Major Makeover| Briar Bush Nature Center

Briar Bush Gets a Major Makeover!

Briar Bush is getting a major makeover with a focus on accessibility, safety, and habitat!

Just in time for the 50th anniversary of the Friends of Briar Bush, we are pleased to break ground in January on important visitor enhancements. They include an accessible trail to the Griscom Bird Observatory, renovated program pavilion, expanded gathering space, streetscape improvements, and new, relocated butterfly house. We will also add an expanded rain garden and thousands of native plants to increase biodiversity and mitigate stormwater.

Beginning in early January 2024, Abington Township will perform the work, with funding assistance from the Department of Conservation

and Natural Resources (DCNR), through the Keystone Recreation, Park

View renovation plan images below.

and Conservation Fund, and Friends of Briar Bush. The improvements are the culmination of a planning process that began in 2016 through a grant from DCNR.

Public participants in the master plan created the priorities, which will benefit the community by allowing people of all abilities to access the Griscom Bird Observatory and Dede Long Nature Museum, as well as the new pavilion and front porch. Moving the current butterfly house, which is seasonal in use, out of the center of the parking area will make the parking and drop off areas much safer. Replacing trees, mainly ash trees already dying from invasive Emerald Ash Borer, with native perennials at the entrance will create pollinator habitat and maintain much needed, safer sightlines for entering and exiting. New signs and lighting will allow visitors, new and old, to find us more easily.

With an expected completion date of May 1, 2024, the Museum will likely be inaccessible for up to eight weeks from January to March, leading to some park-wide closures and canceled or relocated programs.

Thank you for your support and patience during this exciting time, and thank you to all who have been involved in getting us here!