The Penn State Agriculture and Environment Center in collaboration with Donegal Trout Unlimited is pleased to be able to offer free trees to landowners for the 7th year in a row. The native trees nursery is made possible by a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation entitled “Greening the Lower Susquehanna.” The trees are available to landowners interested in planting riparian buffers or converting turf-to-trees. All of this year’s seedlings must be planted during the fall of 2019. We are currently in search of municipalities who may be interested in planting trees on their properties.
We are reaching out to municipalities specifically because planting these trees can aid in addressing MS4 permit requirements such as runoff control and public participation and involvement. All properties in Lebanon, Lancaster, and Dauphin Counties are eligible for this program. The trees are provided at no cost to you but will require maintenance until they become established (approximately 3 to 5 years). Maintenance should include the purchase of tree tubes or cages.
Trees can also be provided to private landowners and we encourage you to advertise this program to your residents. Stock is limited and will be given out following an application process and project ranking system. Ranking criteria include location, positive environmental impacts, and project size. The application is due by July 21st and can be found online at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2019treeapplication. A site visit will be required as part of the approval process.
If you are interested in learning more, please contact me at ayu5018@psu.edu. We look forward to hearing from you soon and getting some trees in the ground!