Published on November 16, 2023
On November 14th, 19 students from Warwick High School visited Shiprock Woods Conservancy Site where they planted 143 trees along with the help of their teachers Mr. Brad McClain and Mrs. Lisa Hochreiter, and the instructors at the conservancy, Tyler Keefer and Grace Chamberlain.
Mr. McClain initiated the project by contacting the Lancaster County Conservation District. Tyler and Grace met the team of students and taught them how to properly plant Black Willow, Red Oak, Arrowwood, and Spicebush tree seedlings and install tree tubes around the restored area of the stream.
“We didn't realize how much we accomplished until we looked back and saw all of the tree tubes.” - Cayden Montgomery, Junior at Warwick High School, and Ben Cosmore, Senior at Warwick High School.
The following students attended the trip:
Ben Cosmore (12th), Wade Culp (11th), Brad Deibler (10th), Chloie Finefrock (11th), Collin Goshert (11th), Alex Latshaw (10th), Brayden Long (10th), Serena Lucas (10th), Jake Matthews (11th), Cayden Montgomery (11th), Nathan Plante (10th), Brenden Reisch (10th), Paola Rivera-Perez (12th), Harrison Schweigert (10th), Rivers Smoker (9th), Ju Say Soe (11th), Brendan Taylor (12th), Troy Weidler (11th), and Laney Wenger (11th).
Why was this field trip important?
90% of Lancaster County streams are impaired and establishing riparian buffers (also known as establishing forested buffers). These buffers are used along our waterways and within watersheds as a way to reduce nutrient loads into the streams. A key problem is sedimentation from stream bank erosion. Planting trees slows water flow rates during storm surges and holds the stream bank in place. In addition, trees have been found to provide critical habitat needs by providing cooler water temperatures and food sources for the macroinvertebrates that live within the stream.
Students had a great experience on this field trip and were able to both learn and accomplish a lot. It will surely be a trip they won’t forget anytime soon.
“This field trip changed my point of view about forests.” - Brendan Taylor, Senior at Warwick High School.
We are so proud of these students who chose to spend a day planting seedlings to leave a legacy for the next generation.