Schuylkill Highlands Conservation Landscape 2018 Mini Grant Awards
Angelica Park Improvement: Trails & Invasives
SHCL Grant: $15,000
Match: $15,000
Project Total: $30,000
Berks Nature will be removing invasive species out of the southern and western portions of Angelica Park, which has not been managed since 1962. Planting of native species and expanding the trail network will include a new woodland, meadow grass trails, and improved pedestrian crossing on St. Bernadine Street.
Fleetwood Forest Stewardship Plan
SHCL Grant: $10,000
Match: $10,000
Project Total: $20,000
Berks Nature, in conjunction with the Fleetwood Borough, Fleetwood Borough Water Committee, and Fleetwood Borough Public Works, will be hiring outsourcing to complete a Management Plan for the Fleetwood Borough Watershed. This will be focused around 190.52 acres to consider the source water protection of the public drinking water supply, forest stewardship, water quality of the Willow Creek and watershed, recreational usage, environmental education, and cultural interpretation.
Veterans Park Nature Trail and Native Garden
SHCL Grant: $4,703
Match: $17,672
Project Total: $22,375
This project, run by the Appalachian Mountain Club, includes the preparation and development of a 1.1-mile-long natural surface pedestrian trail roughly following the Tohickon Creek in Veterans Park in Richland Township, Bucks County. The hiking trail will connect to the planned Upper Bucks Rail Trail on the west side of the park, and on the south side to an existing section of the Pennsylvania Highlands Trail Network. The scope also includes the layout and development of a native garden.
Welkinwier Trail Assessment and Prescriptions Project
SHCL Grant: $5,000
Match: $2,500
Project Total: $5,000
With a recent addition, Welkinwier now consists of 224 acres of protected land, and Green Valleys Watershed Association will assess the existing trail network and problem areas, such as areas affected by stormwater runoff erosion, trail gaps, invasive species, and extreme wet conditions. The first phase of this project includes a site review, trail corridor and treadway assessment, recommended prescriptions report, preliminary opinion of costs, and a two-day trail workshop.
Thomas P. Bentley Preserve Kiosk and Parking Access
SHCL Grant: $7,500
Match: $9,797
Project Total: $17,297
French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust will make improvements for visitation to Thomas P. Bentley Preserve and the remains of the Warwick Furnace Site. A three-panel educational interpretive kiosk will be designed, fabricated, and installed to learn about the natural, historical, and cultural aspects of the site.
Khindri Preserve Monarch Waystations and Shrubland Bird Habitat
SHCL Grant: $4,883
Match: $5,691
Project Total: $10,574
Heritage Conservancy is creating two monarch waystations, certified by Monarch Watch, and shrub land habitat along its Khindri Preserve trails in the Quakertown Swamp portion of the Schuylkill Highlands. The Monarch Waystations will support not just monarch populations, but 16 other native species of butterflies. The shrubland habitats will serve as home to 158 species of birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, butterflies, and moths.
Rentschler Arboretum Improvements
SHCL Grant: $2,500
Match: $1,750
Project Total: $2,500
Blue Mountain Eagle Climbing Club and Wilderness Park Association will upgrade their 34-acre Rentschler Arboretum property to enhance usage and education. This includes the installation of trailhead, tree identification, and interpretive signage, the construction of kestrel nesting box poles, and mini rain gardens to mitigate stormwater runoff. These are all part of the first phase of projects to the property, with more to come in the future.
West Pikeland Anselma and Walnut Lane Park Trail
SHCL Grant: $6,321.19
Match: $6,321.19
Project Total: $12,642.38
West Pikeland Township is creating a natural earth walking trail at the Township’s Walnut Lane Park property. The first portion of the trail will proceed from an existing parking area, follow the tree line along the western side of the property, and will continue into the woods through an adjacent wooded lot also owned by West Pikeland Township. After the trail is constructed the next step of the project is to install bird boxes followed by interpretive signage.
Downtown Quakertown Bike Racks along the Highlands
SHCL Grant: $3,600
Match: $1,800
Project Total: $3,600
Quakertown Alive! will install bike racks to serve the expected increase in walkers and cyclists coming into Quakertown Borough, which at this time has one bike rack. Quakertown Alive! will purchase four bike-shaped bike racks, and four small-donor plaques, to further encourage cyclists passing through Quakertown to stop and engage in the local businesses, nature areas, and historic assets of Quakertown.