MEDIA, PA — Natural Lands has completed a significant reforestation project at Peacedale Preserve in Landenberg, Chester County, planting 11,020 native trees and shrubs across 36 acres of former fields. The initiative is designed to enhance water quality, support wildlife habitat, and re-establish forest cover on the 222-acre preserve.
“It’s really quite remarkable how much of a positive impact planting trees along streams has on water quality,” said Gary Gimbert, vice president of stewardship for Natural Lands. “The creeks that travel through Peacedale Preserve flow to Big Elk Creek, onward to Elk River, and empty into Chesapeake Bay. About 2,700 plant and animal species live in the Chesapeake Bay Estuary, and fishermen harvest around 500 million pounds of seafood from the Bay every year.”
In addition to improving waterways, the reforestation will create vital habitat for migratory songbirds such as the Scarlet Tanager and Wood Thrush, which depend on dense forests for protection and food. The newly planted trees include a variety of native species such as red maple, sycamore, and white oak, planted at a rate of 303 trees per acre. To protect the seedlings, five-foot-tall tree shelters will shield them from deer until maturation.
The preserve, originally donated by the estate of Charles Foote in 1973, expanded through successive acquisitions in 2009 and 2011 to its current size. Over time, the planted seedlings will transform the area into a diverse, mature forest, undoing centuries of deforestation that reduced Pennsylvania’s tree coverage from 90% in the 18th century to widespread clearings by the mid-19th century.
Natural Lands prioritizes maintaining a minimum 100-foot buffer along all preserve waterways. “As they mature, the native trees we’ve planted at Peacedale will help filter out sediment and other pollutants, reduce erosion, and slow stormwater to prevent flooding,” Gimbert explained.
Funding for this project was provided by the E. Kneale Dockstader Foundation; the Conservancy Grant Program and Commissioners of Chester County; and individual donors to Natural Lands’ preserve restoration fund.
Looking forward, Natural Lands plans additional large-scale reforestation at preserves including Diabase Farm Preserve in New Hope, Sadsbury Woods Preserve in Parkesburg, and Stroud Preserve in West Chester. By year’s end, the organization expects to plant 22,540 trees and shrubs across 75.5 acres, furthering its commitment to enhancing Pennsylvania’s natural environment.
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