As I've mentioned before, this winter Owen and I are visiting the sixteen Natural Lands Trust preserves described in the members' field guide. Today we visited Stroud Preserve near West Chester. With its rolling hills it is perhaps the most photogenic of our preserves, though of course I am partial to Crow's Nest.
I also wanted to see the newly drawn-down pond. As part of a wetland restoration the artificial farm pond is being returned to a natural wetland which is better habitat for native wildlife.
We also saw one of many fields that are being afforested; here a floodplain of Brandywine Creek Natural Lands Trust is returning to forest cover to protect water quality and improve wildlife habitat:
