National Public Lands Day Success!

Nov 4, 2013 by shannon

We had a fantastic day with beautiful weather, great turnout and teamwork on our 3rd National Public Lands Day!

Huge turnout

Over 30 volunteers with ages spanning 7 decades formed an organized swarm of planting efficiency, successfully installing 40 native trees and shrubs in under two hours. Marcia Tate, a park volunteer and proprietor of Garden Influence, spearheaded the operation and organized us into efficient working groups.

There were four planting teams, a children’s watering team and a deer fencing team. (Touché!) See the photo gallery below to enjoy the transformation of the space.

Goal: Riparian buffer planting

The goal of the project was to stabilize the streambanks of Broomall’s Run at the north side of the pond, which has been suffering from severe erosion, worsened by Hurricanes Irene and Sandy in recent years. Native plants are best suited for this purpose, and plants were selected for their moisture-loving, soil-stabilizing qualities as well as their wildlife value. Some plants also have high human value, such as blueberries!

Thank you

Funding was provided by a Delaware County Conservation District Mini-Grant, Delaware County Parks & Recreation (additional thanks to them for a new bench and mulch), and contributions to Friends of Glen Providence Park. Several shrubs were donations from Taylor Memorial Arboretum of Wallingford, and CRC Watersheds donated much of the deer fencing. Earthwise Landscapes provided invaluable labor and expertise. A shout out to Seven Stones Cafe and Pinocchio’s for supplying coffee and pizza to our volunteers! We also thank Redbud Native Plant Nursery and Octararo Native Plant Nursery for supplying the majority of the plants.