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The Sourland Conservancy is pleased to announce that over 10,000 trees have been planted in the Sourlands in 2021! The Conservancy’s staff and stewardship volunteers developed an aggressive planting initiative and worked to engage the entire Sourland community (nonprofit organizations, land trusts, counties, municipalities, private residents, volunteers, and donors) to restore the forest and reduce the impact of ash decline.
“This has been a tremendous community effort to deal with the devastating loss of trees,” said Dante DiPirro, Sourland Conservancy President. “On behalf of the board, I would like to thank all of the members, volunteers, community partners, municipalities, and residents who donated and helped to plan, prepare sites, plant trees, and install fences and tree tubes.”
The 10,000th tree was planted last Saturday by Louise and Cliff Wilson. Ms. Wilson, former Montgomery Township mayor, and Mr. Wilson, former Sourland Conservancy board president, joined 38 volunteers at the Folusiak Preserve in Montgomery Township for the Conservancy’s last public event of 2021. “We are thrilled to support this ambitious planting project,” Mr. Wilson said. “This is an outstanding achievement.”
The Sourland Conservancy (SC) is a small nonprofit organization. Their mission is to protect, promote and preserve the unique character of the Sourland Mountain Region of Central New Jersey. The Sourland Region straddles three counties (Hunterdon, Somerset, and Mercer) and includes portions of seven municipalities (Lambertville, Hillsborough Township, East Amwell Township, West Amwell Township, Montgomery Township, Hopewell Township, and Hopewell Borough).
“The Conservancy is new to planting and this problem seemed so daunting. I immediately called on our partners for help,” said Laurie Cleveland, SC’s Executive Director. “Alex Rivera at Mercer County Park Commission was instrumental in helping our team select priority sites and develop a plan for coordinating with partner organizations. Dr. Jay Kelly of Raritan Valley Community College generously shared his extensive research in deer herbivory. Emile DeVito of New Jersey Conservation Foundation (NJCF) shared his advice and plans for building effective and relatively inexpensive deer exclosures. Mike Van Clef of Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space offered his expertise in invasive species management and community conservation. I wish I could acknowledge everyone here. We are so very grateful for the generosity, support, and trust that our partners have shown us.”
Volunteers planted 5070 shrubs and trees with Sourland Conservancy and partner staff from Mercer County Park Commission, and NJCF, D&R Greenway, Montgomery Township, and Montgomery Friends of Open Space. These hardworking volunteers planted native trees and shrubs at the Folusiak Preserve, Rock Mill Preserve, Rainbow Hill Preserve, Sourlands Ecosystem Preserve, and Baldpate Mountain. Community groups including Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Interact, Our Revolution Hillsborough, and AYLUS worked alongside members of high school environmental clubs, AmeriCorps Watershed Ambassadors, corporate employees, students from The College of New Jersey, Raritan Valley Community College, Princeton University, and Rutgers University. One Tree Planted, a non-profit organization focused on global reforestation, has pledged over $17,000 to supply plants for this year’s large volunteer plantings.
The 2021 Sourland Region Forest Restoration project is sponsored by Sourland Conservancy members and project partners, D&R Greenway Land Trust, Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space, Montgomery Friends of Open Space, Montgomery Township, New Jersey Conservation Foundation, Mercer County Park Commission, Raritan Valley Community College, Somerset County Park Commission, Washington Crossing Audubon Society, and the Watershed Institute, and is funded, in part, by generous grants from American Tower, the Gackstatter Foundation, the Currey Wilson Family Fund, and One Tree Planted.