Change in Date for Planting!

Revised

 Call for Volunteers

Planting Trees and Shrubs along Genesee River

Town of Hume, Allegany County

WHEN: SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2019, 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM 

(NEW DATE – RESCHEDULING DUE TO POOR SITE CONDITIONS) 

WHERE: Town of Hume, Allegany Co.; Near intersection of West River Road and NY State Route 19A, approx. 1 ¼ miles north on State Route 19A from the intersection of State Routes 19 and 19A and County Rd. 4 in the Village of Fillmore. See Location maps and Parking Location photos on Pages 2 -4 of this notice. 

WHAT: In 2018, Edelweiss Farms and the Genesee RiverWatch undertook a project to stabilize a rapidly eroding vertical riverbank along the Genesee River. Currently, 1900 linear feet of the riverbank has been graded to a more gradual slope and rock has been placed to protect the lower portion of the riverbank. To complete the project, nearly 1600 trees and shrubs will need to be planted along the upper riverbank and on a buffer area between the riverbank and the nearby agricultural field. We will need the assistance of least 60 volunteers to help with this planting event. The shrubs we will plant have been selected because they are fruit-bearing and will provide food for wildlife. 

WHO TO CONTACT: Pete Lent (Genesee RiverWatch): lent@frontiernet.net .If you would like to help, please send an e-mail to Pete. We will need to know:

  • your e-mail and phone number
  • whether you will be able to help, most of day, or only in morning, or only in afternoon
  • how many folks might be coming with you
  • if you have any questions

We will develop an e-mail/phone list for the project. The list will allow us to send out updates on the project to volunteers both before and after the planting event.

(NOTE: those who volunteered for original May 25 date should contact Pete on their availability for June 1 – Thank you.) 

ADDITIONAL DETAILS: Volunteers will need no prior experience. We will provide instruction on planting techniques, and placement of protective tree tubes and the stakes to secure them. Volunteers can bring shovels, spades, posthole diggers, pick axes or mattock (pick on one side & blade on other) to break up the ground; hammers to pound in stakes; and 5-gallon pails with handles to water plants. Please label your tools for easy identification. Conditions may be muddy so volunteers should wear boots, bring work gloves, and water. Also bring insect repellent (for black flies) and sunscreen. Although you can bring your own lunch, we plan on providing hotdogs for a lunch. We look forward to your assistance with this worthy project. Toilet facilities will be provided. With your help we will be able to accomplish this task, while enjoying the nearby views of the Genesee River.

Project Location Maps

Parking Location: RG&E Pole Yard at Intersection of West River Road and Route 19A
Aerial Image showing RG&E Pole Yard (Red Circle) at intersection of NY Rt. 19A & West River Road, and its relationship to Farm Lane access to Planitng Area (Green Circle)
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Tree Planting Volunteers Needed!

On Saturday, May 25th, volunteers are needed to plant trees on our latest streambank restoration project in Town of Hume, Allegany County, NY. Details are here.

We want to thank all of you who helped at last year’s tree planting at the Mallard Dairy Streambank Stabilization site in the Town of Caneadea. Well, we’re at it again! This time we will be planting and area that is twice as long as the Mallard’s Dairy site and we will plant nearly 1600 trees & shrubs (over 500 more than we planted last year). 

Even though we have a larger site and more trees we feel we can get the job done in 1-day, provided that we have close to the 65 volunteers that helped last year. In our favor is that we have learned some things from last year regarding logistics for the tree-planting event and our coordination should be more efficient. Also, the soils at the Edelweiss Farm site are considerably less stony when compared to the Mallard’s Dairy site. The tree planting should go quicker as a result. We plan to break up the site into 6 sections (each being 300 feet long) and keep the same crew working each section until all trees are planted in the section. We won’t start working a new 2nd section until we have a full complement of volunteers working in the 1st first section. The crew of volunteers that are working with each other will know the planting plan and will have their own set of supplies and a foreman who is familiar with what needs to be done. All the details are here. If you can help, please contact Peter Lent as soon as you can so he can add you to the contact list (see info needed in brochure). Last year we had folks volunteering from every corner of the Genesee River Basin, as well as a contingent from the College of Environmental Science & Forestry at Syracuse University. Please ask your friends if they would like to spend a few hours helping us out on Memorial Day weekend.

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Trees & Baseball in Caledonia This Saturday!

Come join the OCWC in Caledonia this Saturday, May 4th to celebrate the opening day of Little League and Arbor Day!

Festivities start at Noon in Tennent Park off Pioneer Rd. (see map). Besides the first pitch ceremony for Little League, there will be a parade, hotdogs and a tree planting dedication in honor of Barry Ganzhorn by Caledonia’s Tree Committee.

OCWC and the Tree Committee will have our display there, and we will have some free trees to give away, as well as lots of information. You can also join us for a tree walk where our experts will identify local trees and answer questions for you. Let’s hope the rain stays away!

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What’s happening on the Genesee River

https://geneseeriverwatch.org/

Our friends at Genesee River Watch have a lot of upcoming events and activities that you may want to check out! Here are a couple:

Next Tuesday, on May 7th, will be the 6th Annual Genesee River Basin Summit. Find out what activities and initiatives have been happening in the Basin for improving water quality in the Genesee. The summit will have presentations from regional experts and give everyone a good opportunity for discussion. Register HERE

On Saturday, May 25th, there will be a Tree and Shrub planting event along Genesee River in the Town of Hume in Allegany County. Genesee River Watch and Edelweiss Farms have partnered to stablize a rapidly eroding riverbank along the Genesee. The first portion of the project has been completed; the banks have been graded to a more gradual slope and rock has been placed to protect the lower portion of the riverbank. Now it is time to plant 1600 trees and shrubs to complete the work. If you want more information, or would like to help, contact PETER LENT. No prior experience is necessary!

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