Green Lane Nature Trail - 

Reforestation removing porcelain berry, mile a minute, and knotweed at Green Lane and along Mill Creek Rd. across from Truman High School and Benjamin Franklin Middle School (in Bristol Township, Pa) 

Remediation Project Description

Location: GPS location for directions 

Excel Events acquired a land owner agreement with Bucks County, PA to remediate 20 acres of dilapidated county corridor forest land across from Truman High School, and Ben Franklin middle school along Mill Creek Rd in Bristol Township, PA. Everything from concept to project design, providing tools and equipment needed, volunteer instruction, purchasing of trees, connecting seedling for schools grant, and coordinating multiple partners, Excel Events has started it's largest multi-year reforestation project to date. The intention of this project is to establish a nature trail and food forest using only native trees, shrubs, wildflower and grasses in an area that was an invasive plant overrun eye sore. 

Fall 2024 Tree Plantings

Excel Events was awarded a $3000 Healing the planet grant from Giant Grocery Stores through Keep PA Beautiful. 

We purchased 67 (4ft) trees, 50 Black plastic mesh tree protects, 300 ft of metal caging and upost with this funding.

We also are planting an additional 75 shrubs and 100 trees from Keystone 10 Million Trees in October.

Healing the Planet Trees:


Keystone 10 million Trees:

Shrubs:


Trees:

Spring 2024

Truman High School and Ben Franklin middle school students will participate in developing this site and also benefit by gaining an outdoor classroom to help learn about the environment through STEM education. This site also has access to Mill Creek on Green Lane where a new Ghost Forest has developed. We will also provide erosion control through a riparian buffer and planting some wetland trees to help re-green the ghost forest wetland.

None of this is possible without the help of Bucks County Conservation District, Bristol Township Public Works, and Sewa. 

Truman High School and Benjamin Franklin Middle School students will get 1000 trees/shrubs. Truman High School Environmental club ordered Bareroot saplings from PA Game Commission - Seedlings for schools program from Howard County Nursery. 

Students will plant one tree per student of these species: 

130 trees/shrubs nursery trees, funded by Excel Events, will be planted by Excel Events volunteers that sign up, Sewa, and CFS.

Partners

Scope of Reforestation Project

Volunteer Dates


Fall 2024 tree plantings:


Monthly Tree Tending and Watering



Video - Truman Reforestation explained

Video - 6-4-2024 update

Google Map of Mill Creek Rd forest remediation

(2-24-2024) Truman Trash Clean up

CFS (youth volunteer group)

Across Truman High School -  (Saturday 2-24-24)

(3-9-2024) Truman Vine Removal

Sewa

Across From Truman High School (Saturday 3-9-24)

(3-14-2024) Truman First Tree Planted / Vine Removal

Truman Environmental Club 

Across From Truman High School (Thursday 3-14-24)

(3-24-2024) Native grass and wildflower seed 

(3-30-2024) Site Prep with Sewa and CSF

4-5-24 (Tree Pickup and wood chip delivery)

We had the first wood chip drop and picked up the Excel Events funded trees for the Green Lane nature trail.

Native Trees and Shrubs:

4-5-24 (Clear debris and seed)

4-12-24 (Tubex and Oak Stakes Pickup)

Deer Protection 

Provided by Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership

Thank you Bucks County Conservation District and Penn State - Master Watershed Stewards for picking the Deer protection up. 

4-13-24 (Day 1 of planting 110 Excel Events funded Trees)

Thank you Sewa and CFS around 50 volunteers from Sewa, and 9 from CFS planted many trees and cleared Sticker Bush to prepare the site to plant more trees the following day.

4-13-24 (Day 2 of planting 110 Excel Events funded Trees)

Thank you Sewa. 30 volunteers from Sewa planted many trees and cleared Mile a Minute from a planting area making room for White Spruce with Truman Students.

4-28-24 (Knotweed removal , purple cone flower and pin oak planting)

I spent the morning meticulously picking knotweed from the road side. Then in the afternoon 11 volunteers from Sewa planted 3 pin oaks, and the 4 coneflower plugs in and surrounding the knotweed (2 to see if it can retake the area the knotweed was removed from even with its' allelopathic effect then 2 coneflower around the knotweed to type to contain it. ConeFlower colonizes and spreads) then Sewa cleared Multiflora rose making room for White Spruce with Truman Students.

This week we asked the PA Game Commission to lessen the 1600 Trees and shrubs to a total of 1000 before they bareroot them and send them out this week. This was due to the available space and the participation expected in the seedling for school program trying to abide by their one tree per student policy.

New Native Tree and Shrub order:

550 White Spruce

100 Silky Dogwood

350 Ninebark

 

5-3-24 (Day 1) (1000 Trees received, 6 trees planted and 100 white spruce repotted to have students take home)

On Thursday 5-2-2024, 10:30 am 1000 trees were received Excel Events purchased soil and provided containers to repot the bareroot saplings to give to students. 

Ben Franklin and Truman thought that the UPS Same day notification on Thursday and communicating that we can plant on Friday 5-3-2024 was not sufficient notice, but we did schedule 5-3-2024 as a planting day.

We intend to plant next week with Classes from Truman and Ben Franklin (possibly other Bristol Township Schools).

894 trees to be planted.

5-6-24 (Day 2) (11 more trees planted after school with Truman Highschool Students)

On Monday 5-6-2024, after school 11 more white Spruce trees were planted across from Truman High School. 

After weed whacking the grass and preparing the planting location, and trees and materials needed,  students learned about how to plant trees from a PHS: advanced Tree tenders, learned about environmental best management practices, land grant colleges, and how nonprofit remediation projects work from a Penn State Master Watershed steward. 

(883 trees more to be planted.)

5-7-24 (Day 3) (19 more trees and 5 shrubs planted after school with Truman Highschool Students)

On Tuesday 5-7-2024, after school 19 more White Spruce trees were planted across from Truman High School. 

5 Native Shrubs were planted, then a large area was prepared making room for a larger tree planting at the end of the week, after weed whacking that grass, the water was collected from Mill Creek in buckets, wood chips gathers, stakes, tubex, trees, and tool were set up and ready to go to start planting. 

Students learned about how to plant trees from a PHS: advanced tree tender, learned about environmental best management practices, land grant colleges, and how nonprofit remediation projects work from a Penn State Master Watershed steward. 

(859 trees and shrubs to be planted.)

5-8-24 (Day 4) (25 more trees and 1 shrub planted after school with Truman Highschool Students)

On Wednesday 5-8-2024, after school 25 more White Spruce trees were planted across from Truman High School. 

We got some water from Mill Creek to plant today.

Students learned about how to plant trees from a PHS: advanced tree tender, learned about environmental best management practices, land grant colleges, and how nonprofit remediation projects work from a Penn State Master Watershed steward. 

(838 more trees and shrubs to be planted.) 25 planted.

5-9-24 (Day 5) (14 more trees planted after school with 7 Truman High school Students)

On  Thursday 5-9-2024, after school 7 more White Spruce trees were planted across from Truman High School. 

Students learned about how to plant trees from a PHS: advanced tree tender, learned about environmental best management practices, land grant colleges, and how nonprofit remediation projects work from a Penn State Master Watershed steward. 

(838 more trees and shrubs to be planted.) 14 planted.

5-10-24 (Day 6) (90 more trees planted during school by Ben Franklin Middle School Students)

Students learned about how to plant trees from a PHS: advanced tree tender, learned about environmental best management practices, land grant colleges, and how nonprofit remediation projects work from a Penn State Master Watershed Steward. 

(737 more trees and shrubs to be planted.) 

(163 White Spruce planted total)

5-17-24 (Day 7) (50 more trees planted during school by Truman High School Students)

Students learned about how to plant trees from a PHS: advanced tree tender, learned about the project.

(676 more trees and shrubs to be planted.) 

(224 White Spruce planted total)

(100 white spruce to tend in a Nursery or give to students for them to take home for their lawn.)

5-19-24 (Day 8) (64 more trees planted by Sewa with local students)

Students learned about how to plant trees from a PHS: advanced tree tender, learned about the project, Land Grant Colleges, and Environmental Laws.

(612 more trees and shrubs to be planted.) 

(288 White Spruce planted total)

(100 White spruce to tend in a Nursery or give to students for them to take home for their lawn.)

5-24-24 (Day 9) (Ben Franklin middle school students finished planting all of the White Spruce Trees in the field across from Truman)

Students finished planting all the White spruce trees in the grass field across from Truman. 

(TBD more trees and shrubs to be planted.) 

(TBD White Spruce planted total)

(100 White spruce to tend in a Nursery or give to students for them to take home for their lawn.)

7-8-24  (After weeks of pulling huge roots of established porcelain berry, the native wild flower and meadow grass shows)

9-5-24 (Fall 2024 Day 1) (Truman High School students start planting KeepPABeautiful / Giant Groceries Grant trees in the field across from Truman)

9-6-24 (Fall 2024 Day 2) (Excel Events Volunteers planted 10 trees with cages from KeepPABeautiful / Giant Grant)

9-12-24 (Fall 2024 Day 4) (Truman High School students planted 10 trees from KeepPABeautiful / Giant Groceries Grant in the field across from Truman)

Species of trees

Persimmon

River Birch

Sweet Bay Magnolia

White Spruce

Species of Shrubs

Lowbush Blueberries

NineBark

Silky Dogwood

Invasive Plants on property

Mile-a-Minute

(How to remove) Mile-a-Minute

Current management of Mile-a-Minute on this Property: 

Japanese Knotweed

(How to remove) Japanese Knotweed

Current management of Japanese Knotweed on this Property: 

Porcelain Berry / Climbing Vines

(How to Remove) Porcelain Berry 

Porcelain Berry vine that took down the whole forest. 

Native Northeastern Wildflower planted

Native Northeastern Wildflower pictures

Native Grasses planted