The following article was first appeared in the LebTown online news June 4 written by Joshua Groh--

The Lebanon Valley Conservancy and a team of volunteers have planted over 750 trees in ecologically significant Lebanon County areas this spring, according to a recent press release.

The Conservancy is planting the trees as part of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership which partners with both government and private agencies for the purposes of planting ten million trees in Pennsylvania by 2025.

To date, the Conservancy has planted over 3,000 trees as part of the program, with the most recent batch of 1,250 planted in the fall of 2019.

Laurie Crawford, executive director of the Conservancy, said of the season’s success: “We couldn’t plant this many trees without the partnership. With trees and supplies from CBF and volunteers from Lebanon County, this is an extraordinary way to impact our watersheds!”

The trees in question were planted along the riparian buffers of the Snitz, Hammer, Beck, and Quittapahilla creeks and tributaries of the Swatara Creek.

Riparian buffers are zones alongside streams and rivers that aid in preventing erosion, regulating water temperatures, and cleaning water, along with a number of other important ecological functions.

Additional trees were planted at the Kittatinny Ridge in northern Lebanon County and near the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area to the southeast.

Larry Herr, who participated in the program both as a landowner of targeted property and as a volunteer explained his reasons for contributing to the cause: “The stream on my property is important to the conservation value of my land; there are native trout in these waters and this program helps to protect them.”

The Conservancy is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and, in addition to its tree-planting efforts, has preserved over 1,000 acres of land in the county. Further plantings are planned for later in the year.

To become a volunteer, member, or supporter with the Conservancy, please email: lvconserve@lebanonvalleyconservancy.org or visit the Lebanon Valley Conservancy website for information.

(Photo: Larry Herr, one of the landowners involved in the project.)

(Reprinted from LebTown News.)

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[Posted: June 4, 2020]

6/8/2020