{"id":7377,"date":"2013-06-10T08:00:02","date_gmt":"2013-06-10T12:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=7377"},"modified":"2013-06-06T19:08:03","modified_gmt":"2013-06-06T23:08:03","slug":"land-stewards-thank-lucky-stars-for-lenfests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=7377","title":{"rendered":"Land stewards: Thank lucky stars for Lenfests"},"content":{"rendered":"

9,300-square-foot, eco-friendly center set to debut at ChesLen Preserve<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h1>\n
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In May 2012, Molly Morrison, president of Natural Lands Trust, joined Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest at the groundbreaking for the Lenfest Center. Its completion will be celebrated on Saturday and Sunday, June 15 and 16.<\/p><\/div>\n

The stars and planets have aligned \u2013 notably the constellation Hercules, a first-quarter moon, and Saturn \u2014 to celebrate the opening of the new Lenfest Center at the ChesLen Preserve in Newlin Township on Saturday and Sunday.<\/p>\n

Established in 2007, the ChesLen Preserve, once the home of a mushroom cannery, resulted from a donation of land by philanthropists Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest, a transfer of 500 acres of parkland from Chester County, and a subsequent purchase of 195 acres, creating an expanse of 1,263 acres, said a news release from Natural Land Trust, the steward for the preserve.<\/p>\n

The 9,300-square-foot Lenfest Center, designed by Archer and Buchanan Architecture, Ltd., whose work includes facilities at Swarthmore College\u2019s Scott Arboretum, features green design elements such as geothermal heating and cooling, high-efficiency lighting, and recycled materials. \u201cThe Lenfest Center is a great vision with a great team of people behind it,\u201d said Marguerite Lenfest.<\/p>\n

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An artist\u2019 rendering shows the layout of the Lenfest Center at the ChesLen Preserve in Newlin Township.<\/p><\/div>\n

While the bulk of the facility is dedicated to storage and maintenance of preserve management-related equipment, it will also provide a base of operations for Natural Lands Trust, a public space for visitors and community groups, a modest meeting room, and an outdoor pavilion for occasional events.<\/p>\n

The Saturday dedication \u2013 co-chaired by Katharine Fisher Maroney and John B. \u201cJeb\u201d Hannum III \u2013 will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. and includes wine, local farm-inspired edibles, and music. Tickets begin at $150 per person. Close to 30 sponsors, including lead \u201cConstellation Hercules\u201d Sponsor Wawa, have helped support festivities associated with the Lenfest Center dedication and opening. Tickets and additional sponsorship opportunities are available at\u00a0http:\/\/www.natlands.org\/preserves-to-visit\/lenfest-center-dedication<\/a>\u00a0or by calling 610-353-5587, ext. 224.<\/p>\n

\u201cGerry and Marguerite\u2019s philanthropy has had a pronounced impact on our broad quality of life in the Philadelphia region, but, for those of us who care deeply about land conservation, ChesLen Preserve and the Lenfest Center are stunning examples of care and generosity,\u201d said Hannum.<\/p>\n

In 2010, The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (PA DCNR) designated portions of ChesLen Preserve \u2013 specifically the Unionville Barrens \u2013 as a \u201cPennsylvania Wild Plant Sanctuary.\u201d The preserve boasts 12 miles of unpaved trails and was deemed an \u201cImportant Bird Area\u201d by the National Audubon Society for species that include \u00a0indigo buntings, downy woodpeckers, and green-backed herons.<\/p>\n

A free Community Day open house is scheduled for Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. Visitors can explore the preserve grounds and the state-of-the-art facility on guided tours, and enjoy refreshments and activities for the whole family. Pre-registration is not required for the open house.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Lenfests are among the country\u2019s leading philanthropists, and we are remarkably fortunate that Gerry and Marguerite have made their home region the focus of so much of their generosity,\u201d said Molly Morrison, president of Natural Lands Trust. \u201cWe were deeply honored to be given the opportunity to steward the ChesLen Preserve. Not only is it a natural gem, it is a lasting legacy of the Lenfests\u2019 commitment to land conservation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Constructed within the general footprint of an old cannery that was a remnant of the preserve\u2019s mushroom production history, the building site takes up 10,000 square feet less built area than before and one-third less paved surface. The architects designed the building to fit gracefully into the natural surroundings. Only one story of the building is visible from the road; a lower level was built into an existing slope so that it is not visible from most viewpoints, the release said.<\/p>\n

Landscaping further enhances the building\u2019s integration with the site. Twenty acres of \u201cgardens,\u201d designed by Jonathan Alderson Landscape Architects, include native grassland meadows, rain gardens, and more than one hundred native trees and shrubs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI give great credit to Molly Morrison and Natural Lands Trust for presenting me with the opportunity to preserve this land in perpetuity,\u201d said Gerry Lenfest.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

9,300-square-foot, eco-friendly center set to debut at ChesLen Preserve The stars and planets have aligned \u2013 notably the constellation Hercules, a first-quarter moon, and Saturn \u2014 to celebrate the opening of the new Lenfest Center at the ChesLen Preserve in Newlin Township on Saturday and Sunday. Established in 2007, the ChesLen Preserve, once the home […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,1],"tags":[2596,2597,2598,2599,2600,2601,2602,1693,915,1040,2603],"class_list":["post-7377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured","category-uncategorized","tag-archer-and-buchanan-architecture","tag-cheslen-preserve","tag-gerry-lenfest","tag-john-b-jeb-hannum-iii","tag-katharine-fisher-maroney","tag-ltd","tag-marguerite-lenfest","tag-molly-morrison","tag-natural-lands-trust","tag-newlin-township","tag-wawa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7377\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}