February 15, 2022 —In 1681, William Penn specified that settlers coming to the lands granted to him by English King Charles II (Charles called it “Pennsylvania”) must preserve one acre of trees for every five acres cleared. Nearly 300 years after Penn, Kendal~Crosslands Communities, a Life Plan Retirement Community in Kennett Square, keeps this spirit of environmental stewardship alive with the recent planting of almost 300 trees on their 500 campus.
“Both staff and residents take great care in maintaining and improving the campus and have been very active in the stewardship of natural resources including the restoration of a rich diversity of plants that provide native habitat for birds and other wildlife”, said Owen Owens, a resident. “This planting effort was another step to care for and preserve the campus’ capacity to sustain and inspire that requires a creative responsibility towards the Earth that has been inherited from previous generations”, said Owens.
The site chosen for this huge tree planting undertaking was near a stream on the 500 acre retirement community’s campus. This stream is determined to be one of the best and healthiest streams in the Southeast area. “Since streams are the center of a forest, providing drinking water and food resources for other wildlife, and along with a focus on sustaining the natural environment, it was the perfect location”, say Casey Groff, Horticulture and Grounds Supervisor.
With a gift made possible from former residents, first land was cleared of invasive plants then over 36 residents and staff from all 4 campuses (Kendal at Longwood, Crosslands, Coniston, and Cartmel) collectively planted close to 300 trees and bushes. “Resident committee leaders from all 4 of our Nature Conservancy Committees have been working together over the past several years and this is one example of living in community”, says Michele Berardi, Director of Community Outreach. “Residents enjoy life and the natural beauty of the world around them and it’s evident with their countless hours of labor of love to sustain it”, says Berardi.
It’s therefore not surprising then that Kendal~Crosslands still maintains a focus on sustaining the natural environment even after William Penn’s specifications. It is the community’s intention to leave the next generation a legacy of sustainably managed resources that bequeaths to the future a world that is rich in beauty and diversity.
To find out more about environment sustainability initiatives across our campuses, please click here.