SUMMER 2005
Drew Smith
Head of School
here is growing excitement here about our school’s remarkable campus expansion. We recently received over 13 acres of undeveloped land from Robin Farquhar, a friend and former neighbor. She donated the property in honor of her Quaker grandparents, J. Omar and Mary J. Heritage, who were members of Mullica Hill Meeting. Mary taught at Upper Greenwich Friends School in the building now affectionately known as “The Little Red School house,” after studying to teach during George School first years in the 1890s. Omar and Mary loved nature and created a lake in Elk Township in woodland they bought, calling it “Lake Omary.” The Heritages also donated funds to Mullica Hill Meeting that provides financial assistance for meeting families sending children to our school. As Judy Suplee, Mullica Hill Meeting member and Robin’s first cousin, says: “To think that Friends School children will have the opportunity to explore and enjoy that piece of property may be something they never imagined but is something they would heartily approve.”
We are calling this new section of campus, which surrounds the North Branch of the Raccoon Creek, the FSMH Heritage Woodlands Nature Reserve. It represents the largest section of undeveloped land in Mullica Hill and is a part of the Delaware River watershed—the headwaters of the North Branch start at the edge of our main campus. The tract nearly doubles the size of our campus. The land is lovely, and demonstrates two very different ecosystems. The land to the east of the creek is on a plateau and is filled with white pine trees, which, Robin informed me, her father planted to prevent erosion. The land to the west is filled with deciduous trees that grace a gentle, scalloped slope up to the edge of surrounding lawns. The banks to the creek are precipitous in places, giving some surprisingly dramatic views.
We think Robin Farquhar made an excellent decision to ask us to be stewards of this land for generations to come. Our teachers have brought classes here for years to give them a basic sense of wooded territory surrounding a waterway. Now students can use a full-fledged natural laboratory that is a readily accessible resource. Students also have an opportunity to practice stewardship, one of Quakerism’s six basic testimonies, in a tangible and memorable way. The faculty member who heads our very active Middle School Service Club, T. Peter Manzelmann, has begun planning some work by the club to begin the process of cleaning up and building a path. Finally, we are planning to create an outdoor meeting circle which could hopefully accommodate the entire school for an occasional Meeting for Worship or for other gatherings.
We have applied for funds to establish an ongoing stewardship program for the Nature Reserve. We are envisioning a path from one side of the creek to the other that travels over a footbridge and provides safe access to the edge of the creek for scientific study and quiet contemplation. The deed for the land restricts all but minimal building, so we are confident that the land will remain virtually undeveloped for the foreseeable future. We cordially invite all Salem Quarter members to visit the land, walk the paths, and enjoy the peaceful surroundings as you are able and interested. Anyone interested in helping with the stewardship program, please contact FSMH Director of Development David Eldridge at 856-478-2908, extension 106.
It has been interesting to me to how many people have asked if the land will be useful. Quakers, and Friends Schools, are uniquely prepared to appreciate a natural place as profoundly useful in the most important way. A natural place soothes the spirit, helps bring us back to our center in a turbulent world, and gives us an opportunity to listen to God’s will with less interference. A natural place brings a biology lesson to life, provides a place for students to have a real impact on the world, and reminds all of us how important, and difficult, it is to keep our feet on the ground. We are proud to receive this new responsibility and proud to be stewards of this land.
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Last modified:
Saturday, May 07, 2005 at 10:19 PM
