October saw not one but two forest plantings at NeighborSpace sites! Over one hundred trees and shrubs were planted at Tollgate Wyndham Preserve and Volz Neighborhood Park by dedicated volunteer groups from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, FedEx and BGE, with the dual goal of  filling in the forest and providing valuable habitat for local wildlife.

These plantings are part of a larger project to broaden the diversity of local forests, specifically at NeighborSpace’s three wooded riparian sites (Volz Neighborhood Park, Tollgate Wyndham Preserve, and Levickas Woods at Dunmore). By increasing the diversity of trees and shrubs, the forests will provide improved shelter and food for a plethora of bird species, both migrant and year-round. These plantings will also serve to stabilize the soil along stream banks and throughout the park. This in turn will limit erosion and excess sediment in local waterways. In addition, the roots of these plants will cool rainfall before allowing it to recharge the groundwater while simultaneously filtering out pollutants from runoff and other sources.

The tree and shrub species were selected based on the wildlife species observed at each park and careful research of each plant’s desired habitat, preferred soil moisture, and ecosystem services as stated above. Plants were placed in areas where they would not only succeed, but where they would have the greatest chance of improving the health of each forest. For example, volunteers planted Red Twig Dogwoods along the streams at both Tollgate and Volz in order to help stabilize the banks. These Dogwoods like being close to the water and are known to put out strong roots that help prevent erosion. We also planted a number of different oak species, including White, Red, Black, Pin, Scarlet, Willow, Chestnut and Burr Oak. These slow-growing long-lived trees will grow up and provide beautiful focal points for both people and wildlife to enjoy and utilize for decades, if not centuries, to come.

All of the newly planted trees and shrubs will be monitored as part of NeighborSpace’s yearly forest health assessments to gauge the overall health of these three riparian sites and to help inform our restoration efforts. By utilizing GPS, we can pinpoint the location of every tree and shrub planted and visit the plantings throughout the year to monitor for deer damage, disease and invasive pressure. These assessments are an exciting new addition to NeighborSpace’s annual site monitoring. If you are interested in getting involved with forest health monitoring, please reach out! NeighborSpace will be looking for volunteers to help early next spring.

NeighborSpace would like to thank the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for funding the riparian forest buffer restoration project and for providing on-the-ground support, and the FedEx and BGE teams for their enthusiastic help with planting.