Otonabee Conservation plants 5,690 new trees and shrubs
With help from individuals in the community, Otonabee Conservation finished planting its 2020 fall goal of 5,690 trees and shrubs on Friday.
To help mark National Forest Week, which was from Sept. 20 to 26, Otonabee Conservation planted 78 native trees and shrubs at Siemens Peterborough on Sept. 30. An additional 600 trees were planted at the Harold Town Conservation Area on Oct. 20.
Red pine and white cedar trees were planted to help provide habitat for wildlife and increase biodiversity in the area adjacent to the conservation’s parking lot.
“Each year, we plant trees at several of our conservation areas,” said Dan Marinigh, Otonabee Conservation’s chief administrative officer, in a release. “Trees provide multiple benefits including mitigating the impacts of climate change and enhancing watershed health. We are pleased to have the support of many partners to enhance the area near the road and parking area at Harold Town Conservation Area.”
On Oct. 23, local high school students from the Youth Leadership Sustainability (YLS) program planted 350 native trees and shrubs along the shoreline of the stormwater management pond on Marsdale Drive in Peterborough.
According to Otonabee Conservation, the variety of trees and shrubs used for the shoreline naturalization project included fragrant sumac, red osier, dogwood, elderberry, snowberry, serviceberry, black chokeberry and silky dogwood.
The species planted provide several benefits including habitat for wildlife and stabilization for the shoreline around the pond.
“We are pleased to collaborate with the City of Peterborough, who is responsible for the ongoing vegetation management and operation of the stormwater management pond, to engage local youth in naturalization projects like this,” said Marinigh in the statement. “These types of opportunities allow students to participate in positive, meaningful actions to mitigate climate change in our watershed.”
The YLS program is an experiential-learning program based in Peterborough. It prepares students in Grade 11 and Grade 12 for leadership roles in sustainability initiatives at local and global levels.
“One of the goals of YLS is to connect students to the organizations that are doing important community work,” said YLS teacher and co-ordinator Cam Douglas in the statement.
“It’s important for students to learn about the work itself, and also to see the faces of organizations like Otonabee Conservation, so they can begin to understand what people do and the educational pathways people follow to get into this kind of work.”
For more information about the 5,690 trees planted, visit otonabeeconservation.com/national-forest-week-2020/.