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We are a member-based nonprofit dedicated to protecting and restoring the region’s waters, forests, natural areas and wildlife, planting community trees, gardens and greenspaces, and caring for Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater.
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Forestland, Habitat for Rare Species Protected in Bedford County |
Bedford County, known for its steep mountain slopes, breathtaking natural beauty and myriad recreational opportunities, now has more protected forestland!
The Conservancy recently protected 725 forested acres within the globally significant Hewitt Barrens-Lower Town Creek Natural Heritage Area, which supports many rare, uncommon and sensitive species of concern in Pennsylvania, including mussel and damselfly species.
Located in Southampton Township, Bedford County near the Maryland border, the conservation easements protect an expanse of connected forest from development and fragmentation while ensuring public access for trout fishing to Town Creek, a 41.6-mile tributary of the Potomac River and a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection-designated High-Quality Cold-Water Fishery.
The forested areas host a Virginia pine-mixed hardwood shale woodlands, a rare plant community that grows on dry, acidic shale slopes. These woodlands, along with a few shale barren habitats commonly found on Appalachian Mountain south-facing slopes, support a variety of rare, critically imperiled and sensitive species of concern in Pennsylvania.
These easements will safeguard important conservation values on the land, such as the forests, rare habitats and the creek to ensure the land remains in its natural state in perpetuity.
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 Cast your line on Town Creek
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Walk with Us: Land Stewardship in Action |
With more than 15,000 acres on 45 publicly accessible nature preserves to manage, and more than 62,000 acres of conservation easements to monitor, WPC’s nimble and resourceful land stewardship team walks a lot of miles! They improve preserves by planting trees, restoring habitat, improving parking lots, installing bat
roosts and more.
At least 15 times each year, volunteers help to build or maintain trails, remove invasive plants, remove or build structures and haul out trash—all to keep preserves clean and safe for everyone to enjoy. Join us!
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Visit Fallingwater, Register for Webinars |
Summer is slipping away, but there’s still plenty of time to visit Fallingwater while the forest canopy is lush and green and before school bells ring. Choose from a variety of tours, including In-Depth Guided Tours or Family Field Trips. Our educators provide thoughtful guidance, historical context and perspective on how the Kaufmann family lived as you experience the house and consider Wright’s design philosophy.
Be sure to register for two upcoming webinars featuring contributors to our new book, “Fallingwater: Living With and In Art.”
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Shade Your Neighborhood: Get Trees in Spring 2026 |
Do you want to increase your home’s property value, flight climate change, or bring more foot traffic to your community’s businesses? Plant trees! TreeVitalize Pittsburgh, of which WPC is the managing partner, is accepting applications for spring 2026 tree plantings.
To begin the application process, please review this webpage—where there’s also a link to tree benefits—then email Brian Crooks at bcrooks@paconserve.org or call him at 412-586-2323 through October 1.
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Students Can Learn Through Fallingwater’s School Programs |
When students visit Fallingwater, they don’t just tour a house over a waterfall. They learn about architecture, design, engineering and the philosophy of creating art in harmony with nature.
Whether they’re “Wright in Our Backyard” in the Laurel Highlands or hail from the other side of the world, students can gain inspiration and knowledge of Fallingwater by experiencing an onsite or virtual field trip, or designing a house for a gnome!
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Steward a WPC Community Flower Garden |
WPC Volunteer Community Garden Steward Tom Chandley gets appreciative beeps when he's working in our garden in Erie. “Thank yous” mean a lot, and pride in his work and camaraderie with other volunteers keep him motivated. Greening the neighborhood, he says. “is like putting a mural on a wall to brighten an area.”
Some WPC gardens around Pittsburgh, in Allegheny County or across the region could use a volunteer garden steward like Tom. No green thumb required!
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Discover Our Work to Protect Butterflies |
Butterflies are important parts of many ecosystems, and we plant native flowers on our preserves and in our community gardens to support them. Butterflies help to pollinate flowering plants, and caterpillars and butterflies provide food for other insects, birds and spiders.
Unfortunately, many wetland butterfly species are in decline. Learn how our conservation scientists have partnered with agencies across the East Coast to conserve 14 wetland butterfly species of concern.
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Download Summer Images |
Visitors to our 243-acre Wolf Creek Narrows Natural Area in Butler County can observe a variety of wildflowers. In 2015, we converted old agricultural fields at the preserve to native wildflower meadows. The seed mix included goldenrod, aster, black-eyed Susan, blue-stem, switchgrass and more plants that support native pollinators and wildlife, improve soil quality and reduce erosion.
Along the creek, enjoy a floodplain meadow that changes with the seasons, including wild bergamot, Turk's-cap lily and yellow jewelweed during early August. Download this and other summer images.
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Spirit of Place Note Cards |
As a complement to the exhibition at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art in Ligonier, Pa. and to the book titled “Spirit of Place” comes a new note card set of the same name. The Spirit of Place note card set features four images painted by Fallingwater Institute Artist-in-Residence Ron Donoughe from 2020 to 2024. In the 12-card and envelope set that features four images of Fallingwater, you will get three cards of each image as well as descriptions and details that correspond with each painting. All cards are suitable for framing and fit easily in any 5”x7” frame. Place your order today!
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| Order Spirit of Place note cards today!
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PROTECT WILD PLACES AND GREEN SPACES
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NATURE NEAR YOU NEEDS YOU! |
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