DCNR, Natural Lands, West Chester University and their partners are hosting a two-day Sustaining the Serpentine Barrens Conference on October 18-19 in Chester County.

On October 18 participants will meet at West Chester University for indoor presentations and updates followed by a tour of the  nearby Unionville serpentine barrens to view recent restoration activities.

Registration includes refreshments, lunch and bus transportation to and from the field site.

Click Here to register.

On October 19 there are two field tours. Meeting at Nottingham County Park to view the largest serpentine barrens in Pennsylvania for part of the day and also Goat Hill where recent efforts have been very successful at regenerating an abundance of serpentine endemic plants. 

Registration includes lunch and bus transportation to Goat Hill and return. 

The day will culminate with collaborative discussions about needs and next steps working toward a shared vision of coordinated restoration of serpentine communities and species across the region.

Click Here to register.

Background

Sustaining the Serpentine Barrens is a collaboration on the needs, successes, challenges, and vision to restore and conserve the serpentine ecological communities in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Join us for a gathering of landowners, professionals, managers, researchers, and anyone interested in the globally rare Mid-Atlantic serpentine ecosystems’ ecology and conservation.

"Serpentine" refers to the soils and ecosystems that develop on serpentinite and related rocks.

Serpentine soils are ecologically unique and diverge radically from typical soils in fertility.  They are low in most of the macronutrients required for plant growth and have high levels of heavy metals.

As a result, serpentine soils exclude all but those plant species that can tolerate extreme conditions, in particular minimal calcium and extremely high magnesium and nickel.

Collectively the Mid-Atlantic serpentine ecosystems harbor more than 100 plant and animal species listed as Endangered, Threatened, or Near Threatened ("Rare") globally or in the states where they occur.

What will you learn--

-- Learn why these communities are important

-- Why they are disappearing

-- What is being done currently to restore and sustain them

-- The next steps needed to conserve these imperiled ecosystems

-- Explore a nearby serpentine barren

Who should attend--

-- Landowners

-- Environmental Professionals

-- Land Managers

-- Researchers

-- Anyone interested in the globally rare Mid-Atlantic serpentine ecosystems

For more information, visit the Sustaining the Serpentine Barrens Conference webpage.

Related Articles:

-- DCNR Good Natured Pennsylvanians: David Ross, Friends Of State Line Serpentine Barrens

-- The Nature Conservancy-PA: State Line Serpentine Barrens

-- Wildlands Conservancy Protects 2,700 Acre Penrose Swamp Barrens In Carbon & Luzerne Counties

-- ClearWater Conservancy Preserves Smith Trust Property In Scotia Barrens, Centre County

[Posted: September 2, 2022]

9/5/2022