Groundwork Hudson Valley Green Team Group Picture Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge , Anna Bisson/USFWS, Public Domain
By Jared Green
Spring Break typically conjures up images of beaches and fun in the sun. For the eight youth of the Groundwork Hudson Valley Green Team, there was still fun to be had, just no beaches in sight. The Green Team members instead spent two of their vacation days working on habitat restoration projects at the Lenape National Wildlife Refuge Complex. The first project involved the planting of Atlantic White Cedar seedlings at a wetland on the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge in Sussex, New Jersey on April 15th. Atlantic White Cedar is a native coniferous tree species that is only found in Northern New Jersey in a few, isolated locations. The Green Team had assisted refuge staff in the first phase of the restoration project, previously planting over 100 seedlings at the location in 2023. With those seedlings are doing incredibly well and natural reforestation occurring at the site as well, the youth came back for phase two and the additional planting of another 100 seedlings. Green Team volunteers did an excellent job choosing the proper placement and planting depth to ensure this second batch of seedlings would thrive just as the first phase had.
The Green Team was back for a second habitat restoration volunteer project just two days later, this time joining refuge staff at the Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. The youth were again assisting on the second phase of a project that they had previous involvement in, this time with the planting of a grove of chestnut trees. Green Team volunteers had previously planted close to two hundred bare root chestnut seedlings in 2024, which had grown from just several inches in height to now close to four feet. With those seedlings thriving, a second location was chosen to establish a new grove of trees and the volunteers planted over one hundred-fifty trees. The restoration work didn’t end there, as the youth spent the afternoon planting additional trees and shrubs along the Cherry Creek as part of a riparian corridor restoration project. Green Team members planted a variety of native trees and shrubs, all of which will improve streambank integrity, lessen erosion and sedimentation, improve water quality, and provide habitat for native wildlife.
The experience gained throughout the course of two days provided the Green Team volunteers with knowledge that they will be able to utilize on habitat restoration projects in their home communities. The rest of their Spring Break could now be enjoyed with a sense of accomplishment and pride for their efforts in giving back to nature in celebration of Earth Day.
