Earth Day Garlic Mustard Pull at the PA Preserve in Landenberg.

Thank you Blue Hen Leadership Program for sending a group of students to help pull the invasive Alliaria petiolata (Garlic Mustard) from the Pennsylvania White Clay Creek Preserve last Saturday. The group of 34 students from the University of Delaware and area high schools traversed over 4 miles of the PA Preserve trails, hiking and pulling the invasive plant from the woods as part of a day of service celebrating Earth Day.

The students learned about the invasive plant and the the threats it poses to native ephemeral wildflowers. Opportunistic plants that have not co-evolved with other species in our area often have fewer threats to their viability. In other words, they may have fewer natural pests and predation threats, as well as the ability to rapidly colonize an area. This  often gives them a competitive edge over our native species allowing them to displace or greatly reduce the population of natives.

It was a day of service, but there was also time for some sight seeing. We spied a spotted turtle basking in the sun, heard spring peepers singing in a nearby wetland, and saw some of the many beautiful spring wildflowers blooming along the trail such as Jacob's ladder, may apple, trout lily, spring beauty, and the emerging fronds of the Christmas fern. All of which make the White Clay Creek Preserve such a treasure to visit.

Help Put the Woods Back in Penns Woods!

Volunteers Needed for a Riparian Reforestation at the Franklin Preserve (Franklin Township) adjacent to an impaired section of White Clay Creek.

1,050 native trees, provided through a Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) grant from DEP’s TreeVitalize Program obtained by the Brandywine Conservancy and the Stroud Water Research Center, need to be planted on Tuesday April 23 at noon. (Site prepping crew will arrive at 8 AM for flagging and tree distribution; feel free to arrive early and help out).

Franklin Preserve Site is located off Parsons Road just a little east of Crossan Park (gated drive to Colonial Pipeline will be unlocked; proceed through unlocked gate to areas marked for parking, angling in on grass, and walk down to planting site (don’t block gate into Pipeline compound).

Wear durable and warm clothes.  Gloves.  Heavy shoes.  If you can, please bring shovels and hammers for the stakes.  Restrooms at Crossan (plan ahead).  We will cancel if heavy rain.

Contact Wes Horner at 610-388-8124 (610-350-7605 cell) with questions.

Freshwater Mussel Workshops in May!

Partnership for the Delaware Estuary is hosting two freshwater mussel workshops next month, one in PA at Green Valleys Association, and the other in DE at the Brandywine Creek State Park Nature Center.  As a crucial part of their Freshwater Mussel Recovery Program, surveying local streams for the presence or absence of these elusive bivalves will help scientists determine which streams are in need of and suited for mussel restoration.  With so many stream miles to cover, they have a need for trained "citizen scientists" to help survey local creeks and upload their findings (or lack thereof) to the online data portal.  As if all this isn't enough fun, there is always the potential thrill of finding a species of mussel thought to be long gone from our creeks - an ecological treasure hunt!

The White Clay Creek has and continues to be surveyed for the presence of freshwater mussels. Attend one of these workshops and learn how to help us in our efforts to learn more about these species and promote their recovery!

Learn more about the program at Partnership for the Delaware Estuary's website and download this flyer to learn how to sign up for one of the upcoming May Mussel Workshops!

**please note the original location at Delaware Nature Society has been changed to the Brandywine Creek State Park Nature Center!