Twin Hills Park was designated as a Natural Heritage Area by the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program in 2021, while the world crawled out of COVID quarantine, and stood blinking in the sun. What led the 25-acre site to achieve such a designation? The presence of two tiny snail species, the Maryland Glyph (Glyphyalinia raderi) and the Armed Snaggletooth (Gastrocopta armifera). It turns out that the Maryland Glyph, a sesame-seed-sized snail, is globally imperiled. The tiny Armed Snaggletooth (which may be the finest name of any animal ever), is designated as vulnerable in Pennsylvania. Why are these little guys important? Because snails and other mollusks are the base of many food chains. They are food for birds, and provide nutrients, such as calcium carbonate, that form the shells of their eggs.

The health of an ecosystem, including these tiny snails, depends on maintaining good habitat. This means limiting the spread of invasive plants, increasing native vegetation, and keeping the forest free of garbage and pollution. Speaking of garbage, one common problem that has found its way into natural areas, including forests, parks and waterways, is plastic pollution. We know that the plastic that we are using often ends up where we don’t expect it. Moreover, once that water bottle or plastic bag begins to break down, it creates microplastics which we are finding are present in corners of the earth we could not imagine. Plastic can trap animals, be ingested or cause an unsightly eyesore.

One easy conservation measure we can all take to tackle this issue is to cut down our use of single-use plastics. This includes replacing disposable plastic water bottles with reusable bottles, swapping those flimsy plastic shopping bags with more durable bags that can be stored in the back of our cars and minimizing the things we buy that are encased in plastic. Throwing a party? Skip those plastic utensils and plates, and opt for reusable ones. Packing a school lunch? Use reusable containers. Advocate for these measures at your favorite restaurants and grocery stores. There are so many options out there. We don’t have to have perfect solutions to make progress.

So let us think globally and act locally! It isn’t just charismatic animals that live far away that need our protection. We have species in our own backyards (literally) that could use our help.

Want to do more? The Mt Lebanon Nature Conservancy is restoring a riparian (streamside area) in Twin Hills Park this year and we need volunteers. Work includes removing invasive plants like English ivy, honeysuckle and privet, and planting of native species. Check out our fall dates on our website: www.lebonature.org