Restoring Meadows at Kellys Run Nature Preserve, Lancaster Conservancy

Reposted from Lancaster Conservancy article published 24 July 2025

By Eric Roper, Forester

Restoration timelines are long. Take a meadow restoration, for example. Visitors to Kellys Run Nature Preserve this summer have been greeted by emerging pollinator meadows teeming with flowers, insects, and other wildlife. The creation of this thriving habitat is the result of multiple years of work, from planning and finding funding, to preparing the planting site, to putting seeds in the ground, to the plants taking root and finally beginning to bloom.

Kellys Run Nature Preserve meadow in July 2025 (Photo by Evan Peppers)

Meadows provide a dynamic habitat characterized by grass and forbs, which is crucial for birds and insects, serving as a source for cover and nesting habitat as well as a food. They were once a prominent landscape feature across southeastern Pennsylvania. Meadows – long maintained both with fire by the Susquehannock, Lenape, and Conestoga peoples and with grazing by wildlife like eastern woodland bison – began to disappear from the landscape as they were converted into agricultural land during European settlement. Today, they are becoming increasingly rare.

In 2018, Lancaster Conservancy staff and Board members designed and planted a small meadow at the edge of the Kellys Run Nature Preserve parking area. It was a meaningful starting point that inspired the next phase of this restoration. In 2020, Lancaster Conservancy began discussions with Natural Resources Conservation Service, and with technical assistance from Pheasants Forever, we developed a project plan. In 2021 with funding from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, work officially began on improving and expanding the pollinator meadow at Kellys Run.

Restoring the abandoned fields at Kellys Run Nature Preserve started with the planting of 3 acres of native trees and shrubs including pollinator powerhouses like ninebark, meadowsweet, and redbud. The trees and shrubs planted along the perimeter of the meadow create a feathered edge between the established woodlands and the meadow, serving as a transition zone and increasing the wildlife habitat value. The plantings also serve as a defensive buffer from woodland encroachment into the planned meadow. Chesapeake Bay Foundation provided trees, shrubs, and planting materials through the Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership for this part of the restoration project.

Aside from the established smaller pollinator garden, much of the three fields at Kellys Run Nature Preserve had been lightly managed prior to these restoration efforts. Site preparation was key to ensure a blank canvas for us to plant the carefully tailored seed mix for the site, designed to provide ideal habitat for species including monarchs, regal fritillaries, and American bumblebees. Seeding into a field of established, undesirable vegetation doesn’t work – the existing plants provide too much competition for the new species.

Mile-a-minute, multiflora rose, Canadian thistle, common mullein, and foxtail grass were prevalent in these fields. These are invasive plants that take over ecosystems and reduce native biodiversity if not controlled. It wasn’t all bad, though – there was some good mixed in, including butterfly weed, common milkweed, and dogbane. But the native species were few and far between, outweighed by, and under pressure from, the invasive and competing vegetation. The established vegetation was persistent, and a lot of sweat and even some blood from staff and volunteers went into resetting the clock at the three project sites over the course of three years.

Finally, with the planting sites prepared, we were ready to put seeds in the ground. With seed costs over $800 per acre, it was crucial to ensure proper calibration of the drill seeder. Stewardship staff spent an afternoon with Tyler Huddock of the Pennsylvania Game Commission dialing in the seeding rate to ensure just the right amount of seed was applied evenly across the entire project area. On the morning of the seeding, we mixed the seeds together along with an inoculant to help promote germination. The final step was to ensure the drill seeder placed the seeds just right. Too shallow and they would blow away or face predation from hungry birds. Too deep and the likelihood of germination would be greatly reduced. After two years of planning and three years of site prep, the success of the meadow ultimately boiled down to two days of exact precision with little room for error.

The seed mix included local ecotypes of over 30 pollinator species. Annual oats were included in the seed mix to act as a fast-establishing cover crop to occupy space and crowd out unwanted species. In the first year after seeding, partridge pea and false sunflower bloomed. This seemed to indicate that the seeding was successful, but it would be another year before we could confirm.

In the second year, yarrow and foxglove beardtongue were the first to join the false sunflower and partridge pea, followed by golden alexander. By the Fourth of July, purple coneflower, plains coreopsis, and wild bergamot began to show. Heath aster and smooth blue aster followed shortly after. As the number of species blooming increased, so did the pollinator activity in the meadow. One morning in July, monarch butterflies fluttered around the wild bergamot and American bumblebees were active on the asters and coneflowers.

It’s hard to predict exactly what species will begin showing at what times as the meadow progresses into years three, four, and five. By year five, all species are expected to produce an array of blooms throughout the entirety of the growing season. Additional species to look out for in the coming years include false blue indigo, Ohio spiderwort, Canadian milk vetch, and anise hyssop, among others.

The seed mix, designed in consultation with Pheasants Forever, was formulated to provide a variety of blooms throughout the growing season. These pollinator plants are capable of supporting a wide range of pollinator insect and bird species, but they are specifically tailored to provide critical habitat for five species:

1. Monarch butterfly
2. American bumblebee
3. Regal fritillary
4. Duskywing columbine skipper
5. Frosted elfin

Of these, the American bumblebee, duskywing columbine skipper, frosted elfin, and regal fritillary are all listed as a high conservation priority in the Pennsylvania Wildlife Action Plan.

The warm season bunch grasses in the meadow at Kellys Run will provide nesting and winter cover for ground nesting bird species. The deep root systems of big bluestem and switchgrass will increase long-term carbon storage in the meadow. Studies show established pollinator and bunchgrass meadows are capable of sequestering and storing over 2 tons of CO² per acre each year. The 9 acres seeded at Kellys Run Nature Preserve are estimated to be capable of storing over 18 tons of CO² per year!

As we continue to restore and support healthy forests on the Conservancy’s nature preserves, we are also thrilled to watch this vibrant meadow ecosystem come to life.

The meadow at Kellys Run Nature Preserve in July 2025 (Photo by Eric Roper)

About Lancaster Conservancy

Lancaster Conservancy is an accredited nonprofit land trust that protects and restores natural lands for future generations. Since our founding in 1969 by local anglers, hunters and naturalists, the Conservancy has saved over 10,000 acres of land to protect the ecosystems and landscapes upon which we depend for food, clean water, clean air, economic and public health, and the restoration of the soul and spirit.

We manage the lands we own in 50 nature preserves and care for over 45 miles of hiking trails. Our preserves, located in Lancaster County as well as along the Susquehanna River in York County, are open to the public free of charge 365 days a year and provide opportunities for passive recreation like hiking, fishing, hunting, and swimming. We have protected some of the most beautiful and beloved natural places in the area – places like Climbers Run, Welsh Mountain, Tucquan Glen & Pyfer, and Shenks Ferry Wildflower preserves.

Our work cultivates a connection with nature and educates the community on the importance of clean water, native species, biodiversity, and proper land use. By partnering with other non-profit organizations and government entities, we work to protect the health of our lands, watersheds, and local wildlife – forever. As a member supported organization, we need your help to save nature.