Forestry Workgroup “Leads by Example” at Banshee Reeks
The rain was falling heavy all through Tuesday night and
things had not changed much when the alarm went off the next morning, signaling
the new day. The Chesapeake Bay Forestry Workgroup had a meeting scheduled at
Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve in Loudoun
County, Virginia.
Hearing and seeing the rain and knowing the schedule of the
day brought back memories from my past life. For years, the month of April had
a pretty profound impact on my life. One
of the duties as an employee working for the Virginia Department of Forestry
was to plant tree seedlings with volunteer groups. The best planting months are March, April,
November and December, but April was extremely busy with plantings because of
Earth Day and Arbor Day. You can plant trees
during other months, but for “bare root” seedlings with no soil on their roots,
months with high precipitation and cooler temperatures are the best.
The Banshee Reeks Manor House sits on the top of a hill and Goose Creek winds through
the rolling farmland and forest. The
“Banshee” was with us that Wednesday because of the pouring rain; the misty
spirit hung over the reeks (rolling hills and valley). But hardy as the Forestry Workgroup members
are, they hopped on a wagon and rode down the hills -- in the pouring rain --
to Goose Creek to
see the task before them.
The heavily grassed floodplain had bare areas that were
prepared for a riparian buffer planting.
Our hosts from the Virginia Department of Forestry had planting bars,
tree seedlings, gloves, tree shelters and all of the equipment needed to get
the trees in the ground; the Workgroup members were the muscle. The group
planted approximately 125 sycamore, black walnut, river birch, hackberry and
dogwood shrub seedlings -- again, in the pouring rain -- in a little over an
hour.
As we road the wagon back up the hill -- still in the
pouring rain -- and looked back at the newly planted floodplain, the enthusiasm
was hard to contain. There was a special
warm feeling that drifted over me, reminiscent of my days of planting with
volunteers: the feeling of knowing you just did something special that will
last far into the future. For the
Forestry Workgroup members who promote riparian forest buffer plantings in the Bay
watershed, this was a “lead by example” exercise.
As everyone got into their cars to return to their home
states of Maryland, Pennsylvania,
West Virginia and other parts of Virginia, yes, they were
cold, they were wet, but they were proud of their work.
