Natural Lands Plants 22,500 Trees Across Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is getting greener, one seedling at a time. Natural Lands just wrapped up a banner year by planting 22,500 native trees across four nature preserves in the region, transforming empty meadows and old farm fields into thriving forests of the future.

The trees now stand at Diabase Farm Preserve in New Hope, Peacedale Preserve in Landenberg, Sadsbury Woods Preserve in Coatesville, and Stroud Preserve in West Chester. All four preserves remain free and open to the public year round.

Community members got their hands dirty too. More than 1,000 additional trees went into the ground thanks to volunteers at planting events throughout the year.

The new forests include red maple, white oak, tuliptree, flowering dogwood, and ten other native species. Protected by biodegradable shelters, the seedlings stand five feet tall and are spaced in rows wide enough for staff to mow between them until they mature.

The Ripple Effect

These aren't just pretty trees. As they grow, their roots will reach deep underground to filter and recharge groundwater, reducing flooding in nearby communities. Along stream corridors, those same roots will grip the soil and prevent erosion that muddies waterways.

"It's really quite remarkable how much of a positive impact planting trees has on water quality," said Gary Gimbert, Natural Lands' vice president of stewardship. The maturing forests will also scrub pollution from the air, cool temperatures, and lock away carbon.

Wildlife will benefit too. Migratory songbirds like Scarlet Tanagers and Wood Thrushes depend on dense forests for food and protection from predators. The new woodland corridors will give them safe passage between feeding grounds.

The reforestation effort honors Pennsylvania's wild past. When European explorers first arrived, trees covered 90 percent of the territory in forests so thick that naturalist John Bartram said it seemed "as if the sun had never shown on the ground since the creation." By 1850, millions of acres had been cleared for farming and timber.

Natural Lands now protects more than 23,000 acres across Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Funding for the tree planting came from Chester County, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the USDA, and private donors committed to restoring what was lost.

In a few decades, visitors to these preserves will walk through shaded forests where meadows once stood, a living reminder that we can rebuild what we've taken.