Conservation

In the summer, the meadow shows its true colors, the grasses grow tall, small pink milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) flowers attract orange monarch butterflies, and the purple blooms of tall ironweed (Vernonia gigantea) beckon the black and yellow bees buzzing by.

In the fall, the fields are cut for their annual haying, but goldenrod (Solidago virgaurea) flowers come out to shine their rustic gold in the margins, and the leaves of trees such as the flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) turn many different magnificent shades and hues.

In the winter, as snow blankets the hills, the trees are bare — but seeds lie dormant under the ground, waiting for the next season to come, ready to spring into life, yearning for the light.

The spirit of life is clearly evident when you visit Heritage Acres Memorial Sanctuary, at any time of year.

In the field there are millions of insects, arachnids, and even reptiles! This yellow garden spider (Argiope aurantia) may look intimidating, but it is not poisonous and won’t harm you (unless you mess with its web!). One of the many kinds of butterflies that you can see fluttering past your face is the zebra swallowtail (Protographium marcellus). The eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina) has a limited range, usually less than two square acres, where they live their whole lives, and we are lucky enough to have a healthy population living in our woods.

We can’t forget the mammals to whom we are most closely related. The woods are home to some well-known forest creatures, like the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and the eastern grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis). But did you know that there have been sightings of some more elusive species like the groundhog (Marmota monax) and even coyotes (Canis latrans) and bobcats (Lynx rufus)?

Foraging

There are many edible and medicinal species of plants at Heritage Acres. Some of our favorite species for harvesting are blackberries (Rubus fruticosus) and paw paws (Asimina triloba). Paw paw trees are so plentiful that we named an entire ridge after them. That section is also available for ashes burial in the woods.

Through part of our restoration efforts, we have planted several other species that have edible or medicinal qualities, including serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea), hazelnut (Corylus americana), butternut (Juglans cinerea), and witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana). We hope to be harvesting from these plants for years to come.

Conservation

Heritage Acres Memorial Sanctuary is more than just a burial ground. It is also a beautiful natural area that the public is free to enjoy from dawn to dusk. We hope to make it interesting and engaging to visit the grounds any time of year, for the purpose of hiking, volunteering, bird watching, picnicking, relaxing, foraging, meditating or, of course, visiting the grave of a loved one.

We value the land for everything it gives us and treat it with respect as the complex and diverse living organism that it is. One main tenet of our mission is conservation. This means not only protecting, but also restoring this landscape. We are actively working to increase the biodiversity of the meadow and forest ecosystems, and to create sacred natural spaces to be utilized for a variety of benefits.

Below are some of the projects we are working on:

Reforestation

The 40 acres that make up our sanctuary are comprised of roughly 60% meadow and 40% forest. Over time, we hope to make this an even 50-50 balance. In the fall of 2020, more than 150 native hardwoods of nine different species were donated for planting. They were spread out along the western property boundary and in the back field along the northern edge of the property. Some notable species planted include red oak (Quercus rubra), northern catalpa (Catalpa speciosa), black walnut (Juglans nigra), and white oak (Quercus alba). Over the coming years, these areas will continue to be planted successively, so the trees can grow at different rates and experience competition for resources like sunlight, as they would in an established forest.