Traveling Trees Giveaway: Assisted Migration for Climate Resilience
Black Oak Leaf
HCSWCD and Community Team Up for “No Mow May” Giveaway Event
To celebrate our NO MOW MAY, HCSWCD hosted a giveaway event to encourage healthy tree planting in our community. At the giveaway, we distributed a total of 60 tree seedlings and seeds (30 Black and White Oak trees, 10 Chestnut trees, and 20 Chestnut seeds) to participating community members.
The community effort focused on assisting the migration of tree species that are better suited to our current environment, given climate change. Migration assistance helps maintain forest diversity, as natural migration is too slow to adapt to rising temperatures. These trees generally thrive in zones just below us, but now with your participation, we are helping them to take hold more quickly.
“Natural migration is very slow for most tree species. They just don’t have a very far seed dispersal distance, and they just cannot keep up with the rapid pace of climate change.”
Thanks to our community members, planting more of these types of trees will reap many benefits to our environment, including:
The seeds are a food source for bears, turkeys, grouse, deer, squirrels, and many other animals.
The leaves are a food source for over 400 species of moths and butterflies.
In turn, caterpillars are a major source of food for baby birds.
The potential for local specialty wood products.
Having these trees on our properties adds shade, beauty, and in many cases, higher property value.
White Oak & American Chestnut
Many of the trees we gave away were bare root seedlings, which are very economical and ideal for large-scale planting projects. They’re also easy to handle and plant, plus they are less likely to spread diseases.
Planting in the spring ensures the roots have plenty of time to establish before the hot summer months arrive. Tree planting is not only fun and rewarding to do, but also promotes diversity, helps protect water quality, and promotes ecosystem resilience.
Thanks to everyone for participating in this year’s efforts to assist migration and boost diversity. Also, thank you to all who donated during the Giveaway event. We hope to do this again next year on a bigger scale!
For information on how to plant bare root seedlings in the spring, head over to the Pennsylvania State University Extension to read a guide by David R. Jackson: https://extension.psu.edu/planting-bare-root-tree-seedlings-in-spring
As always, feel free to send in your ideas by contacting us at 207-667-8663 or Email hcswcdinfo@hancockcountyswcd.org.