Conservation and Community Go Hand in Hand at Cornwall Preserve

Cornwall Preserve. Credit: Genesee Land Trust

At Cornwall Preserve, a 77-acre nature preserve in Williamson, New York, recent environmental restoration projects and visitor experience improvements have illustrated the powerful relationship between conservation and community, says Kevin Farrell, senior director of conservation at Genesee Land Trust.

“We prioritized working with the community at every stage of the project, from those early conversations that led to acquiring the land to our day-to-day stewardship commitment,” he adds. “We've been doing a lot in the past few years around getting to know the people that live in this region and thinking about how conservation can help address existing needs.”

For the communities surrounding Cornwall Preserve, which is located 30 miles outside of Rochester on the south shore of Lake Ontario, these needs include access to public green spaces and to the lake.

“One of the things that's not as equitable in our area is access to the Great Lakes,” explains Farrell. “This area is rich with water resources, but there’s been so much private development along the Great Lakes—and in this area in particular, where we get these larger residential lots—that having access to our Great Lake was a priority for this project.”

After serving as agricultural land for more than 200 years, Cornwall Preserve was acquired by Genesee Land Trust in 2017 and is now home to a diverse range of habitats, including meadows, woodlands, wetlands, fruit orchards, and a high bluff that provides rare public views of the lake.

Given this unique habitat diversity, Farrell and his colleagues hope to make Cornwall Preserve a community resource that continues to draw visitors for outdoor activities like hiking, fishing, birding, cross-country skiing, and nature photography while also inspiring a long-term public investment in the wellbeing of the property.

Cornwall Preserve. Credit: Genesee Land Trust

To accomplish this, Genesee Land Trust has taken a two-prong approach. Firstly, the trust has invested in wide, well-maintained trails and other amenities, such as ample parking, convenient benches, and informational signage, to create an engaging public space where visitors feel safe and welcome. Coupled with community programming like birding sessions and educational walk-and-talk events, these efforts have helped visitors develop a personal relationship with the preserve.

“If we don't hook people, no one's going to care about these spaces in the future,” says Farrell. “We want to build [our properties] as spaces where people want to stay and relax. They’re not highways where we want people to hop on, walk it, and get out. We think about how they can help with physical, mental, and social health.”

Secondly, Genesee Land Trust invests in the health and longevity of the preserve itself through conservation and restoration projects that increase ecological diversity and restore native habitats that were once plentiful in the region. This work benefits local wildlife like foxes, skunks, possums, deer, pollinators, and migratory birds, and helps ensure the preserve will continue to thrive as a resource for future generations.

One recent example is a multiyear wetland restoration and tree planting project, which began in 2021 to improve water quality, enhance wildlife habitat, and prevent erosion into Lake Ontario. In partnership with local environmental planning company CC Environment and Planning, Genesee Land Trust leveraged $64,000 in funding from the North American Wetland Conservation Act to install new wetland habitat; remove invasive species like Japanese wineberry, multiflora rose, and honeysuckle; and plant thousands of native trees, including maples, dogwoods, oaks, pines, and willows. Several public planting events were hosted as part of the project.

“A lot of volunteers were able to participate,” says Farrell. “We’re happy when we can help make that connection for people to the outdoors.”

Volunteers working at Cornwall Preserve. Credit: Genesee Land Trust

Many of the new trees were installed along what Farrell describes as a “mosaic of wetland ponds,” where they will filter pollutants, create homes for wildlife, improve water quality, and help Cornwall Preserve cope with heavy rain events. A single acre of wetland can sequester up to 1.5 million gallons of water, which helps prevent flooding and runoff of bacteria, pesticides, and fertilizers into nearby watersheds.

The remaining trees were installed along eroding edges of the lakeshore bluff, where their root systems will anchor the soil in place and help prevent erosion.

“Having plants there that will soak up water and hold soil is very important,” says Farrell. “If we’re just having orchards or paved surfaces or lawn along the lake, we’re going to get a lot of runoff.”

In the aftermath of the project, which concluded in 2023, Genesee Land Trust hopes the lakeshore will be structurally sound and available for public enjoyment for years to come. Farrell says this hard work is already paying off in terms of community engagement. Between these habitat improvements and the new visitor amenities, Cornwall Preserve has become one of the trust’s most popular properties to date.

“We want to make it easy for Cornwall Preserve to become a place where you go with your grandkids on the weekend or you walk your dog there a couple times each week,” he says. “Our commitment to the land doesn't end after acquisition. It's a process, and our stewardship is all about knowing the community, talking with neighbors, and staying on top of things so we can maintain a consistent level of care.”

A volunteer day at Cornwall Preserve. Credit: Genesee Land Trust

In coming years, Genesee Land Trust plans to expand seating, parking, and trail networks to accommodate the increased popularity of Cornwall Preserve, but whether now or in the future, Farrell says he hopes visitors to the property will walk away with a newfound connection to Lake Ontario.

“I hope folks are able to see the wetlands and the lake,” he says. “They might learn a little bit more about the water resources we have in this region, and then further explore the Genesee River, the Finger Lakes, the Erie Canal, and all those other really unique features.”

Founded in 1989, Genesee Land Trust conserves more than 10,000 acres of farmland and native habitat in the Greater Rochester region. Across its seven-county service area, the trust oversees 20 nature preserves and numerous permanent conservation easements with the goal of preserving undeveloped land for the benefit of New York agriculture, recreation, and wildlife.