adding and aiding acres.
Crow’s Nest Preserve Manager Dan Barringer looks out across the meadow that was, until recently, a large inground swimming pool. Wildflowers are just beginning to emerge through the cover crop of rye. “It took 150 truckloads of donated fill to cover the site,” he notes. “New meadows never look great the first year after seeding, but next year it should be stunning.”
Just behind him, a group of exuberant 9- and 10-year-olds—part of Crow’s Nest’s summer camp program—shout and laugh as they build shelters, swings, and hammocks among the trees.
This is Warwick Woods, an 82-acre wooded property that was added to Crow’s Nest Preserve in early 2020. It was once the site of a private campground that had 150 campsites and seven major buildings, including a general store, game room, bath houses, pavilion, and swimming pool. When the campsite’s owners decided it was time for them to close their business and sell the land, Natural Lands jumped on the opportunity to conserve it by adding it to the adjacent preserve.
Photo: Dan Barringer
Just four years later, barely a trace of the campground’s infrastructure remains. A total of 27,000 square feet of impervious surface was removed, along with four wells, 150 electric meters, water spigots at every campsite, and overhead utility lines and poles.
“It took a lot of people to return this land to a more natural state,” offers Dan. “In addition to staff effort, strong partnerships and amazing volunteers are to thank for these results.”
Staff from a neighboring stone quarry owned by Polycor, Inc. donated time and equipment to remove all the man-made structures, and their community connections made possible the donation of clean fill for the in-ground pool.
Junior ROTC youth from nearby Owen J. Roberts High School worked to create a trail through the former campsite and picked up debris left behind after the structures were demolished. They also pulled invasive garlic mustard and hauled out broken equipment from the woods.
Photo: Devon Funt
Natural Lands’ own Force of Nature® volunteers have spent many hours at the site. They planted a native woodland garden on the embankment where the general store once stood, transforming the space from dump to divine. They also helped cut down invasive giant reed (phragmites) along the edge of a large pond on the property and planted a “habitat island” buffer of young trees, fenced as a group to prevent deer browse. And, of course, they picked up seemingly endless demolition debris.
Says Dan, “There was one volunteer day of digging debris out of the ground when our Force of Nature crew was covered ears-to-toes in mud, but they were grinning the whole time.”
While Natural Lands is perhaps most known for preserving and caring for land, the organization also prioritizes connecting people with nature and each other. The Warwick Woods restoration has engaged a wide variety of people already and will continue to do so. By investing their time and resources in the project, these friends deepen their relationship with the natural world and their commitment to Natural Lands’ mission.
For visitors that want to see the Warwick Woods addition—which brings the total acreage of Crow’s Nest to 712—the best access is via a section of the Horse-Shoe Trail that passes through Crow’s Nest Preserve for 6/10 of a mile. The entrance is just west of Trythall Road. We are also building a trail that connects Crow’s Nest Deep Woods Trail to Warwick Woods via the Horse-Shoe Trail from the northwest. One more Eagle Scout project to add boardwalks will complete that section of trail. Also look for upcoming events—including more volunteer opportunities—planned for this sylvan space in the coming months and years.
Photo: Molly Smyrl
“It’s a truly spectacular setting, filled with songbirds, diabase boulders, and ephemeral pools teeming with life,” Dan shares. And, on a hot July afternoon, an ebullient group of summer campers couldn’t agree more.
This preserve addition was made possible by Chester County – Preservation Partnership Program, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), RJM Foundation, Warwick Township, and the Virginia Cretella Mars Foundation.