Central Pennsylvania Conservancy E-News - March

Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) is one of our favorite spring ephemerals, making their charming appearance in early spring before trees leaf out before dying back for the summer.

Spring has sprung and so has our March newsletter with some updates! With the warmer weather, days of hibernation are behind us all (humans anyway, some insects are still at it!) and we're excited that community events are the natural consequence of such.

Coming up for April, community volunteer days at the Letort Spring Garden Preserve are returning, festivals are happening, and we're hosting some guided nature walks!

We also have some great news to share if you haven't heard already, so read on!

As always, if you have any ideas, questions, comments, or concerns, don't hesitate to reach out to us at info@centralpaconservancy.org.

We did it! CPC earns reaccreditation!

In March, we received word from the Land Trust Accreditation Commission that we have been reaccredited! We worked hard last fall to make sure all of our policies and procedures are up to par, which was no easy feat for our small staff. What reaccreditation means is that we have proven that we have sound finances, practice ethical conduct and responsible governance, and can ensure lasting stewardship for properties we protect. You can trust that when we say we are committed to preserving and protecting land in south-central Pennsylvania, we truly walk the talk! We're proud to be in the ranks with 22 other accredited land trusts in Pennsylvania, and you can find more information on this process at https://www.landtrustaccreditation.org/

Looking for an easy way to be a conservation hero?

Look no further! Match Madness is still on until Sunday, March 31st!

It's only with your support that we can protect and preserve land, and this is a fantastic opportunity to have your donation go even further with a match from the the Partnership for Better Health.

Depicted in the collage above are some legendary local places that together, we've protected or are working to protect for public benefit. In 1999, we conveyed the 669 acres that the epic Thousand Steps trail is on to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, and this Huntingdon county site is also home to rare native species.

Two noteworthy properties that we are currently working hard to protect forever include the historic Scott Farm - Appalachian Trail Work Center in Cumberland County, which will also be home to the Keystone Trail Association's headquarters, as well as the storied Camp Tuckahoe in Cumberland and York counties, over 1000 wooded acres locally beloved as a Boy Scouts Camp run by the New Birth of Freedom Council.

With your help, we can continue to do the important work of saving the local places where biodiversity and healthy ecosystems are supported, and countless memories are made. Join us and be a part of a conservation legacy that will reap benefits for all generations into the future.

We can't do it without you.

This match is possible thanks to the generous support of WellSpan Health, The Josiah W. and Bessie H. Kline Foundation, M&T Bank, PennState Health, and Highmark.

Click here to donate for Match Madness!

Upcoming Events

We're buzzing around again, join us for one (or many!) of these free upcoming events, all of which are enriching fun for the whole family.

April 13th, 9 am - 12 pm: Community Volunteer Day at the Letort Spring Garden Preserve, 1110 S. Spring Garden Rd., Carlisle, PA 17013.

See below for more information and to sign up for our first volunteer stewardship day of the year!

April 14th, 10 am - 4 pm: New Cumberland Earth and Arts Festival at the New Cumberland Public Library, 1 Benjamin Plaza, New Cumberland, PA, 17070.

Join us and other awesome community organizations for the 2nd Annual "Arty Party for the Planet"! There will be art and planet care workshops and demonstrations, live music, food trucks, and more: we will have native seeds to give away! We'll have an informational booth and our Land Stewardship Specialist Brennan will be doing a talk/workshop on growing native plants from seed. More information available at https://www.newcumberland.co/earth-arts-fest

April 20th, 9 am to 3 pm: Mechanicsburg Earth Day Festival at downtown Mechanicsburg, PA, 17055.

Mechanicsburg Earth Day Festival is a one-day event with music, workshops, vendors, and kids activities throughout the town. Our other Stewardship Specialist Jesse will be representing us, and will also have native seeds to give away! More information at http://mechanicsburgearthdayfest.com/

April 27th, 12 pm - 4 pm:4th annual Earth Day Celebration with Earth Artisan & Outfitters at 37 West Chapel St., Carlisle, PA 17013

This year’s event also corresponds with Arbor Day in honor of the trees, and our event will be a complete celebration of Life Wild & Free! This is a free, family-friendly, outdoor educational event to mindfully connect people to the planet with environmental experts, organizations, and educators providing information, resources, and activities to help our community learn, grow, share, and connect to life in the bigger picture! In addition to education stations, there will be games, raffles & special guests throughout the afternoon.

The Letort looking lovely the day after the spring equinox! Unfortunately the green vegetation you see here is non-native, and one species is even invasive (and needs to be removed!). Most of the green you see out in the environment in the late days of winter and early days of spring is invasive. Watercress, with the more rounded appearance in the mid-ground of the photo, isn't considered invasive but is aggressive in its ability to spread far downstream, pushing out native species. It's a reminder of the history of the Letort Spring Garden Preserve, which up until the late 2010's was actively utilized as a watercress farm. The grass-like plant in the foreground is invasive Reed Canary Grass, which does a scary good job of pushing out native species. Interestingly, its ability to do so is enhanced when an area is suffering from excessive nitrogen amounts, typically from overapplication of fertilizers. Thankfully, ALLARM regularly monitors the water quality just a few feet upstream of here and there haven't been concerning amounts of nitrogen detected.

Special Feature: Mindful Spring Cleanups

It's that time of year where we all get the itch to start cleaning up our gardens and any publicly accessible spaces we tend to. Since we're all about working for the greater good, we thought we'd share links to some tips on how to do so in an ecologically thoughtful manner.

Article Link from the Xerces Society: For Pollinators' Sakes, Don’t Spring Into Garden Cleanup Too Soon!

Article Link from Ladybug Earthcare: Why Clean Up "Mindfully" and How is it Different?

Article Link from Penn State Extension: Delay Garden Cleanup to Benefit Overwintering Insects

Call for Volunteers

You can help make a difference in the world by conducting hands-on earth care.

Our monthly volunteer days will be starting back up on April 13th, so sign up to get involved if you haven't already!

You could find yourself...

Planting native species
Participating in "urban archaeology" cleanups
Building and maintaining trails
Managing invasive species
Learning identification and hands-on stewardship skills
Collecting + propagating native seed
and so much more!

Apply to be a Volunteer Land Steward!

That could be YOU in an orange vest hiking up a mountain nearby! Or a rolling farm field, along a stream, on flat ground... we have options! Get in touch ASAP if you can picture yourself here!

Do you enjoy hiking and taking photos? Consider yourself to be observant and thorough? Want to go behind the scenes of CPC's conservation work? Our Stewardship Specialist Brennan would like to invite anyone over the age of 18 and with reliable personal transportation to join us as a volunteer for our upcoming monitoring season, where we visit each property we protect with a conservation easement and document the conditions. Guided, on the ground training begins in two weeks, please reach out to Brennan by phone (412-849-6866) or email (brennan@centralpaconservancy.org) if you are interested in becoming a monitoring volunteer!

Thank you for reading and supporting our work to protect and preserve land in south-central Pennsylvania!