marsh Location: Northumberland County Organization: Merill W. Linn Land & Waterways Conservancy In the 1970s, when Tony Markunas bought a piece of Montandon Marsh, he didn’t see the wetland. He didn’t even know what a wetlan...read more

Moraine State Park Location: Butler County Organization: Western Pennsylvania Conservancy A convergence of glaciers 14,000 years ago gave Muddy Creek its hills and valleys. Industry gave it its scars. A meeting of minds in the 1950s transformed the l...read more

Hall Cave Location: Huntingdon County Organization: Mid-Atlantic Karst Conservancy Hall Cave has been a popular caving site since the 1960s. Innumerable cavers have trekked across Bill and Martha Anderson’s land to visit the cave. Bill serenade...read more

Community Gardens Location: Philadelphia Organization: Neighborhood Gardens Trust (formerly the Neighborhood Gardens Association) James Taylor wakes at 4 a.m., crosses his street of tidy row homes, and opens the gate to Glenwood Green Acres. Four acr...read more

Spring Hills Farm Location: North Abington Township (Lackawanna County) Organization: Countryside Conservancy Margaret recognized the challenges in keeping the farm when she and her sisters took title in 1983. Margaret is the main laborer of the land...read more

Kohler Farm Location: West Hanover Township (Dauphin County) Organization: Manada Conservancy Casper Kohler’s reasons for keeping his 100-acre farm intact run deeper than money. So deep that he struggles to explain why he feels his land must ne...read more

Children’s Lake Location: Boiling Springs (Cumberland County) Organization: Appalachian Trail Conservancy The community of Boiling Springs did not want to lose the lake and its picturesque surroundings. It was where the village tree was lit dur...read more