On October 31, 2022, 23 volunteers joined PEC staff at Long Branch Historic House and Farm in Boyce, VA, to plant hundreds of native trees and shrubs. The 283 saplings include a variety of species: buttonbush, pin oak, sycamore, river birch, swamp white oak, silky dogwood, persimmon, pawpaw, chinquapin, elderberry, flowering dogwood, and white oak.

Photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAdPzj
https://bmhdesigns.shootproof.com/gallery/19721020/
https://www.winchesterstar.com/winchester_star/trees-trees-trees/article_33cf55fa-6e7e-5457-84c4-5fea4f7de920.html

With proper maintenance and a little bit of luck, the vegetation should survive the coming decades and will play a valuable role in enhancing water quality and providing wildlife habitat in the Potomac watershed.

Long Branch stream, which runs through the farm, is a tributary to the Shenandoah River, and further, the Potomac River. The Potomac River is a major drinking water supply for residents in the Northern Virginia region and Washington, D.C.

This work is supported by a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund and the Virginia Environmental Endowment, with financial support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Forest Service, Altria, and AstraZeneca.

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This event also wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our partners at Winchester Star, Friends of the Rappahannock, Shenandoah Master Naturalists and Orvis.

Learn more about PEC’s stream buffer reforestation projects at pecva.org/buffers.

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Projects and events like this one are made possible with support from our members. If you aren’t yet a PEC member, please consider becoming one today at pecva.org/join.