tree planting at hell bender

         approximately 75 people showed up at hellbender park in columbiana county, ohio, to plant about 3400 trees on about 4.5 acres of ripped up reclaimed strip mine lands in s. e. ohio. had a little bit of trouble in finding the park but after being set on my path by a friendly stranger was able to locate the park. it was an interesting experience as they were professional in their approach to utilizing volunteers and initiating you to the process of tree planting. 

         we had to sign information sheets giving our vitals and promising not to sue , but we were soon on a path to the planting area. our first stop was a few handshakes and then someone hands you a pail and get inline as start to fill the buckets w/ different trees in a mix of hardwoods and pines . these trees are picked for their hardiness and include oak , maples , poplars , ash. chestnut, and white pine . trees are placed in buckets and  roots are soaked to prevent drying out while waiting to be planted. buckets are assembled and stacked at end of rows and a lesson on planting with a tree dibble or spade. several attempts at instructing you in proper tree planting were executed before actual planting occurred. this was helpful as it only served to ease any remaining doubt as to how to plant a tree. 

       once me and my helper kathy who assisted me in the planting actually started planting , it was no time before we moving across the field. the dibble was fairly easy to use and we took care to place the trees properly. the dibble is shown in the above photograph.

        above is the handout they offered us on how to use the dibble and properly plant trees. depending on your soil type , reclaimed versus backyard or farm field planting, the dibble is fairly easy to use in a loose soil. harder or more compacted soils would require some ripping or furrowing of soils to correct compaction problems and help to improve the trees chances of survival. 

        each bucket would contain about 40 trees and we planted in center of a row . the row was created by a dozer w/ a ripping blade on 8 ft. centers . first one direction and then cross-ways to thoroughly loosen soil to a good depth to allow free root travel.  we would run our rows in same path as dozer tracks essentially in center of machines travel. placing trees with the dibble in this area went fairly well. we planted on 8 foot centers. the day was beautiful and everyone's spirits were good as they knew they were doing something good if not to pay back for excesses used but then to pay it forward to know you are at least doing something to help the environment.

        u.s. dept of the interior - office of surface mining reclamation and enforcement , provided the trees and expertise in conjunction with columbiana county parks , and amp ( american municipal power ) paid for the trees and additional help was provided by conservation corps, which are young folks from across the united states to assist in the tree planting. in return for amps assistance carbon credits will assist amp to offset the utility's carbon emissions from their power plants. 

      it is a win win situation as before the tree planting the area where it was ripped up, sustained a few trees and grass for the most part.  at an 80 percent survival rate the previously planted areas are starting to show new growth emerging from the grasses and this after only three years. thousands of acres of reclaimed strip mine land exist still today . i have seen pasturing of these areas and feel it is only a matter of time till these areas become barren, as foraging practices will cause damage to the tender cover . a drought could further complicate efforts to grow suitable cover in these fields. i think we should look at returning these lands to forests help lock up carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. removing the woods to burn the coal is like a double edge sword . it will take 40 - 100 years to get a portion of what we lost back in terms of forests loss when we stripped the coal. 

          

          this a picture of kathie assisting matt our team leader in planting trees. it was a beautiful day and a great day to drive and see some new area. 

        

         we have trees ordered for our farm also and will soon repeat this for our own benefit. it was great to get out and do something totally different. i am used to cutting them up, dozing them over, and brush-hogging them off , so planting was totally out of character, thank you kathie for going along and helping today . she is also responsible for some photos . guess you will have to guess which ones.