Locust Lane - Neshaminy State Park
Neshaminy State Park Reforestation (Locust Lane)
We have ongoing volunteer opportunities planting native trees and shrubs, watering and tending this 8 acre area in Neshaminy State Park overrun with the invasive plant Phragmite.
50 Native Trees and 25 Shrubs were planted in Neshaminy State Park starting 2023 by volunteers for Nonprofit Excel Events funded in partnership with Partnership with Keystone 10 Million Trees.
This is a Reforestation project remediating 2.5 acres covered by invasive plants back into native habitat. First we remove invasive plants then plant native trees and shrubs that can handle both drought and wet conditions. The funding came initially from a riparian buffer grant to help divert storm water in a priority flood zone. This will provide natural habitat for wildlife and migrating birds while native flowering shrubs feed pollinators and flowering native trees help feed other insects.
Dates of volunteer events:
(Spring/Fall 2024 Tree Tending) First Saturdays of each month 9am - 12 noon (March through November)
3-2-24 Saturday (9 am - 12)
5-4-24 Saturday (9 am - 12)
6-1-24 Saturday (9 am - 12)
7-6-24 Saturday (9 am - 12)
8-3-24 Saturday (9 am - 12)
9-7-24 Saturday (9 am - 12)
10-5-24 Saturday (9 am - 12)
11-2-24 Saturday (9 am - 12)
Species totals:
Starting in the Spring of 2023, we planted 50 native to Pennsylvania trees of 5 different species.
Native Trees
10 Sweet Gum
10 River Birch
10 Tulip Poplar
10 River Birch
5 Red Maple
5 Silver Maple
Native Shrubs
15 Black ChokeBerry
15 Silky DogWood
15 Black Willow
10 Red Osier Dogwood
15 Elderberry
5 Button Bush
History and Progress of this project:
We continually need help tree tending the weeding the Native Trees and Shrubs in this Native Reforestation project
First, in April 2023, we planted 25 Native trees / 25 Native shrubs with recycled Tubex Deer Protection and Fiberglass plantra stakes provided by Keystone 10 Million Trees. (a Chesapeake Bay Foundation initiative to better water quality in the Chesapeake Bay.)
In November 2023 we planted an additional 25 trees and 17 Shrubs also provided by Keystone 10 million trees in the 2nd phase of the project.
Locust Lane is a new Project as of Spring 2023
We had a Spring and Fall planting in 2023
Hopefully we can see some trees emerge from the tubex in spring 2024. It will be very nice looking.
4-15-2024 (Spring 2024 Locust Lane)
The Locust Lane Site looks good all the shrubs are starting to blossom and this Male Box Turtle was just going to check on the spot just as I was. (Male Box Turtles have red eyes.)
9-7-2024 (Locust Lane) KeepPABeautiful / Giant Grocery stores Grant
We added 7 trees and some caging around the shrubs along Locust Lane.
Caging will allow these native shrubs to grow enough to produce berries so birds can propagate the native shrubs instead of the invasive
This looks better than just the Plantra shrub protection
When protection the native shrubs with just Plantra, it functions as a deer feeder. The deer do not allow the native shrubs to produce berries. They eat the limited native shrubs before they can produce berries as they seek out the Native plants amongst the many invasive plants in the area.
Species Planted:
HopHorn
Silver Maple
Beech
Swamp White Oak
Tulip Poplar
Basswood