On a mission: Washington High School students plant trees, address erosion control at city park
Washington High School students plant trees, work on erosion projects at Washington Park
As the soundtrack from “Guardians of the Galaxy” blasted from a portable speaker, about 20 Washington High School students – armed with shovels, wheelbarrows and saplings – fanned out on the hillside behind the log cabin at Washington Park on Tuesday morning with a mission: to plant dozens of Pennsylvania native trees and shrubs as part of an ongoing habitat restoration and erosion control project.
Wash High’s National Honor Society, along with students from a biology class, planted red oak, paper birch and dogwood trees, and bayberry, viburnum and witch hazel shrubs, as part of an environmental initiative supported by First Energy Green Team and Intermediate Unit 1.
It is the third year the high school has partnered with First Energy to plant trees and shrubs at the park as part of a collaborative effort to restore the park’s natural biodiversity, improve habitat for wildlife, and enhance the environmental health of the area.
“This is a way of making community service fun and accessible, so it is something these students feel comfortable doing into their adulthood as active citizens of any community they’re a part of,” said Pam Kilgore, an outdoor educator and naturalist at WashPA Outdoors, and a member of the Washington School Board. “It’s huge because we’re a city park and we rely on a very small tax base in Washington, so having community volunteers help with things like habitat creation and erosion control is essential because otherwise, they wouldn’t get done.”
Students planted saplings, and surrounded several of them with a protective square, white tube to prevent deer and other threats from damaging them. They also widened a mulch bed behind the log cabin to help slow the flow of rainwater.
Trees provide a number of important benefits, including absorbing carbon, soaking up storm water that can cause erosion, and preserving streams and riverbanks. They also offer food and protection for birds, small animals, and pollinator insects.
Kilgore said the students have focused on planting trees and shrubs to reduce soil erosion on the park’s hillsides during heavy rains.
“If you look, you can see the bare soil that’s exposed because of erosion,” said Kilgore, pointing to the hillside behind the log cabin. “When you just have shallowly rooted plant material, they can’t hold on to the soil with the torrential rains we’ve been having, especially when it’s on a hillside. Because of the velocity of the water, it’s just too much, so we’re planting more deeply rooted species that can better hold the soil together in those severe events. And the amount of water in the system is just increasing.”
Biology teacher Jeff Devenney, who teaches a botany elective at the high school, likes the idea of getting students into the field.
“In class, we’re talking about plants, we’re talking about outdoors, and you can do all the book learning you want, but I like to be outside and involved. I like to get the kids outside and do stuff. It’s important for the kids,” said Devenney. “I hope they can come back in 15 years or whenever and tell their kids, ‘Hey, I planted that tree,’ or ‘Hey, I planted that bush.’ Where there was a blank space, now there is a tree growing.”
Some of the saplings planted on Tuesday were grown in Devenney’s classroom.
Kilgore said plants and shrubs also were planted at Washington Park Elementary School earlier this spring. She said the Pennsylvania native trees transplant better when they are small.
Since 2020, First Energy’s employees have planted more than 100,000 trees across the utility’s six-state footprint, including more than 4,000 in Pennsylvania.
Ada Ralston, a WHS junior and member of the National Honor Society, was glad to be a part of the project.
“I use this park a lot. I’m on the cross-country team and we run through here, and I walk through here with our dogs, so it’s nice to do this,” said Ralston.
Tiana Ellis, who will graduate from Washington High School in June and is gearing up to attend the Cleveland Institute of Art to major in animation, returned to take part in the project.
“It’s kind of therapeutic. It’s nice to get out in this weather and to help out, to do something to make a difference,” said Ellis. “I’ve kinda always liked playing in the dirt, and this is an excuse to play in the dirt and help out, so it’s a win-win-win.”