Area botanists and researchers hope a nature trail and forest at the Penn State New Kensington campus in Upper Burrell can be preserved as the property’s future is yet to be determined.
“It’s (full of) highly diverse plant species, biologically speaking,” said Mason Heberling, an associate curator of botany at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. “There’s not a lot of available green space in our area of Westmoreland County.”
The campus nature trail is a half-mile loop located behind the far goal on PSNK’s soccer field. It was developed in 1985 by now-retired PSNK biology professors Bill Hamilton and Deborah Sillman.
“The trail has turned into an arboretum of sorts,” said Heberling, of Lower Burrell. “Bill made the trail on ecological succession. It’s the concept of long-term change in forests.”
PSNK, along with six other Penn State branch campuses, will close next year. Future use of the property has not yet been determined.
“Penn State continues to work with local stakeholders and community partners as future uses for closing campuses are explored,” said Andrew Krebs, Penn State spokesman. “No decisions have been made regarding the long-term direction of the New Kensington campus or how specific elements of the property may factor into future plans.”
Heberling said the piece of land harbors many species, a few of which are uncommon.
“It’s a hidden gem, but a lot of people know about it. In its heyday, it was a resource,” Heberling said. “Now, it’s an important piece of campus history, ecologically and biodiversitywise.”
Land adjacent to the trail is owned by Arconic. The original land was obtained from Alcoa for the campus, and the Alcoa Foundation has supported previous nature trail projects there.
Sarah Nilson, a biology professor at Penn State Beaver, said the PSNK nature trail runs through a tulip tree–beech–maple forest with a biodiverse herbaceous understory. It supports several important and sensitive native plant species.
Nilson and a colleague visited the site in April to collect data and samples, as it’s one of the locations that is part of their research study funded by the PA Wild Resources Conservation Program.
“Given that the trail system is already well established and has a long history of educational use; that the woods are botanically diverse and likely support a wide range of bird and other wildlife species; and that active research is being conducted there on important Pennsylvania flora, I believe it is important that this area remain a public resource consistent with Penn State University’s land-grant mission,” Nilson said.
For decades, the trail was used by the public and for educational programming. Sillman and Hamilton used to maintain a “virtual trail” website.
“In its heyday, it got thousands of visitors each month and included photos and info about the trail, extensive ‘species pages’ — written by students and edited by Dr. Hamilton — several of Dr. H’s nature essays, a map and an arboretum booklet to help identify the labeled trees,” Sillman said.
They do, however, keep an “Ecologist’s Notebook” website online for review.
Heberling said that, while there’s lots of forestry and woods in Upper Burrell, much of it is not public.
“Understanding the diversity of life that exists in our community is important,” Heberling said. “It’s worth considering the future of this forest.”