Nottingham County Park, the first park dedicated in the Chester County park system, invites the public to honor a half century of conservation and recreation on Sept. 21 – exactly 50 years that it was established.

Events are scheduled to run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with Chester County officials, current and former park staff, park users and families celebrating memories and park progress over the past 50 years.

At 11 a.m., the Penn’s Grove Middle School Band will kick off the celebration, followed by comments from county officials, dignitaries and an address by Lauren Imgrund from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Guests are then invited to take a ranger-led hike to explore the serpentine barrens.

The anniversary celebration activities also include traditional games, kid’s crafts, and viewings of photo displays, scrapbooks and historical documents.

The Nottingham Barrens and Goat Hill are two of the largest serpentine barrens in the eastern United States. They contain the largest areas of true prairie (natural communities dominated by grasses and scattered trees) in Pennsylvania. The serpentine barrens are home to more than a dozen kinds of plants and more than 15 animal species, which are considered rare or in danger of disappearing from Pennsylvania.

Nottingham County Park is also home to McPherson Lake, the Scott Mine, former feldspar and serpentine quarries, numerous former chromite ore mines, and Freedom Fest, the popular Independence weekend concert and fireworks display.

The park is at 150 Park Rd., Nottingham, six miles south of Oxford,. For more information, visit  www.chesco.org/ccparks.