Mariton: Board Field Trip

by Tim Burris, Preserve Manager

Mariton had the privilege of hosting a Natural Lands Trust Board meeting.  NLT is fortunate to have a dedicated and engaged Board of Trustees.  Occasionally, their schedules work out so that they can make field trips to other preserves.  (They regularly meet at our headquarters at Hildacy Farm Preserve).   I was very excited when asked to host one of these meetings.  (I love introducing enthusiastic people to this wonderful place.)  Rob Friedman, who serves on the NLT Board, as well as the Mariton Board, helped co-host.

These truly are field trips.  The Trustees bring their binoculars, and look forward to a hike before they get down to the business of running the largest conservation organization in the region.  We were in good company with trustees like Dr. Ann Rhoads and Dr. Roger Latham pointing out plants, and Jack Terrill and Drew Schmidt pointing out the birds.    

We walked to the Chimney Rock where they viewed the Delaware River.  Almost all of the land that NLT has protected lies within the Delaware Watershed.  The Delaware River is one of the great natural resources of the region, and NLT’s land protection in the watershed is an important part of protecting that resource.  From there, the group hiked up to the meadows, where we got a great look at an Indigo Bunting.  Then it was back to the Nature Center, where they held their meeting.  The Trustees had a beautiful day for the hike, and the woods were alive with the songs of Wood Thrushes and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.