This
WV Project CommuniTree planting was held on Saturday May
10th 20104 at the Jefferson County Transfer Station. The
weather turned out to be better than expected: it was partly
sunny with warm temperatures and a chance of storms in the
afternoon. All the materials and trees had been brought to
the planting site the day before which allowed me to be
present and greet the volunteers as they arrived. Alana
Hartman and Molly Barkman arrived (with donuts!) before any
volunteers to help set-up the planting. By about 9:15am, we
had about 6 student volunteers, five girls and one boy, and
several parents and we did a brief introduction and welcome.
CommuniTree Liaison Alana Hartman spoke
to the group about trees and the WV Project CommuniTree
program. Cacapon Institute’s Outreach Coordinator Molly
Barkman gave an instructional demonstration on how to
properly plant trees. The holes had been dug the day before
with a hydraulic auger and the first step was preparing the
holes for planting. Some of the holes were a little deep, so
we used a scoop of compost to help fill the holes to the
proper level before planting the trees. After adding compost
to the holes we got to it and sent the volunteers out to
plant. After all the trees were in the ground, which took
about an hour, Molly instructed the volunteers on mulching,
staking and tree protection. Jefferson County Solid Waste
Authority donated two scoops of mulch for this project. With
Molly and Alana’s guidance we got all the trees staked,
caged and protected by about 11:30am.We cleaned up the tools
and plant pots, thanked all the volunteers and took pictures
of the volunteers with the CommuniTree sign. About two
hours after the planting a thunderstorm with heavy rain
moved through the area and the trees got a good drink!
A note from the Project Leader, Billy
Madert:
“My favorite part of the project was
the participation of the volunteers. I was happily surprised
with the number of Harpers Ferry Middle School students and
their parents that volunteered for the planting. Their
enthusiasm was great, they worked together to get the trees
planted and they made the planting fun. Alana and Molly
both did an excellent job with the educational component of
the planting. Everyone who participated in the planting came
away with a better understanding of how to plant trees and
how important trees are in our landscape.”