With the help of donors, members, and volunteers, Natural Lands has saved more than 125,000 acres of land, including 43 (soon to be 44!) nature preserves spanning 13 counties in two states. Today, more than 2.5 million people live within five miles of open space under our permanent protection.
Here’s some of what our friends have made possible in the past year…
We protected nearly 1,600 acres in 24 different transactions stretching from the Poconos to New Jersey, including Stoneleigh: A Natural Garden, slated to open in spring 2018.
We also took ownership of the 1,505-acre Bryn Coed Farms in Chester Springs, Chester County, one of the largest remaining undeveloped, unprotected tracts of land in the Greater Philadelphia region.
We undertook a series of restoration initiatives intended to protect and improve habitat for rare, threatened, and endangered species on our preserves, including enhancing pollinator, ground-nesting bird, and serpentine barrens habitats.
With volunteer assistance, we planted three acres of trees along the Brandywine Creek at ChesLen Preserve; planted 400 trees at Gwynedd Preserve; and converted more than 135 acres of agricultural fields to meadow at Green Hills and ChesLen Preserves.
We launched new initiatives to connect underserved populations in Pottstown, Coatesville, and Chester with the social, mental, and physical benefits of outdoor experiences.
Visitation to our preserves has more than doubled to 120,000+ a year.
Among the more than 100 programs that we offer each year, attendance at those focused on children and families has grown 70%.