The Lebanon Valley Conservancy, in cooperation with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, is seeking volunteers to help plant 1,000 trees in Lebanon County this fall.
Laurie Crawford, the Conservancy’s Executive Director, says the Fall 2019 plantings will take place on Sunday, September 29; Wednesday, October 2; and Saturday, October 5 at six public and private properties, including the Lebanon VA Hospital and Lion’s Lake Park.
The private properties have already been preserved with conservation easements obtained through the Conservancy.
Volunteers are still needed for September 29 and October 5. If you are interested in helping, you can sign up online.
According to Crawford, this will be the third such planting in Lebanon County. Previous plantings have been in springtime.
The project is part of the 10 Million Tree Partnership, which she explained is designed “to rectify the damage that’s being done by conventional farming and misuse of rainwater draining into the Susquehanna River.”
Crawford says the newly planted trees, two to three feet tall, will establish a riparian buffer for the streams running through the six properties. They are all native species that thrive in wet areas, such as sycamore, river birch, and gray dogwood.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, with the cooperation of eight Central Pennsylvania nurseries, provides the trees to the Conservancy and the landowners at no expense.
Crawford said there is also an educational aspect to tree plantings. “The cool part is engaging with the volunteers. We teach the volunteers about the importance of planting trees. We have volunteers coming from school districts, the Vo-Tech school, and we have retired volunteers.”
If you are interested in volunteering to plant trees:
Sign up online HERE, or call the Conservancy at 717-273-6400
Dates and times when volunteers are still needed:
- Sunday, September 29, 1pm to 4pm, at Lion’s Lake
- Saturday, October 5, 9am to 12pm, private property near Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area