Women in Conservation

Sponsored by D&R Greenway Land Trust

• Location: New Jersey
• Travel Type: Walking
• Tour Duration: 45 minutes
• Language:

This audio tour accompanies you on a scenic walk through Cedar Ridge Preserve in Princeton, New Jersey. As you stroll, you'll hear stories highlighting more than a dozen women who have had a physical impact on our global landscape, protecting our natural resources for generations to come.

While celebrated in popular culture, the substantial roles of women in conservation movements across the globe are not as well known. In fact, women and the results of their work have provided scientific discoveries, national parks, new ways to think about conservation, and protection of local treasures that are important to our everyday life.

The Cedar Ridge Preserve, where this tour is located, is a combination of open meadows and woodlands, covering 220 acres at the edge of the Sourland Mountains. The trail you will follow loops around meadows and runs parallel to Stony Brook for a stretch. There are nearly four miles of trails at the Cedar Ridge Preserve, although you can shorten your walk by taking one of the loops and returning to the parking area. If you choose to listen to all of the stories, this tour will take between 60 and 90 minutes, depending on how long you pause to soak in your surroundings.

The Women in Conservation tour was created by young local resident Madeleine Freundlich for her Girl Scout Gold Award and expanded for this production by D&R Greenway Fellow Maria Stahl. Madeleine first partnered with the land trust at the age of 10, helping us to create signage for the Charles Evans Children’s Discovery Trail, in Mercer County. She threw herself into the project enthusiastically, mentoring us through the process of selecting information that would appeal most to kids her age.

When Madeleine was 17, she earned her Girl Scout Gold Award by researching women whose conservation impact has ranged from local to international. She presented her findings in a virtual event hosted by the land trust. Several of the stories you’ll hear in this tour were written and narrated by Madeleine.

Some of the other stories were written and narrated by Maria Stahl, a young woman who graduated from Princeton University in ecology and evolutionary biology, who spent a year as a fellow at D&R Greenway Land Trust.

The other voice you will hear is that of Heather Callahan. Like Maria, Heather is a graduate of Princeton University in ecology and evolutionary biology and is a young woman rising in the field of conservation.

Heather, Maria and Madeleine are committed to the care and protection of the Earth. We look forward to seeing what they and their generation of women will contribute over the next fifty years.

We hope the stories you hear will inspire you to find your own creative ways to contribute to the conservation movement. Open spaces like this would not be possible without the hard work of generations of women conservationists such as those you’ll learn about.

Tour Sponsors
D&R Greenway Land Trust is the nonprofit organization that stewards the Cedar Ridge Preserve and produced this audio tour. D&R Greenway's mission is to preserve and care for land and inspire a conservation ethic, now and for the future. D&R Greenway has worked tirelessly with state and local partners since the 1990s to preserve nearly 200 acres of naturally and culturally critical land in the Abbott Marshlands.

Find More Tours Near You
If you enjoy this tour, check out TravelStorys and D&R Greenway’s other New Jersey tours:

• Walking the Abbott Marshlands
• Paddling the Abbott Marshlands
• St. Michael's Farm Preserve
• Healing Trails

To find more tours wherever your travels may take you visit TravelStorys.com. Every place has a story.