Franklin County homeowners are invited to attend an April 30 or May 7  workshop to learn about the benefits of planting trees on their property and walk away with a box of native species for their own backyard starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Franklin County Ag Heritage building, 185 Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg, Franklin County.

The workshop, being held on two different dates, will introduce the Trees for Tomorrow program, and discuss ways in which homeowners can participate in the initiative. Benefits of trees on water quality, benefits to homeowners, and proper methods for planting and maintaining plant health will be discussed.

Homeowners who attend the workshop will receive a box of tree seedlings and young native shrubs to plant in their own yard and supplemental literature and resources. Representatives from the County’s Conservation District and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Bureau of Forestry are partnering with the Alliance on these workshops and will be presenting as well. The workshops are expected to be an hour to an hour and a half long.

The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, who is hosting the workshops, is working with Franklin County as part of the Trees for Tomorrow program, a county-wide effort to plant 150,000 new trees in the Franklin County.

The Alliance is being funded through grants received from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds to provide technical and financial assistance to homeowners and local governments to accelerate the adoption of tree plantings throughout the Conococheague Watershed in Franklin County.

In addition to providing assistance to homeowners, the Alliance has funded tree plantings in Chambersburg, including the upcoming Wilson College buffer planting and festival event on April 26th. The Alliance is in preliminary planning stages to plant trees in more parks in Chambersburg, as well as Greene, Guilford, Antrim, and other townships in Franklin County.

For more information on this event contact Kim Slaughter, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay Pennsylvania Project Assistant by sending email to: kslaughter@allianceforthebay.org or call 717-737-8622 x2. Online registration is available.

4/21/2014