Lindsay Herendeen, Andrew Pugliese, Maggie Surface

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Robertson Grove Nature Trail
Lindsay Herendeen, Andrew Pugliese, Maggie
Surface Allegheny College, Department of
Environmental Science
Future of the Trail The final product of our
research along with an invitation to frequent the
Robertson Grove Nature Trail will be extended to
local middle and high school students as well as
local environmental organizations. The
information will be distributed to these groups
via email with the help of Creek Connections and
CEED. Brochures will also be placed in strategic
locations around campus (Campus Center, Alumni
Center, Bentley, CEED office, etc.) and around
Meadville (Town Hall, Visitors Center, Market
House, etc.). It is our hope that by
disseminating information in this manner, we will
reach our target audience of students as well as
the Meadville community. We consciously chose
not to place the brochures at the trailhead to
reduce the chance of the brochures being damaged
or causing unnecessary trash. With a wide-range
of dissemination points, it is our hope that the
trail will become publicly known and experience
frequent future use.

• Selection Process
• Trail Choice
• We chose Robertson Grove due to its example of
  the PA forest ecosystem, proximity to target
  audience, and location. We also considered using
  the Ernst Bike Trial for the nature trail, but
  decided that this was not the type of ecosystem
  and area desired.
• Site Choice
• We walked the Allegheny Cross-Country Trail
  several times before finally choosing the stretch
  between the pavilion and the soccer fields.
• Stops Along the Trail
• 16 sites with corresponding topics
• Each site as chosen based on variety of topics
  and educational importance. The topics are
  advanced enough for a broad range of people,
  including high school students, college students,
  and the Meadville community. All information is
  expressed in a way that is easy to understand
  without a scientific background. This
  accomplishes the goal to reach a diversity of
  people.
• Each topic was researched and a precise paragraph
  of 3-5 sentences was written to provide
  information about each stop.
• This information was then compiled into a
  brochure/map to be used when walking the trail.
  A brochure was used instead of permanent plaques
  to minimize cost and visual impact on the
  landscape of Robertson Grove.

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Soccer
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Park Ave
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Soccer
Parking
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Why is a nature trail Important? A nature trial
can serve as an avenue to environmental
education. A 2000 survey1 found that 95 of
adult Americans support environmental education
in schools. Environmental education is
beneficial to students, schools, teachers, and
the community.2 These benefits include increased
awareness and empowerment among students a more
positive learning atmosphere in schools and
increased community networking and integration.2
Environmental education, should extend beyond
the classroom and that an appreciation and
understanding of the environment creates
well-rounded children prepared to enter into and
contribute to the larger society1. The creation
of the Robertson Grove Nature Trail provides the
experiential opportunity for students both in
local middle and high schools as well as at
Allegheny College, to learn about Pennsylvanias
forests in a hands-on manner.
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Baseball
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Nature Trail
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XC Trail
Road
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1 Welcome to Robertson Grove 2 Riparian Zones 3
History of Robertson Grove 4 Young versus Old
Forests 5 Species Composition
11 Fire 12 Stags 13 Deer 14 Suburban Sprawl 15
Forest Dynamics
6 Shade Tolerant versus Intolerant Species 7
History of Forest Management in PA 8 Wildlife 9
Soil 10 Human Impact
Works Cited 1 Environmental Education Training
Foundation www.neetf.org/roper/roper2001-a 2 Te
Kete Ipurangi Environmental Education
www.tki.org.nz/r/environ_ed