When a commercial nursery in Bradford Woods closed in the 1980s, developers no doubt eyed up the 4½ acres as a potential site for pricey homes.

Property owners Ted and Janet Eck had a different idea.

“When they left, they wanted to have their property remain open space for the community,” Ward Allebach, president of the Bradford Woods Conservancy, said.

The conservancy was formed in 1994 to raise money toward the purchase of the land, which became the Bradford Woods Reserve, to be protected in perpetuity.

“We’ve grown well beyond that, because the woods don’t end at the reserve. Everybody has a little slice of the woods here in this community,” Allebach said. “But not everybody knows how to take care of it.”

Conservancy members want to make sure residents are on the right track.

“We’re creating awareness and educating some of the people to understand their properties,” conservancy board member Vicki Wiegand said, especially regarding the importance of maintaining plant species that are native to Western Pennsylvania.

According to the National Audubon Society, research shows that native plants can help create a healthier environment and support a higher diversity of animals.

Each spring and fall, the conservancy distributes free native trees and shrubs, with the latest giveaway taking place Oct. 5 in conjunction with a celebration of the nonprofit’s 30th anniversary. Plants included pawpaw, flowering dogwood, pitch pine, chestnut, ninebark and American witchhazel.

“What we’ve been doing over the last few years is looking at different points where trees have been taken down within the borough,” event organizer Art Kasson said. The conservancy then works with members of Bradford Woods Council and the borough’s Environmental and Parks Advisory Council to repopulate such areas.

On the other side of the coin are species that have not existed historically in the area, and their introduction can disrupt the ecosystem.

“Landscaping of exotic plants, or non-native plants, has been one of the problems,” Allebach explained. “Japanese barberry is popular, and it’s a horrible invasive that harbors ticks.”

The conservancy takes an active role in mitigating the issue.

“We’ll do events with the local Scouts where we pick garlic mustard, as an example,” Kasson said. “We try to supplement that with newsletters every couple of months, and usually there will be a feature on, here’s an invasive species that we’ve noticed in Bradford Woods.”

The anniversary celebration took place at Station No. 5, a Bradford Road business about half a mile west of the Bradford Woods Reserve.

“We try to get people to come to the reserve by having events there,” Wiegand said, including a Light-Up Night scheduled for Dec. 8.

The conservancy’s annual Earth Day celebration will take place in April, and Story Telling Night is in July. Additionally, a speaker series brings programs of interest about a wide variety of topics.

In 2010, the Sewickley-based nonprofit Allegheny Land Trust secured a conservation easement on the reserve. The action transferred development rights from the property owner, Bradford Woods Borough, to the land trust, guaranteeing that it will remain a green space forever.

For more information about the Bradford Woods Conservancy, visit bradfordwoodsconservancy.org.

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