Our Mission

The mission of the Trust and its membership is to protect, restore and preserve the lands of the central Pennypack Creek valley so that they:

remain an enhancement to the quality of visitors’ lives,
remain a vibrant and diverse natural landscape supporting native plant and animal life, and
become the standard of excellence for innovative restoration and stewardship practices to be shared with other individuals and organizations joined in common commitment to the environment.

A Brief History

Since being founded in 1970, the Pennypack Trust has been assembling a natural area preserve (named the Pennypack Preserve) through a combination of land donations, Creek bed purchases, and conservation easements. The Trust purchased the 160-acre Raytharn Farm on August 19, 1997, and the 33-acre Bethayres Woods in 1999. An additional 20 acres acquired through a conservation easement in December 2001 has grown the Pennypack Preserve to include a total of 720 acres of protected meadows and woodlands, making it Montgomery County's single largest privately-owned natural area that welcomes the public.

The Trust maintains over eight miles of public trails, some of which can be used for multiple-purposes (e.g., walking, running/jogging, bicycling, horseback riding) while others are intended strictly for hiking, birdwatching, and quiet contemplation.

The Trust is supported by membership dues, charitable foundation grants, environmental research grants, and modest governmental appropriations. This funding is augmented by gift shop and bird seed sales. The Trust’s membership stands at 1,100 households. The organization has a staff of nine professionals supplemented by over 100 volunteers.

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