Stroud Water Research Center: Volunteers Plant 1,140 Trees Along Read Clay Creek

Stroud Water Research Center in Chester County celebrated National Volunteer Week Thursday by restoring 3.8 acres (approximately 165,528 square feet) along two first-order, headwater tributaries of Red Clay Creek in Chester County, which is a major tributary of Brandywine Creek and then the Christina River.

Volunteers from Exelon Generation, one of the monetary supporters of the planting, were joined by volunteers from BB&T, Cheshire Hunt Conservancy, Colonial Pipeline, Dansko, Hugh Lofting Timber Framing, and local community members to plant 1,140 trees and shelters along this forested buffer.

“Exelon supports and encourages our employees to support the organizations that they care about through volunteer service — we want to improve quality of life in the communities where we live, work, and serve. This year, we are extremely proud to support Stroud Water Research Center with not only funding but also the opportunity to make an impactful difference through conservation measures that protect our freshwater resources,” said Vicky Will, Exelon Power’s vice president of operations support and environmental services.

Restoration projects to create forested buffers are used to protect streams by filtering out contaminants from agriculture and other land uses before they can enter streams.

A forest buffer provides a first line of defense (keeping sediment and nutrients out) as well as a secondary line of defense (keeping sediment and nutrients from moving downstream) for maintaining clean water in our streams and rivers.

Scientists at the Stroud Center have been studying the important effects of forested buffers over the past 50 years, and each tree planting is another opportunity to learn more about the relationship between trees and clean fresh water for all.

“Trees are the foundation of watershed health,” said Bern Sweeney, Ph.D., distinguished scientist and president of Stroud Water Research Center. “We are so grateful to have the support of the wonderful companies in our community to help us restore our streams through riparian plantings. This one was our largest volunteer-only tree planting to date.”

Funding for this project was provided by Exelon Generation and TreeVitalize.

For more information on programs, initiatives and special events, visit the Stroud Water Research Center website, Click Here to sign up for regular updates from Stroud, Like them on Facebook, Follow on Twitter, include them in your Circle on Google+ and visit their YouTube Channel.