On April 23rd, Heritage Conservancy staff members and employee volunteers from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) planted over 100 trees and shrubs on a Heritage-Conservancy-owned property located in the Cooks Creek Watershed in upper Bucks County.

Thanks to the TreeVitalize Watershed Grant Program administered by the Bucks County Conservation District, we had the funding to purchase over ten species of native trees and shrubs from ArcheWild to plant on our Baker Preserve, which contains a portion of Cooks Creek. Mark from ArcheWild went above and beyond for this project; he stayed with our group to explain as to the best locations within the floodplain to plant certain trees depending on their species.

The understory on the Baker Preserve is very dense, making it difficult for trees currently on the property to reseed themselves. The TreeVitalize plantings will help to repopulate the area, which will in turn help to prevent stream bank erosion and improve water quality.

The day highlighted an excellent example of collaborative stewardship. It takes the teamwork of a caring community to steward and protect our important natural resources. Thank you to GSK, ArcheWild, and the Bucks County Conservation District for helping us to strengthen this stream bank area!