Meng Preserve

Meng Preserve Meng Preserve is a steeply sloped, forested property with impressive outcrops of diabase rock and vernal pools.

See our website for more information including our history, a trail map, and hours of operation.

Gray Catbird enjoying berries from sumac📸: David Korbonits
08/27/2026

Gray Catbird enjoying berries from sumac

📸: David Korbonits

Berkeley's polypore is a parasitic fungus that causes butt rot in oaks and other hardwood trees. Should we intervene? No...
08/20/2026

Berkeley's polypore is a parasitic fungus that causes butt rot in oaks and other hardwood trees. Should we intervene? Nope... removing the fruiting body we can see won't stop the rate of mycelium growth within the tree.

📸: Kate Rash, Taproot Photography

Did you know some native songbirds use the dark, wiry stems of maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum) to build their nests?📸...
08/13/2026

Did you know some native songbirds use the dark, wiry stems of maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum) to build their nests?

📸: Kate Rash, Taproot Photography

Invasive species spotlight: The mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin)--native to Asia--was introduced to our region by famed...
08/06/2026

Invasive species spotlight: The mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin)--native to Asia--was introduced to our region by famed botanist William Bartram. In fact, Thomas Jefferson obtained some seeds from Bartram and planted them at Monticello. The species outcompetes native vegetation, particularly in disturbed habitat like roadsides and stream banks. A single tree produces thousands of seeds that can remain viable in the soil for many years.

📸: Kate Rash, Taproot Photography

"To love a swamp, however, is to love what is muted and marginal, what exists in the shadows, what shoulders its way out...
07/30/2026

"To love a swamp, however, is to love what is muted and marginal, what exists in the shadows, what shoulders its way out of mud and scurries along the damp edges of what is most commonly praised."
~ Barbara Hurd, Stirring the Mud: On Swamps, Bogs, and Human Imagination

📸: Mae Axelrod

There is a myth that bumblebees "shouldn't be able to fly." The misconception arose in the 1930s when an aerodynamicist ...
07/24/2026

There is a myth that bumblebees "shouldn't be able to fly." The misconception arose in the 1930s when an aerodynamicist mistakenly applied fixed-wing airplane equations to the insects, failing to account for their rapid, twisting wing movements. Instead of simply flapping up and down, bumblebees beat their wings in a fast, figure-eight motion. This rapid movement (up to 240 times per second) creates tiny, low-pressure air vortexes (miniature hurricanes) above their wings that act as a suction, generating enough lift to keep their heavy bodies airborne.

📸: Preston Wilson

One word: summertime 😎📸: Mae Axelrod
07/23/2026

One word: summertime 😎

📸: Mae Axelrod

Can you tell the difference between a Viceroy (left) and a Monarch (right) butterfly? Viceroy butterflies have a distinc...
07/17/2026

Can you tell the difference between a Viceroy (left) and a Monarch (right) butterfly? Viceroy butterflies have a distinct black line running horizontally across the lower hind wings, while Monarchs do not. Monarchs are generally larger, with a wingspan of about 3.5 to 4 inches, whereas Viceroys are smaller, typically 2.6 to 3 inches. Monarchs have thicker black veins on their wing patterns.

📸: Bill Moses

In the heat of summer, the cool trails of Meng Preserve are a welcome respite.📸: Mae Axelrod
07/16/2026

In the heat of summer, the cool trails of Meng Preserve are a welcome respite.

📸: Mae Axelrod

“Going to the woods is going home.”- John Muir📸: Mae Axelrod
07/09/2026

“Going to the woods is going home.”
- John Muir

📸: Mae Axelrod

Address

226 Mine Hill Rd
Schwenksville, PA
19473

Telephone

+16103535587

Website

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