Technology and a walk in the woods tend not to mix.

“We usually promote putting your phone away while hiking,” Lindsay Dill said, ready to produce hers as she traversed a tree-canopied trail. “But sometimes it can help.”

Her stroll led her through the lower reaches of the Barking Slopes Conservation Area in Plum, between craggy cliffs on one side and the Allegheny River on the other. Occasionally, she stopped to admire some of the bountiful species of plant life, and that’s where her communications device came in handy.

“This is blue cohosh,” she said about one particular variety, after a message to that effect appeared on the screen courtesy of iNaturalist, a sizable network of biologists and citizen scientists who have compiled means of identification with the snap of a photo.

“It makes a recommendation. You still have to kind of know what it might be,” Dill said. “It’s a really cool tool.”

As marketing communications director for the preservationist nonprofit Allegheny Land Trust, she spends plenty of time at the organization’s owned and protected sites, including the 151 acres of Barking Slopes.

The most commonly used entrance to the conservation area is off Barking Road, which veers southwest off Route 909 into a relatively secluded riverside village.

“As we’re walking along, you’ll see old house foundations,” Dill said as she embarked on the Riverside Trail, one of two at the site. “We have stories from some supporters who used to run through here when they were teenagers, after the houses were abandoned.”

One such residential remnant sits next to stairs leading from the Barking Road parking lot up to the trail, with the masonry covered by a colorful mural painted last year by Pittsburgh visual artist Randi Stewart, who cleverly goes by “Randi with-an-eye.”

“These spaces invite graffiti,” Dill said. “So we may as well just commission artists.”

Along with sprucing up the area — “we’ve removed a lot of debris over the years,” she said — Allegheny Land Trust staff members and volunteers have another goal.

“Most of our efforts here have to do with habitat and maintenance. By protecting the land, we’re preserving that resource,” Dill said. “We’re supporting the native species growth, trying to manage invasives as much as we can.”

Although they generally overwhelm the plants that actually belong, invasive species can provide for study opportunities. At Barking Slopes, a team of botanists from the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History is examining how some native species, such as the flowering trillium, manage to thrive despite the seasonal pervasiveness of fast-growing and -spreading Japanese knotweed.

For folks with untrained eyes, though, a Riverside Trail stroll represents a relaxing diversion, at least during the time of year when the combination of cliffs and the Allegheny tends to result in high levels of humidity.

Atop the ridge is the Uplands Trail, which can be accessed directly off Route 909 and presents a somewhat more formidable challenge for hikers.

“Right now, it’s mostly used by birders. There are about 150 species of birds here,” Dill said, with one diligent watcher logging 137 of them.

Allegheny Land Trust, which is based in Sewickley, began acquiring Barking Slopes property in 1997 as part of the organization’s ongoing efforts in “helping local people save local land in the Pittsburgh region,” according to its website. Today, more than 3,400 acres of green space is protected across 32 different municipalities in Allegheny and Washington counties.

The organization also offers a variety of public activities, made possible by support from Duquesne Light Co., including events scheduled for May 6 at Barking Slopes:

• First Friday Hike: Wildflower Research, 10 to 11:30 a.m. Meet the research team led by Mason Heberling, assistant curator of botany at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and learn how climate change and invasive species are affecting wildflower emergence.

• Mushroom ID Hike, 1 to 3 p.m. Allegheny Land Trust senior director of education and curriculum Julie Travaglini, a Pennsylvania Mushroom Club identifier, will lead the walk. Foraging is not included.

The activities are rain or shine, and the cost for each is $5. No walk-ins will be permitted. To register, visit alleghenylandtrust.org/events and select the applicable events.

Also on May 6, a Barking Slopes Invasive Workday is scheduled from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. The volunteer effort will focus on identifying and removing invasive plants to improve habitat. Participants are advised to dress for muddy conditions and bring their own gloves, and masks are required at arrival. Children are welcome if accompanied by an adult.

And mark the calendar for Aug. 31, when Campfire Cooking 101 is scheduled from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Barking Slopes, led by master naturalist Kristen Haas

More information about the Allegheny Land Trust is available at alleghenylandtrust.org.

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