Volunteers Needed For Experimental Restoration Planting April 25, 26, May 2

The Lehigh Gap Nature Center is seeking help from volunteers to plant native plants in their grassland restoration area on the Kittatinny Ridge near Palmerton. Planting will occur from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on April 25 and 26 and again on May 2, with LGNC providing tools and lunch for the volunteers.

 

Because the project requires planting of 1350 young plants, the nature center is turning once again to volunteers to help accomplish a task.

 

LGNC has succeeded in restoring native prairie grasses to the formerly barren slopes of the

Kittatinny Ridge at Lehigh Gap, and now seeks to introduce native forbs (wildflowers) to the ecosystem to create a diverse prairie ecosystem.

 

The land is contaminated with metals (zinc, cadmium, and lead), which may inhibit growth of the forbs, and browsing by deer and rodents is also a concern. In order to determine which plants will tolerate the conditions and survive the browsing pressure, LGNC is undertaking an experimental planting project.

 

Deer fencing and replicated test plots will help determine which native forbs are best to use for diversifying the grassland on a large scale, and to establish pioneering populations of a variety of these plants.

 

Grassland is in very short supply in the eastern United States, with grassland species of birds, butterflies, plants and other organisms becoming increasingly rare. Here is an opportunity to help

create a diverse grassland habitat, and therefore help a variety of species that depend on this kind of

habitat.

 

Members of the community who wish to volunteer may sign us for half or full days. The planting will be difficult on the rocky mountainside and volunteers should be physically fit. Teams will be formed to help carry water and compost to the site and plant 25 plugs of a given species in a certain plot. There is no danger to volunteers with regard to the contamination, but gloves should be worn as a precaution.

 

Funding for purchasing the plants, tools, and lunch for the volunteers is being provided by a

TogetherGreen Innovation Grant secured byLehigh Valley Audubon Society, Audubon Pennsylvania,

and the Lehigh Gap Nature Center.

 

TogetherGreen is a nationwide conservation initiative of the National Audubon Society in alliance with Toyota Motors North America.

 

Volunteers are asked to register ahead of time by contacting LGNC by sending email to: lgnc@ptd.net or calling 610-760-8889.