Willisbrook Preserve

Willisbrook Preserve Willisbrook Preserve is a 126-acre mix of woods and meadows, including more than 20 acres of a rare ecosystem known as the Sugartown Serpentine Barrens.

See our website for more information including our history, a trail map, and hours of operation. Willisbrook Preserve is a mix of woods and grassland meadows, including just over 20 acres of a rare ecosystem known as the Sugartown Serpentine Barrens. These barrens support a variety of plant species, many of which are threatened or endangered. Willisbrook Preserve was gifted to Natural Lands in 196

3 by Jane Gordon Coxe Fletcher, whose family is best known for breeding champion Hackney and American Saddlebred horses. Additional acquisitions in 1968 and 2004 expanded the preserve to its present size. Willisbrook Preserve is owned and managed by non-profit conservation organization Natural Lands. Learn more at www.natlands.org.

Catch bugs! Climb trees! Flip rocks! No, these are not new family-friendly curses. They're simple things anyone and ever...
09/04/2026

Catch bugs! Climb trees! Flip rocks! No, these are not new family-friendly curses. They're simple things anyone and everyone can do with their kids to keep them engaged in the outdoors amidst the chaos of the back-to-school season. And let's be honest...you could probably benefit from a little extra time outdoors, too.

Other fun nature-play ideas include:

🗺️ Treasure hunting. Hide a natural treasure, then make a map showing where to find it.

🧚‍♀️ Crafting a magical residence. Fairy house, gnome home, or toad abode, make a tiny house for the other residents of your yard...real or fiction!

⛵️ Building a natural boat. Is it a pirate ship? Vikings? Make two (or more) and race them down a stream.

🪵 Constructing something together. A swing, a shelter, or a simple hammock, it doesn’t need to be grand.

🛶 Kayaking. A classic!

Bonus tip: Just be present. Whether it's the playground after school or the sidelines of a soccer field, nature can be found almost anywhere by those who go looking for it.

📸: Kate Rash, Taproot Photography

There are many times more white-tailed deer living in our region than the land can support. This unsustainable level mea...
08/24/2026

There are many times more white-tailed deer living in our region than the land can support. This unsustainable level means the forests as we know them will disappear as hungry deer eat all the native species, leaving only non-native plants to take over. As the forest structure changes, birds and other wildlife lose nesting space, food, and cover. Eventually, even the deer causing this destruction will not survive.

📸: Jennifer Mathes

Rose mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos) is native to our region even though it looks quite tropical! Each massive flower opens...
08/17/2026

Rose mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos) is native to our region even though it looks quite tropical! Each massive flower opens for exactly one day before dropping off.

📸: Ralph Hall

Invasive species spotlight: The mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin)--native to Asia--was introduced to our region by famed...
08/10/2026

Invasive species spotlight: The mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin)--native to Asia--was introduced to our region by famed botanist William Bartram. In fact, Thomas Jefferson obtained some seeds from Bartram and planted them at Monticello. The species outcompetes native vegetation, particularly in disturbed habitat like roadsides and stream banks. A single tree produces thousands of seeds that can remain viable in the soil for many years.

📸: Kate Rash, Taproot Photography

Admission is always free to Willisbrook Preserve, which is a 126 acre mix of woods and grassland meadows, including just...
08/03/2026

Admission is always free to Willisbrook Preserve, which is a 126 acre mix of woods and grassland meadows, including just over 20 acres of a rare ecosystem known as the Sugartown Serpentine Barrens. These barrens support a variety of plant species, many of which are threatened or endangered. In 2010, the barrens were designated as a Wild Plant Sanctuary by the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

📸: Ariel Fierro

Summertime skies 😎📸: Kate Rash, Taproot Photography
07/30/2026

Summertime skies 😎

📸: Kate Rash, Taproot Photography

There is a myth that bumblebees "shouldn't be able to fly." The misconception arose in the 1930s when an aerodynamicist ...
07/24/2026

There is a myth that bumblebees "shouldn't be able to fly." The misconception arose in the 1930s when an aerodynamicist mistakenly applied fixed-wing airplane equations to the insects, failing to account for their rapid, twisting wing movements. Instead of simply flapping up and down, bumblebees beat their wings in a fast, figure-eight motion. This rapid movement (up to 240 times per second) creates tiny, low-pressure air vortexes (miniature hurricanes) above their wings that act as a suction, generating enough lift to keep their heavy bodies airborne.

📸: Preston Wilson

"Nature alone is antique, and the oldest art a mushroom."~ Ralph Waldo Emerson📸: Mae Axelrod
07/23/2026

"Nature alone is antique, and the oldest art a mushroom."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

📸: Mae Axelrod

Can you tell the difference between a Viceroy (left) and a Monarch (right) butterfly? Viceroy butterflies have a distinc...
07/17/2026

Can you tell the difference between a Viceroy (left) and a Monarch (right) butterfly? Viceroy butterflies have a distinct black line running horizontally across the lower hind wings, while Monarchs do not. Monarchs are generally larger, with a wingspan of about 3.5 to 4 inches, whereas Viceroys are smaller, typically 2.6 to 3 inches. Monarchs have thicker black veins on their wing patterns.

📸: Bill Moses

When Monarchs mate, the male uses the claspers on the end of his abdomen to attach to the vaginal groove (ostium bursa) ...
07/16/2026

When Monarchs mate, the male uses the claspers on the end of his abdomen to attach to the vaginal groove (ostium bursa) of the female. Once attached, the female cannot get away, and the male transfers spermatophore components to the female in a process that can take up to 16 hours.

📸: Bill Moses

Address

137 Line Road
Malvern, PA
19355

Telephone

+16103535587

Website

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