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

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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Join Us on Sunday, April 28

Don’t Forget! This Sunday April 28th we will be picking up the Oatka Creek Park in Scottsville as part of Monroe County’s Pick Up the Parks event. We will be meeting at 8:30 AM to the Oatka Lodge (entrance off Union St/Quaker Rd). The clean up goes from 9:00 AM to noon. Come join us for this fun and relaxing event.

Though trash bags will be provided, you need to bring work gloves. Hats, boots, sunscreen and bug repellent are recommended. If you have a trash pick up tool, bring it along!

This year, lunch will be provided on site! For more information or to sign up, contact Maureen.

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Saturday, April 6, 8:30 AM Tree Check at Oatka Creek Park

Come join us this coming Saturday morning at Oatka Creek Park in Wheatland for a tree check! We will be working from 8:30 AM until Noon looking at the plantings done over the past couple of years to see what’s still alive and thriving. Where plants have died, we will be removing the tubes, stakes and mats. If the trees are alive, we will clean debris from around the them and replace the tree tube. We have quite a few to check so we would appreciate as much help as possible. If you will be new to this activity, we will pair you up with someone who is familiar with what we need to do, so you can learn the steps and what to look for. 

Where to go:

We will be meeting at 8:30 AM at the Park’s Fishing Access Parking area, off Union St. To get to there, take State Route 383 to Garbutt, just west of Scottsville, and turn south onto Union Street. After crossing the railroad tracks, take a right/west (about 200 ft. after railroad tracks) on to a dirt drive, which is the entrance to a NYS DEC Parking Area for Fishing Access to Oatka Creek Park.

General Area of Park
Location of Parking Area
Park Map

What to Bring:

Though weather predictions for Saturday indicate 55° and cloudy, we will be working if there is a light rain, or short showers. Rain is predicted for Friday, so it will be wet.

Wear clothing appropriate for the weather – waterproof boots are a necessity! Work gloves too!

A hammer or rubber mallet is also needed, as tubes are anchored with wooden or bamboo stakes and these will need to be straightened and pounded into ground.

Besides outdoor wear, boots, gloves and a hammer, some other supplies that might come in handy are:

  • utility knife
  • bottle(s) of water for you to drink
  • bug repellent and/or sun screen
  • clippers or grass shears
  • hand trowel

Be sure to label your tools!

For more information, or to tell us you’re planning on helping, please contact Pete!

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Spring is Here! (sort of)

While the OCWC has been busy during the winter months, it’s now that time of year when we pull on our boots and get outdoors. Here are a few things that that are going on in next couple of months!

Check out DEC’s new “Buffer in a Bag” initiative! As we posted on our Facebook page, this new addition to the “Trees for Tribs” program provides landowners a free bag of 25 bareroot trees and shrubs for planting in streamside areas. OCWC members can assist interested persons in their applications, and we’ll also help with planting activities if you need it! Applications are being accepted until April 23 before 3:00 PM.

Saturday April 6 will be a tree check at Oatka Creek Park in Scottsville. We will be removing any tubes and stakes that no longer have live plants in them. This is to prepare the site for everything that will be happening this year at the Park. We will be seeing a lot of activity with restoration work on trout & fish habitat by Trout Unlimited, the US Fish and Wildlilfe Service and NYSDEC , as well as a stream bank stabilization planting by Monroe County Parks. For the April 6 check, we will be meeting at 8:30 AM at the fisherman’s access off Union St.

Sunday April 28th we will again be hosting Monroe County’s Pick Up the Parks event at Oatka Creek Park in Scottsville. We will be meeting at the Oatka Lodge (entrance off Union St/Quaker Rd). The clean up goes from 9:00 AM to noon. Come join us for this fun and relaxing event. This year, lunch will be provided! For more information or to sign up, contact Maureen.

Saturday May 4 you will find OCWC celebrating Arbor Day and the opening day of the Little League in the Village of Caledonia! The Village’s tree organization will be planting a tree honoring Barry Ganzhorn, a vital force for Caledonia’s Mackay Park. There will be a tree walk, and the OCWC will be there with our information booth.

We will update you with more detailed news as these events get closer and new events are set. Look forward to WAVE training, the Genesee River Watch’s River Basin Summit, and you will again see us in July at the Village of LeRoy’s Oatka Festival.

Have a great Spring!

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WAVE Data 2018

Thanks to all you ‘WAVErs’ for all your hard work last year! From DEC WAVE Coordinator Alene Onion:

2018 WAVE Data

2018 WAVE Data

The 2018 WAVE samples have been processed, tallied, summarized, and posted. Everyone who submitted a WAVE sample should have received a personalized email with their sample results. All the data are compiled in a google map for general consumption on the WAVE “Forms and Data” web page: https://goo.gl/PgX2CM

Now comes the task of responding to the data. We are currently processing professional samples collected in 2018 at WAVE locations and we are also reviewing locations for this round of NYSDEC’s Waterbody Inventory updates (http://on.ny.gov/2IfK5Jp). I will send a notification once these assessments/updates are complete. Please email me your own stories of how the WAVE data have been used to address local issues.

Thank you and I look forward to another productive season in 2019!

Alene Onion
WAVE Coordinator
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-3502; wave@dec.ny.govwww.dec.ny.gov

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Saturday Drain Marking Event Cancelled

Due to likely wet conditions tomorrow morning and conflicts for volunteers, we are cancelling our storm drain marking event in the Village of LeRoy. We’ll keep you posted on when it will be rescheduled!

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Have Fun with Storm Drains Saturday, Sept. 22

The OCWC will be having another storm drain marking event in the Village of LeRoy this Saturday morning starting at 8:30AM. We’ll be meeting in the parking lot behind the United Methodist Church off Trigon Park /East Main St. It’s a fun activity.

Come join Us!

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