FACES & PLACES
AROUND TOWN JULY 2006

Community Open House Day
by Nancy Beaubaire

Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve invites everyone in the region to “discover the secrets of nature’s garden” at our Seventh Annual Community Open House Day on Saturday, July 15 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will be held rain or shine - but we hope for shine!

This free, festive summer event offers “natural” fun and inspiration for all ages, including guided wildflower walks, music, and activities especially for children. Bring your friends, family, or come on your own.

Kids will especially enjoy an insect hunt in the meadow, crafts, a balloon artist, face-painters and a coloring contest, all with a focus on nature. These activities will take place under cover of the historic Captain James Moore Pavilion.

Guided wildflower walks will be offered throughout the day, led by our trained naturalists. (Normally we offer one guided walk per day at 2 p.m., from April through October.) On the walk, you’ll experience the natural beauty of our meadow, where many spectacular wildflowers will be in bloom and butterflies dart about. Explore further through the woodlands, pond and Pidcock Creek, where you’re likely to catch a glimpse of birds, more butterflies, dragonflies, frogs and turtles.

The ever-popular local band Jericho Mountain Grass once again will have you clapping your hands to a lively mix of bluegrass and folk tunes. Snacks will be provided free, including freshly made popcorn. If you like, bring along a picnic lunch.

Exhibits will showcase the Preserve’s year-round educational programs and native plant resources, Solebury Township’s Environmental Advisory Committee and Land Preservation Committee activities and the Backyard Habitat Program of the National Wildlife Federation. Try your hand at our “Name that Wildflower” contest. Enter a drawing to win a family membership to the Preserve, or if you’re already a member, a gift certificate to the Twinleaf Shop.

At the Visitor Center, the Display Garden will be overflowing with native plants and ideas for your home landscape. Free information about gardening with native plants also is available. Familiar and unusual native plants will be available to purchase, as well as nature-oriented books and t-shirts.

According to Preserve Executive Director Miles Arnott, “When we started Community Open House Day in 1999, we envisioned it as a way to reach out to new audiences, whether they are local residents or area tourists. The Preserve is truly an oasis of natural beauty and biodiversity in Bucks County and we wanted to waive our admission fee for a day so people could sample our extraordinary educational and natural resources. Over time, we hope we can help people reconnect with the essential unity between humankind and nature.”

Community Open House Day will take place at Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve, located on 1635 River Road, just 2-1/2 miles south of New Hope and convenient to I-95 and Rt. 202. Look for the signs and balloons at the entrance on River Road. (For directions, visit the Preserve’s website, www.bhwp.org, click on Visiting BHWP, then Location, Directions & Map.) For more information, call the Preserve at (215) 862-2924.

Did you know that...

Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve’s 134 acres is home to nearly 1000 species of native plants, nearly half of the species found in the entire state of Pennsylvania

The Preserve supports a rich diversity of bird life, such as magnolia warblers, scarlet tanagers and rose-breasted grosbeaks, all of which depend on relatively mature forests and intact ecosystems to survive.

About 2 ½ miles of trails wind through the Preserve, available for you to explore.

You can find more than 200 species of native plants for sale at the Preserve’s Spring and Fall Plant Sales.

The Preserve offers year-round educational programs for various audiences, including beginning gardeners, landscape professionals, children and families, land managers and everyone interested in nature and conservation.

The Preserve is a nonprofit organization that relies on membership for its support.