Trails and Land Conservancy
Many people associate conserved land with public trails. Our National Parks are a great example. The Nature Conservancy, the largest environmental nonprofit in the country, has hundreds of trails on its land that are open to the public. Nearby, Natural Lands, an organization based outside of Philadelphia, owns 20 preserves that are open to the public for hiking, strolling, and observing birds and nature. Their preserves are gorgeous and enjoyed by many every day. The thing that these groups have in common is that they have enough resources to buy land, build trails, as well as maintain and improve them. These organizations do amazing work to restore the health of the lands they own.
Here in rural Adams County we have a mixed blessing. We already have a much higher percentage of undeveloped land than urban areas and are blessed with some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. However, we don’t have multiple millions of dollars to buy land and develop trails. Instead, the efforts of the Land Conservancy of Adams County over the last 29 years have been to establish conservation easements on privately owned farms, forests, and open spaces to preserve the rural character of our county.
Conservation easements ensure that these properties will remain undeveloped in perpetuity (forever). We have protected over 13,200 acres out of 331,900 total acres in Adams County. The land we protect remains the private property of the owners. Up until now it has been very hard to build public trails on these private lands.
We are very pleased to announce that on Saturday, April 27th we will be cutting the ribbon to open a new 1.1-mile trail at Boyer Nurseries and Orchards. The owners of Boyer’s have graciously agreed to open this trail on their property to the public. The trail begins near the hedge maze, then climbs through the orchard hills to a wooded ridgeline with great views. It then cuts through the woods to an established gravel trail that brings the traveler back down to the nursery. The Ribbon Cutting ceremony will take place at 10:30 am followed by a stroll around the new trail and refreshments afterwards.
Thank you to our supporters who underwrote the cost of developing this trail: WellSpan Health, Pella Rolscreen Foundation, C.S. Davidson, Walmart and the South Mountain Partnership.
Some of you reading this may know that I also volunteer for the Healthy Adams County Physical Fitness Task Force which promotes outdoor exercise. This trail marries my two passions – land conservation and outdoor exercise. So, I am taking the liberty of marrying them in this article too.
Recently, in the online magazine The Upside, an article by Rachel MacPherson discussed the “8 Incredible Health Benefits of Exercising in Nature.” It’s known that exercise has been shown to prevent disease, boost mental health, and help you stay independent and strong throughout life. Likewise, spending time in nature has been shown to increase happiness, mood, and energy levels. Recent research has uncovered more about the powerful combination of exercise in nature. These recent studies found that outdoor exercise does all the above to a greater extent than indoor exercise or just sitting outside. In particular, one study found that outdoor exercise switched your nervous system from being in “fight or flight” mode to being in “rest and digest” mode. New studies also found that vitamin D was absorbed better into the blood stream when exercising versus simply sitting outdoors. And another study found that more people genuinely enjoy outdoor exercise so are more consistent in their exercise regimens. Finally, natural outdoor trails increase the workout by building balance muscles, increasing heart rate, and generally improving cardiovascular fitness. Whatever the reason, exercising outdoors is enjoyable and healthy.
We hope that you will join us at 10:30 am on Saturday, April 27th at Boyer Nurseries for the ribbon cutting and grand opening walk of our new trail.
Betsy Meyer is Vice President of the Land Conservancy board, chair of the events committee, and an outdoor exercise enthusiast.
