Volunteers Wrap Up a Great Summer at Bellwood, One of Our Premier Preserves

Interns Amy Hertzfeld and Jeremy Chadwick with volunteers from the Governor's School of New Jersey.

With the help of two college interns and other volunteers, Heritage Conservancy made great progress in our ongoing work at the Bellwood Preserve in Northampton Township, one of the Conservancy's premier preserves. Containing lush forests, a freshwater cattail marsh, natural springs and wetlands, and a portion of the Mill Creek, the 100-acre Bellwood Preserve provides not only great scenic views but also critical habitat for a variety of wildlife.

Bellwood is surrounded by dense residential development and faces many threats to its ecosystems, including overbrowsing by white-tail deer, invasive plant species establishment, loss and fragmentation of the surrounding natural landscape and wildlife habitats, destruction by all-terrain vehicles, and changes in water quality and quantity from land development.

Under the supervision of Conservation Biologist Lisa Nowicki, Jeremy Chadwick of Temple University and Amy Hertzfeld of Millersville University contributed over 250 hours of labor at Bellwood this summer, removing invasive species, installing deer fences, assisting with a Delaware River Basin Commission stream assessment, collecting data on the plant species found on the Preserve, and coordinating and supervising other volunteers. A PowerPoint presentation is currently being created on invasive species that Conservancy staff will be able to use for future educational purposes.

Intern, Amy Hertzfeld, and several volunteers hand-pulling the invasive garlic mustard at Heritage Conservancy's Bellwood Preserve.

The enormous accomplishments of the volunteers this summer was just the latest piece of good news to come out of Bellwood. Earlier this year, Heritage Conservancy received a $20,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to fund some of the work at Bellwood. More recently, with primary funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Heritage Conservancy Landscape Architect Karen Williamson began work on the creation of a greenway plan that will link Bellwood Preserve with the two Bucks County Parks: the Churchville Nature Center and Playwicki Park. When implemented, this greenway would allow for wildlife movement along Mill Creek, a tributary to the Neshaminy Creek, establish a riparian buffer to protect the stream corridor, enhance existing environmental education opportunities sponsored by the Churchville Nature Center, and potentially provide a recreational trail network that interconnects existing public and private parkland and open space.

For more information about Bellwood or to volunteer your time there, contact Lisa Nowicki.