By Diane Huskinson, Stroud Water Resource Center

Walking on a meandering grass trail at the edge of a crop farm in Chester County, Pennsylvania, Tom Best and Calen Wylie marvel at rows of sycamores, hackberries, and oaks standing 30 feet tall, reaching for the bright sky.

The seven acres of woods thickly outline the East Branch of White Clay Creek, protecting it from pollution and a warming climate and creating habitat for fish and other wildlife.

When Stroud Water Research Center planted the trees as part of a flood control project seven years ago, the stock averaged a mere 18 inches.

The impressive growth may be credited, at least in part, to the tender loving care provided by volunteers. Best and about a half dozen other volunteers have maintained the trees since they were planted.

Like any good parent, Best provides daily care, repositioning wayward trees and guiding them into adulthood. He removes debris, mows the walking trail, and until recently, he mowed three times a year around the trees, keeping multiflora rose and other weeds at bay.

The other volunteers weed-whack and spray herbicide.

The trees are now big enough and strong enough to need less maintenance, but Best still enjoys a daily half-mile stroll with Rico, his rescue dog from Puerto Rico, to check on the growing forest and get some exercise.

“The other day, I got so excited because we heard a meadowlark,” says Best. He’s an amateur birdwatcher and likes using Cornell’s Merlin Bird ID app.

At 71, he doesn’t move as easily as he once did. A broken back has made sure of that. Still, he is determined to care for the woods, aided by crutches and a four-wheeler, and of course, Rico.

The work is pleasurable and perhaps instinctive for Best, an Eagle Scout and the son of a tree surgeon.

He recalls, “I grew up on a farm in Westtown, and all I ever wanted to do was be in the woods. I’d ride my pony all through the woods. Back then there was nobody around.”

Best channeled his love for the woods into education. For 18 years, he was a teacher at Upland Country Day School and ran a summer camp near the property where he’s been caring for trees.

Some of the children, now middle-aged, reminisce with him about the days they spent hunting, fishing, canoeing, and camping, saying things like “Remember when we’d chew on sassafras?”

He says many chose careers in environmental science.

“It’s very rewarding for me,” he concludes.

He later led similar activities for groups of up to 300 students from the Kennett School District.

He doesn’t own the young forest he maintains each day. For him and the other volunteers, who are all members of the Watershed Sporting Club, it’s an act of service, and one that fulfills environmental service hours that are a requirement of club membership. Best, who learned to hunt at 16, started the club nearly 40 years ago.

The 42 members also perform volunteer maintenance tasks for The Willowdale Steeplechase in service of the local equestrian community, and they donate some of the club’s funds to local nonprofits.

He says, “I chose that name, Watershed Sporting Club, because of our commitment to the environment down here. It’s a special group of men and women who hunt out here. They have a parental feeling toward the woods.”

For more information on programs, initiatives and special events, visit the Stroud Water Research Center website, Click Here to subscribe to UpStream.  Click Here to subscribe to Stroud’s Educator newsletter.  Click Here to become a Friend Of Stroud Research,  Like them on Facebook, Follow on Twitter and visit their YouTube Channel.

The Chester County-based Stroud Center seeks to advance knowledge and stewardship of freshwater systems through global research, education, and watershed restoration.

(Reprinted from the latest Stroud Water Research Center UpStream News.  Click Here to sign up for your own copy.)

Upcoming Events:

-- October 3: Water’s Edge Gala To Honor Laura Turner Seydal 

-- Visit Stroud’s Upcoming Events webpage for a complete list.

Stroud Water Center Articles:

-- Philadelphia Catholic Schools To Participate In Watershed Education Programs At Stroud Center

-- Stroud Center Collaborations Amplify Impact On Fresh Water

-- Videos Available: Learn How To Protect Your Watershed

NewsClips This Week - Watersheds:

-- Wilkes-Barre Times Editorial: Restoration Of Abandoned Mine Drainage In Espy Run A Significant Achievement

-- PA Capital-Star: EPA, The Hershey Company Commit $2 Million For PA Dairy Farm Conservation

-- DEP Chesapeake Bay Update: County Action Plan Updates; Training; Grants; Accomplishments; More

-- DEP PA Clean Water Academy: Releases Training On Guiding Principles Of Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration

-- StateImpactPA: In PA, Climate Change Stresses Old Infrastructure, Stormwater Fees To Fund Projects Are A Way To Help Limit Flooding, Pollution

-- PA Environmental Council: Cultivating Connections At Rodale Institute On Organic, Restorative Farming Practices

-- Warren Times: Northwest PA Woodland Assn. Hosts Woodland Stream Protection Program Saturday, Aug. 26

-- Altoona Mirror: Western PA Conservancy Working On Juniata River Watershed Plan

-- Delaware RiverKeeper Aug. 25 RiverWatch Video Report

-- WHYY: New Study To Determine Causes Of Flooding Along Brandywine Creek

-- WHYY: Delaware County Confronts Climate Crisis With First-Ever Sustainability Plan

-- WHYY: High Tide Flooding ‘Growing In Leaps And Bounds’ In Mid-Atlantic, NOAA Says

-- PennLive: Heavy Rains Have Eased Drought Across PA, But Not Everyone Has Caught Up

-- TribLive: 75th Anniversary Of Construction Of Youghiogheny River Dam

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: Advocates Push For Conservation Money In Next Federal Farm Bill

Related Articles This Week - Watersheds:

-- Scholarships Available For 2023 PA Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference Oct. 24-26 In Altoona  [PaEN]

-- Federal Office Of Surface Mining Provides $100,000 Grant To Schuylkill Headwaters Assn. To Treat Mine Drainage In Schuylkill County  [PaEN]

-- Western PA Coalition For Abandoned Mine Reclamation Receives $100,000 Federal Grant To Repair Mine Drainage Treatment System In Tioga County  [PaEN]

-- How Penn State Extension Launched One Of The Most Successful Volunteer Training Programs In The US To Help Revive Struggling Local Watershed Groups - By Diane Huskinson, Stroud Water Resource Center  [PaEN]

-- EPA, The Hershey Company Commit $2 Million To Land O'Lakes Dairy Farms Members In PA For Sustainable Farming Initiatives  [PaEN]

-- DEP Invites Comments On Supplement To Manure Management For Environmental Protection Guidance For Animal Manures And Agricultural Process Wastewater  [PaEN]

-- Funding Now Available For Energy Efficiency, Farm Conservation Projects Thru DEP’s Small Business Advantage Grant Program  [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Announces New $150,000 Stream & Watershed Enhancement Grant Program  [PaEN]

-- DEP Begins Accepting Applications For Coastal Zone Grants Aug. 28  [PaEN]

-- Stroud Water Research Center, PASA Sustainable Agriculture: Launching Agroforestry Project At Wild Fox Farm In Berks County In-Person Sept. 6  [PaEN]

-- How One Man's Journey To Becoming A Tree Parent Is Growing A Forest And Inspiring Others - By Diane Huskinson, Stroud Water Resource Center  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Extension, Audubon Society Of Western PA Host Oct. 21 Backyard Stream Repair Field Day In Allegheny County; Other Extension Watershed Resources  [PaEN]

-- Bipartisan Group Of PA Members Of Congress Urge President To Declare Federal Disaster After Severe Flooding, Storms Caused 7 Deaths, Property Damage In Berks, Bucks, Northampton Counties  [PaEN]

-- Brandywine Conservancy, Partners Announce Launch Of Brandywine Creek Flood Study Following Historic Flooding From Hurricane Ida  [PaEN]

-- DEP: Drought Watch Remains For 20 Counties, Lifted For 47 Counties  [PaEN]

-- $75,000 In Groundwater Level Monitoring Grants Awarded To 12 Recipients By The Susquehanna River Basin Commission  [PaEN]

[Posted: August 23, 2023]

8/28/2023