Celebrate Earth Week by volunteering at
Park Drive planting event in Dover April 25

DOVER (April 21, 2011) – Celebrate Earth Week by volunteering to plant native trees along the banks of the tidal St. Jones River in Dover’s Memorial Park from 9:30 to 11 a.m. on Monday, April 25. The planting event, to be held rain or shine, is part of a multi-phased restoration plan that will reduce pollution and protect the banks of the river.

“Earth Day is the perfect time to get involved in a project that will help protect the environment,” said St. Jones Watershed Coordinator Brittany Benson. “Our planting event will establish a buffer of native trees and shrubs that will improve water quality by reducing stormwater run-off, sediment, and excess nutrients from entering the river. The project will reduce flooding and improve the health of the St. Jones River for years to come.”

Volunteers will work alongside staff from DNREC and the City of Dover to plant flowering native trees.  Interested parties are encouraged to register by April 20 by contacting Brittany Benson at 302-739-9939 or by email brittany.benson@state.de.us. Volunteers can also register at 9 a.m. on the day of the event at the project site.

Volunteers will meet in Memorial Park, located along Park Drive in Dover at 9 a.m.  Participants should bring their own gardening or work gloves, wear hard-soled, lace-up shoes or boots – no  sneakers – and dress appropriately for outdoor work. If possible, volunteers are asked to bring a round-point shovel.

The trees that will be planted have been donated by C.F. Schwartz Motors and overall funding for the project was made possible by the City of Dover and from federal grants obtained by DNREC’s Delaware Coastal and Nonpoint Source Pollution Programs. The event is the sixth planting in the Silver Lake Revitalization Project. At two previous events held in 2009, approximately 60 volunteers planted more than 184 trees and 500 shrubs on almost five acres of buffer along the banks of the St. Jones River.

The Silver Lake Revitalization Project was recommended as part of a pollution control strategy developed by the St. Jones Tributary Action Team, a group of concerned citizen volunteers, business owners and scientists. The project was initiated in 2007 with a public workshop and input from park neighbors that led to the restoration plan.

To learn more about efforts underway by the St. Jones Tributary Action Team to reduce pollution in the watershed, please contact Lyle Jones at 302-739-9939 or visit http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/Admin/DelawareWetlands/Pages/StJonesWatershed.aspx.

Vol. 41, No. 166