[Postponed - Watch For New Date]  On May 7 there was supposed to be big doings for planting trees in Lancaster and York counties, and for a private Lancaster school and the Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership making it happen, but it was postponed due to heavy rain.

Students at the Stone Independent School planted 5,000 trees during its “Big Do” project in Lancaster County last June and then enjoyed a wrap-up concert.  [Read more here.]

While there won't be rock-and-roll bands this year, tree plantings Saturday are still a big deal to the students.

“We are very compelled by the idea that we are here to serve and build a platform to make the world better and to solve complex problems,” Stone’s Head of School Mike Simpson said. “Tree planting has become a part of who we are and what we do,” he added. “There is almost a basic expectation that we are going to plant a bunch of trees. That is a really cool DNA for a school.”

The tree-plantings in Pennsylvania recognize a decades-long partnership between the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Keith Campbell’s commitment to clean water in Pennsylvania and saving the Bay.

He served on CBF’s Board of Trustees for over a decade, including three years as Chair.

“The Chesapeake Bay Foundation has partnered with the Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership and Stone Independent School to bring together students, trees, landowners, and volunteers across Lancaster and York counties to plant trees and honor a man who has given so much to the Bay watershed especially within the Susquehanna Valley,” said partnership Manager Brenda Sieglitz.

“Rain or shine, hundreds of people will gather on Saturday to get their hands dirty and plant trees, our single greatest opportunity to achieve clean water in Pennsylvania,” Sieglitz added. “Every tree we plant will get us closer to our goals of clean water in the Susquehanna, the Chesapeake Bay, and will make a remarkable impact on our communities impacted by climate change.”

Campbell started The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment in 1998, focused on improving conditions in the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Coastal Bays.

The Foundation, now overseen by Samantha Campbell, Keith’s daughter, has since become CBF’s largest funder, sponsoring programs, particularly in Pennsylvania.

CBF’s state-of-the-art oyster restoration vessel in Maryland, the Patricia Campbell, bears his wife Patricia’s name.

Keith Campbell Day Of Service

Trees were planted by roughly 200 volunteers, including many students from Stone Independent School--

-- Columbia Borough Tree Nursery, 254 Blue Lane, Columbia

-- Lancaster Conservancy Kelly’s Run Nature Preserve, 9 New Village Rd., Holtwood

-- Roze Arabians Farm, 2055 N. Market St., Elizabethtown

-- Calvary Church, 1051 Landis Valley Rd, Lancaster

-- Ironstone Neighbors, 383 Ironstone Ridge Rd., Lancaster

-- K. Alex Gann Property, 391 Campbell Rd., York

-- Horn Farm Center, 4945 Horn Rd., York

Visit the Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership to learn how you can help clean water grow on trees.

For more on Chesapeake Bay-related issues in Pennsylvania, visit the Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA webpage.  Click Here to sign up for Pennsylvania updates (bottom of left column).  Click Here to support their work.

CBF has over 275,000 members in Bay Watershed.

[Visit DEP’s Chesapeake Bay Watershed webpage to learn more about cleaning up rivers and streams in Pennsylvania's portion of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

[How Clean Is Your Stream?

[Check DEP’s 2022 Water Quality Report to find out how clean streams are near you.]

NewsClip:

-- Daily Item: May 18 Presentation To Highlight Restoration Plans For Shamokin Creek Watershed, Northumberland County

Related Articles This Week:

-- DCNR, Agriculture Join Chesapeake Bay Commission Members At Planting In Lancaster County To Highlight Role Of Stream Buffers; Learn How To Buffer Your Stream

-- Bay Journal: EPA Ramps Up Clean Water Inspections After PA's Plan Fails To Meet Chesapeake Bay Water Pollution Reduction Goals - By Karl Blankenship, Chesapeake Bay Journal

-- EPA Announces $40 Million From Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funding For Chesapeake Bay Restoration; PA Receives $5.59 Million+ 

-- USDA Announces Additional $22.5 Million In Chesapeake Bay Restoration Funding

-- Lisa Daniels Now Serving As DEP’s Acting Deputy For Water Programs Overseeing Chesapeake Bay, Other Water-Related Initiatives

-- CBF Blog: Acid Mine Drainage - The Legacy Of Coal Mining A Key Source Of Harm To Pennsylvania's Headwaters

-- April State Revenues Highest Ever Collected - $1.8 Billion Higher Than Estimates; Never Been A Better Time To Invest In Local Conservation Projects

Related Articles:

-- Two Bipartisan Bills Just Sitting In Senate Waiting To Address Record Number Of Water Quality Impaired Streams Reported In 2022

-- WeConservePA Urges General Assembly, Gov. Wolf To Boost Conservation Investments - There Has Never Been A Better Time

[Posted: May 4, 2022]

5/9/2022