In May 2005, Friends School Mullica Hill received a grant from the FCE that was used to clean up 13+ acres of undeveloped land that was donated to Friends School. Located in Mullica Hill adjacent to the school’s campus, it is the largest acreage of undeveloped land in the township. Over the years, unfortunately, people were using this beautiful woodland for a dumping ground. Some of the trash included large unusable metal tanks. This land was donated with the hope that Friends School would nurture the land as a woodland preserve and that is just what we have done. The grant money was used for the initial substantial clean-up of the woodland along with cutting back undergrowth to create walking trails. While many volunteers helped with this project, there were expenses incurred by the school to accomplish the clean-up. We thank the Friends Council on Education for their help in funding this clean-up project.

The FSMH Heritage Woodlands Nature Reserve, as it is now called, is used by our science teachers and students for many science field labs. Our middle school Green Club also works on an annual basis to keep the walking paths cleared and the woods clean from trash.

Attached please find pictures of a 3 paneled mural made by our students. Students participated in the Shroud Water Research Center’s Leaf Pack Project, which involved students collecting data for a nationwide research project of our stream’s ecosystems, hence the creation of the Racoon Creek Mural. The north branch of Racoon Creek runs through the Heritage Woodland Nature Reserve and is part of the Delaware River watershed. This mural exemplifies the wonderful opportunity that the woodlands presented to our faculty and students for an inter-disciplinary project with science and art.