Volunteers Needed for County Reforestation Project

Editor's Note: The following is a news release issued by the Mercer County administration.

Grab a shovel and help the Mercer County Park Commission and Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space reclaim 40 acres of forestland in Hopewell Township.

Volunteers are needed for a massive reforestation project that calls for planting more than 3,000 trees at the Hollystone Preserve this November. The 108-acre tract off Fiddlers Creek Road was preserved in 2010 by local land trusts and municipal government, creating a crucial link between the woods of Baldpate Mountain and Washington Crossing State Park.

The Park Commission and Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space recently partnered to restore more than eight acres atop the neighboring Baldpate Mountain Preserve. They are joining forces again at Hollystone to restore 40 acres of abandoned agricultural field back to healthy forest, increasing the size of the largest tract of contiguous woods in the Hopewell Valley.

Park Commission planting days are as follows: Thursday, Nov. 8, from 9 a.m. to noon or from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.; and Friday, Nov. 9, from 9 a.m. to noon or from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.

To sign up for the Nov. 8-9 plantings, contact Jenn Rogers at jrogers@mercercounty.org.

Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space planting days are as follows: Tuesdays, Nov. 6, 13, 20 and 27, from 9 a.m. to noon. To sign up for any of the Tuesday plantings, contact Beth Craighead at beth@fohvos.org.

Students should take note that the Nov. 8 and 9 planting dates coincide with the school break for the New Jersey Education Association convention. Earn volunteer hours for National Honor Society or college applications. And planting trees is a great way for parents to experience community service with their children while having fun outside.

Volunteers should bring shovels and work gloves if you have them (extra shovels and gloves will be provided).