Old Church Lane Preserve
Old Church Lane, Lewisboro, Westchester County, New York
31 acres
Located near the Pound Ridge border.
Directions:
Saw Mill Parkway north to its end; get off at the exit for Route 35; at the light, turn right; shortly before entering Connecticut turn right onto Route 123 (green mileage marker 22 23) heading south; drive 1.8 miles and turn right onto Kitchawan Road (green mileage marker 10 29); drive 0.4 of a mile and turn left onto Old Church Lane; drive 0.3 of a mile; you will see the small sign for the preserve on the left (almost directly across from house #38); you have to park along the dirt road. No trail here but one can still explore the area; there is an informal trail opposite house # 28.
Geology:
The wetlands and streams drain into the Pound Ridge reservoirs that supply drinking water to Stamford, CT.
History:
Open Space Institute Donates 40 Acres in Lewisboro to Westchester Land Trust.
Mid-1990s – OSI acquired the property from a donor who agreed to let the organization sell off a small portion for development to raise money.
OSI worked with Westchester Land Trust and the Lewisboro Planning Board to designate 14 acres for limited development (with no more than 2 houses on the property). This left 31 acres to the Land Trust.
2003 -- the Open Space Institute transferred the preserve to the Westchester Land Trust.
Habitats:
swamps, ponds, woods, ridges, rock outcrops
http://www.westchesterlandtrust.org/Accomplishments/oldchurch.html
Trails:
6/02/04. Parked along the road by the preserve sign and near house #38. Walked down to the swampy area. The mosquitoes came out to greet me and dog Sonar. Walked up a small hill covered with mountain laurel and down the other side to another swampy area. Not easy going. Turned around and returned to the first swampy area. Walked along the road north and almost opposite house #28 found a short informal trail that the mountain laurel bushes and others are trying to return to a wild state. There is an open area covered with New York fern and an interesting large rock outcrop. The trail ends at someone's backyard. Rain threatened with lightning and thunder and so we turned around and walked quickly back to the car. Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.
4/24/05. Brief stop. There is a stream in a valley that makes for a beautiful scene. I noticed a lot of trash around the area. Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
dates = dates plants found in bloom, 4/24/2005 6/02/2004
Trees:
Acer rubrum (red maple) -- the dominant tree species
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Amelanchier arborea (shadbush) 4/24/05
Betula alleghaniensis (yellow birch)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Betula populifolia (gray birch)
Carpinus caroliniana (musclewood)
Carya ovata (shagbark hickory)
Carya tomentosa (mockernut hickory)
Cornus florida (flowering dogwood)
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree) 6/02/04
Nyssa sylvatica (tupelo)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore)
Populus grandidentata (big-toothed aspen)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus prinus (chestnut oak)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Quercus velutina (black oak)
Salix sp. (willow)
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)
Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock)
Ulmus americana (American elm)
Shrubs:
Alnus serrulata (smooth alder)
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry) lots
Chimaphila maculata (striped wintergreen)
Clethra alnifolia (sweet pepperbush)
Elaeagnus umbellata (autumn olive)
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)
Gaylussacia baccata (black huckleberry)
Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel)
Ilex verticillata (winterberry holly)
Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel) 6/02/04 grove of it
Lindera benzoin (spicebush) 4/24/05
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow's honeysuckle)
Mitchella repens (partridgeberry)
Rhododendron viscosum ? (swamp azalea) ?
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose) 6/02/04
Rubus phoenicolasius (wineberry)
Rubus sp. (dewberry)
Salix discolor (pussy willow)
Spiraea sp. (broadleaf spiraea) -- the dominant shrub
Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry) 4/24/05
Vaccinium pallidum (hillside blueberry)
Viburnum acerifolium (maple-leaf viburnum)
Viburnum dentatum (smooth arrowwood viburnum) 6/02/04
Viburnum lentago (nannyberry viburnum)
Viburnum sieboldii (Siebold's viburnum)
Vines:
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Smilax rotundifolia (round-leaved greenbrier)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy) 6/02/04
Vincetoxicum nigrum (black swallowwort) 6/02/04
Vitis labrusca (fox grape)
Herbs:
Achillea millefolium (common yarrow)
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Allium vineale (field garlic)
Aralia nudicaulis (wild sarsaparilla)
Arisaema triphyllum (jack-in-the-pulpit)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Calla palustris (wild calla) 6/02/04
Cerastium vulgatum (mouse-ear chickweed) 6/02/04
Circaea lutetiana (enchanter's nightshade)
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace)
Erythronium americanum (trout lily)
Galium aparine (cleavers) 6/02/04
Geranium sp. (geranium)
Glechoma hederacea (gill over the ground) 6/02/04
Impatiens capensis (orange jewelweed)
Lycopus sp. (bugleweed)
Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife)
Maianthemum canadense (Canada mayflower)
Monotropa uniflora (Indian pipe)
Oxalis sp. (yellow wood sorrel)
Panax trifolius (dwarf ginseng) 4/24/05
Pilea pumila (clearweed)
Polygonatum biflorum (smooth true Solomon's seal)
Potentilla canadensis (dwarf cinquefoil)
Prenanthes altissima (tall white lettuce)
Ranunculus acris (tall buttercup) 6/02/04
Ranunculus recurvatus (hooked crowfoot)
Ranunculus (hispidus var. caricetorum) (swamp buttercup)
Sisyrinchium sp. (blue-eyed grass) 6/02/04
Solanum dulcamara (bittersweet nightshade)
Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage)
Taraxacum officinale (dandelion) 6/02/04
Trifolium pratense (red clover) 6/02/04
Typha latifolia (broad-leaved cattail)
Veratrum viride (swamp hellebore) 6/02/04
Viola sp. (violet)
Rushes:
Juncus effusus (soft rush)
Sedges:
Carex crinita (sedge)
Carex laxiflora type (loose-flowered sedge type)
Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania sedge) 4/24/05
Carex stricta (tussock sedge)
Carex sp. (sedge)
Carex stellata type (star sedge type)
Carex vulpinoidea (fox sedge)
Grasses:
Anthoxanthum odoratum (sweet vernal grass)
Dactylis glomerata (orchard grass)
Microstegium vimineum (Japanese stilt grass)
Phragmites australis (giant reed grass)
Ferns and Fern Allies:
Lycopodium obscurum (ground pine)
Dennstaedtia punctilobula (hay-scented fern)
Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern)
Osmunda cinnamomea (cinnamon fern)
Osmunda regalis (royal fern)
Polypodium sp. (rockcap fern)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)
Thelypteris noveboracensis (New York fern)
Thelypteris palustris (marsh fern)
Others:
Rock tripe lichen
Sphagnum moss