Volunteer Opportunity

Sunday Creek Watershed Group and Partners Need Help Planting 10,000 Trees

On Monday, March 24, Sunday Creek Watershed Group began planting 10,000 trees at a recently completed restoration project, Rodger's Hollow in southern Perry County. The Rodger's Hollow project is one of four stream capture projects conducted in cooperation with Ohio Department of Natural Resources - Division of Mineral Resource Management. By redirecting the flow of water, the stream capture projects annually prevent 168 million gallons of clean water from entering into the underground mine and becoming acid mine drainage. Part of the Rodger's Hollow stream capture project includes creating a natural stream channel that will redirect the water. Planting trees along the new stream channel stabilizes the banks as the trees grow and their roots hold onto the soil, and provides shade for the water, stimulating the habitat and ultimately improving water quality.

Sunday Creek, ODNR, the Rural Action team, and the project landowners (the Maxwell and Kessel families) will work with volunteers to plant more than 10,000 trees, including willow, buttonbush, silky dogwood and swamp white oak. The trees will create 1 acre of new forest, sequestering about 2.5 tons of carbon annually.

If you are interested in helping create this small but very important forest at Rodger's Hollow, you are more than welcome to volunteer. It is a great team building activity, a way to get exercise outdoors, and of course, a wonderful opportunity to make a lasting impression on the local environment. All the Rural Action folks will be at the site on Friday, March 28, so you can join us then, or volunteer Thursday, March 27 with a group of community members. Volunteers will meet at the Sunday Creek office (Glouster) at 9 am. There will be a carpool to the site. Please wear old clothes and boots, and bring a packed lunch. Contact Kaabe or Emily, 740-767-2225, for more information.