DNREC News

Vol 30, No. 442
Nov. 2, 2000

For additional information, contact Friends of White Clay Creek State Park president Andy Urquhart at 302/239-2471.

VOLUNTEERS PLANT TREES IN WHITE CLAY CREEK STATE PARK

Under the leadership of the Friends of White Clay Creek State Park, volunteers planted 800 trees on three acres of a field in the Possum Hill section of the park on Saturday, Oct. 28 after months of planning and a week-long effort to prepare the field and plant the trees. Approximately 175 volunteers, drawn both from the Friends membership and the general public, participated in the project to reforest the nine-acre field.

"We are extremely grateful for the help we received from people volunteering to work with us and for the cooperation and assistance of state park employees," said Christa Stefanisko, co-leader of the project. "In fact, the response from volunteers was so strong we decided to plant 200 more trees than the 600 we originally planned on. One of our goals was to involve and educate the public in habitat restoration, and the large turnout has made that a big success."

The volunteers planted 15 different native tree species selected to be compatible with the surrounding forest. A key goal of the project is to help preserve and extend Delaware's natural forests by ensuring that open land is planted with native trees. "If we didn't plant the desired species and simply allowed nature to take its course, the field would almost certainly be overrun by invasive, nonnative plants," said project co-leader Al Zverina.

The Friends expect to complete reforesting the rest of the field next year. The result will be a significant improvement in wildlife habitat, especially for forest-dwelling species that require large continuous areas of forest. The field is nearly surrounded by high quality forest, and this project will fill in the gap in their habitat.

The project is being supported by grants from Delaware's Longwood and Welfare Foundations, combined with funds from the Division of Parks and Recreation and the Friends.

White Clay Creek State Park, located in northern New Castle County, contains more than 3,200 acres of fields, forest, streams and trails. It was established by a partnership of government agencies, private citizens, conservation organizations and corporations to protect the natural resources of the White Clay Creek Valley and to provide scenic beauty and recreational activities for the public. The park is home to a great diversity of plant and animal species. It provides a setting for visitors to view wildlife in its natural habitat, learn about the plants and animals that live in the fields and woods, hike a trail, take in a park educational program, or just sit and reflect on the beauty of nature. The park received approximately 90,000 visitors in 1999.

The Friends of White Clay Creek State Park is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of more than 180 members dedicated to the protection and preservation of the park through needs assessment, enhancement projects, public relations, and education. More information on the Friends is available through their web site at http://fwccsp.udel.edu.

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Document number 40-01/00/11/02

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