Crow’s Nest: Partnerships leverage resources

By Daniel Barringer, Preserve Manager.

In addition to summer camps and after-school and homeschool programs we run year round we partner with other organizations to make effective use of the resources at Crow’s Nest. In addition to community groups that meet in the barn, we have a Forest Preschool group that comes here in all weather conditions to play in the woods.

For the last few years we have also hosted outings through a program called Powered by Nature and in partnership with NorthBay, a nonprofit that challenges kids to “realize their attitudes and actions have a lasting impact on their lives, communities, and the environment.”

NorthBay brings kids from Pottstown to Crow’s Nest to study stream quality in French Creek. The kids participate in fourth through sixth grade and begin with a habitat assessment of their schoolyard and study their local park in town. After visiting Crow’s Nest Preserve several times, the program culminates with a visit to the NorthBay campus on the Chesapeake Bay. You can read more about the program here.

Funding for Powered by Nature is provided by PECO, the Exelon Foundation, gifts to Natural Lands’ Campaign for Humans and Nature – including from 25th Century Foundation and the McLean Contributionship – J.P. Mascaro and Sons, Dolfinger McMahon Foundation, Louis N. Cassett Foundation, and Charles and Sandra Koenig.

At Crow’s Nest we are grateful for the opportunity to meet new people and share the preserve with new friends.