Tree giveaway starts Earth Week in Cranberry Township
CRANBERRY TWP — It was a soggy start to Earth Week observances, but township officials and volunteers were undeterred.
Cranberry Township and its Environmental Advisory Committee handed out tree saplings Saturday morning under a gray sky and spotty rain at the Penn Power Shelter in the township’s North Boundary Park. The event was the kickoff the township’s observance of Earth Week.
Mike Manipole, chairman of the township’s board of supervisors, said the rain was a good omen.
“In a sense, it represents a beautiful day for Earth. How many people pray for rain and never get it?” Manipole said.
Ron Henshaw, the township director of planning and development services, said the event also publicized the upcoming first phase of the pollinator meadow project planned for North Boundary Park.
“The first phase is the 1A phase,” said Henshaw. “The meadow will go up the hill with the power line.
“We’re in partnership with FirstEnergy, who donated the seed mix; the Seneca Valley School District; the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania; and the South Butler County Garden Club,” he said.
Fred Peterson, chairman of the Environmental Advisory Committee said, “The first phase is underway, and it will be planted in a few weeks.” The committee was appointed by township supervisors to promote planning that would preserve the natural environment of the township.
He said the meadow will be seeded with native wildflowers such as daisies and goldenrod, and that the meadow project will be completed in several phases over the next several years.
Peterson said the meadow will both encourage the pollinator population and beautify the landscape of the park.
“There’s an educational component, People will be able to enjoy the beauty and it will promote natural landscaping,” he said.
As part of that promotion, the township Saturday was giving away 150 saplings of trees such as flowering dogwood and redbed to anyone who wanted them. saplings
According to Dan Santoro, the township manager, the saplings were purchased by the township with a Treevitalize grant from the state’s Urban and Community Forestry Council which focuses on assisting communities in establishing and building programs that plant, maintain and sustainably manage public shade trees.
Jim Bonner, executive director of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, said the pollinator meadow project will “continue to make Cranberry Township part of a larger web.” He said the meadow could become part of flyway for migrating birds. He also encouraged township residents to plant their own backyards in native plants.
In remarks before the saplings were handed out, Manipole said the pollinator meadow project was just the latest in a series of ecological friendly initiatives undertaken by the township.
He cited the township’s recycling program, its adopt-a-road program, its greenspace program, infrastructure efforts such as updating the township’s wastewater treatment plant and its partnership with the Seneca Valley School District and the business world.
“I end with a challenge,” Manipole said. “Go out and do something today. Go out and plant something in the ground. Cultivate the community and the environment.”
