Heritage Conservancy’s Education and Community Programs Team finished 2024 strong, and their impact continues into 2025. Along with other departments in the organization, they held public nature-based events and grew Heritage Conservancy’s education programs.

The team spearheaded tabling at community fairs and festivals around the region and connected with partners in the community to share information and serve new audiences with environmental education and activities.

School-based environmental science and nature-based programs continued to grow, from field trips to recurring experiences in the classroom and outdoors. Here is a breakdown of their reach and impact.

Overall Impact

Heritage Conservancy’s community programs and education initiatives reached a total of 5911 people in our community this year. This includes nature-based programs, community event participation, teacher workshops, and education efforts presented by the team.

Efforts encompassed 169 total days of programming. Among these 2024 efforts were 15 teacher workshops and meetings and 14 school tabling events that allowed staff to share environmental literacy training and resources with teachers that will have an exponential impact.

Heritage Conservancy attended a total of 47 community meetings and events with partner organizations. This included opportunities at community fairs and festivals throughout Bucks County, staffing tables that shared information about Heritage Conservancy’s work, resources about local natural areas, and educational activities to engage visitors of all ages. 

Community meetings included collaborations with the Bristol Cares Coalition, a prevention-based coalition consisting of local organizations supporting positive youth development across all facets of a community. Heritage Conservancy has also collaborated with No Longer Bound, Bristol Township, and Bucks County on various projects. 

School-Based Programs

In total, the Education and Community Programs Team served 2943 students last year and continues to work with many of the same kids this year.

“Research shows that repeated environmental education programs with the same students have exponentially positive effects of shaping long-term interest in and advocacy for the natural world,” says Shannon. Of the students reached by our educational programs, about 507 of them participated in programs that extended over multiple sessions.

In total, Heritage Conservancy served 14 schools in Bucks County last year across multiple school districts:

Programs like Tree Guardians at Keystone Elementary School in Croydon took advantage of Heritage Conservancy’s Croydon Woods Nature Preserve and the outdoor classroom there for multiple opportunities with the same groups of students, who cared for tree seedlings, hiked the woods, and learned about life under logs. The Watershed Connections program also engaged young learners on an ongoing basis.

Youth Programs and Community Outreach

Heritage Conservancy educators offered summer and after school programming that reached a total of 160 kids over 14 program days and 14 school days. After school programs were conducted both with schools and with community initiatives, like the No Longer Bound. 

Summer programming was done in conjunction with community groups as well, including Bucks County-based nonprofits No Longer Bound and Vita Education. Heritage Conservancy educators joined summer camps as guest presenters to lead educational activities, games, and art projects that pulled participants into nature and taught them about local ecosystems and watershed issues. Many programs serve both kids and their families, helping new audiences to engage in the natural world and learn more about their local watershed.

Ongoing Efforts

As 2025 is underway, these programs continue with nature activities reaching an increasing base of schools and communities within Bucks County and beyond. Two upcoming teacher trainings in April and May 2025, conducted with the Bucks County Intermediate Unit, will draw in educators from around the region to learn about environmental literacy as they gear up to implement the new Pennsylvania science standards.

Read more about Heritage Conservancy’s educational outreach.