Saturday will be another day of 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.
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. While there won’t be any rock 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 (CBF) 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.
“CBF 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.
Trees will be planted by roughly 200 volunteers, including many students from Stone Independent School between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., at the Columbia Borough Tree Nursery, Lancaster Conservancy’s Kellys Run Nature Preserve in Holtwood, Roze Arabians Farm in Elizabethtown, Calvary Church, and the Stanley and Neighbors site in Lancaster; and the Gann property, and Horn Farm Center in York.
Volunteers can still sign up by visiting the event's official page on the CBF website.
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