Scores of volunteers, mostly family units, converged at Hillendale Elementary School to plant trees as part of a stormwater management project that brought together Pennsbury Township, the school district and elementary school curriculum and others.

The Oct. 12 reforestation was part of a project to prevent runoff from the school that caused excessive silting of Craig’s Mill Run and damaged properties downstream.

For Pennsbury resident Andy Riggs — who brought his kids Olivia and Indiana — the planting is environmentally personal. He lives downhill from the school and heavy rains cause a problem for him. Runoff from the school runs

into his back yard.

“This is great,” he said. “It really helps the community.”

Other residents, such as Ann DelCollo and Brian Wilson agreed, even though they haven’t been personally affected by the runoff.

DelCollo, who brought her two sons Drew and Zach, said they wanted to help their neighbors’ properties and work with the school. She said it’s a matter of being part of a community.

Wilson, who lives in Chadds Ford Knoll, said he wanted to help the school and the community.

“It’s a matter of building a sense of community, of having a common goal.”

For Wilson’s 6-year-old son Tyler, it was a matter of fun.

“I like planting trees. I like digging holes,” Tyler said.

In addition to the township and the school district, Pennsbjury Land Trust, Willowdale Chapel, the Brandywine Valley Association and the Brandywine Conservancy were also

involved.

Township Supervisor Aaron McIntyre said the coming together of the school board, township and environmental groups was significant.

“It was a great opportunity for us to reach out and bring those people into projects that relate directly to us…For Pennsbury Township to get active with [those environmental groups] and participate with them on something that’s meaningful to our residents is productive and I’m appreciative of having an opportunity to work with them,” McIntyre.

In all, 600 trees are being planted at the school. Not all were planted Saturday. Some trees were held out so fourth-grade students could get involved. According to Hillendale Principal Steve Dissinger, the project is being incorporated into the science curriculum unit pertaining to managing land and water.

The overall project, which began last school year, involved slowing down the runoff. That meant installing rain gardens, building two small retention basins and one large one. Eroded ditches were also filled in, Dissinger said, as well as the reforestation so that trees can soak up water and stabilize the ground.

For Dissinger, the educational aspect of the project was crucial.

“Last year’s fourth-graders took pictures of the erosion and the different effects the water has had on our property and neighboring properties. We’ve had them brainstorm ideas as to how they can be corrected…The current fourth-graders see the finished project. They see the interventions we put in place to stop the erosion and they’ll begin the next phase of the curriculum, and that is to educate the community on this project.”

Students will put signs with QR codes at key locations along the site. With a Smart phone or tablet, people can scan the code and get to a Web site where they can see or hear students explaining the importance of what was done at that specific location and how that impacted the entire project.

Fourth-grade students completed the tree planting during the week of Oct. 14.

Wes Horner, a senior advisor for water resources with the conservancy, said the trees being planted are magnolias, red buds, maples and oaks.

Horner said the water quality project was essential because stormwater drains into Craig’s Mill Run, which has been rated by the state as “Impaired.”

He said that impaired status means the stream has “failed to achieve state designated stream standard [caused by] developments that haven’t had adequate stormwater management. It has been hit hard over the years and is suffering from a water quality perspective.”

He said the school district has used best management practices to make the school grounds at Hillendale “more of a sponge” to retain more stormwater.

It will take time for the trees to nature, Horner said, that it will take two years for them to grow out of the protective tubing, five years before they begin to develop a canopy, but that in 10 years it will look like a grove of trees.

The conservancy is involved in planting 2,800 trees in various projects this fall. These plantings are part of a five-year, 28,000 tree reforestation program. There will be 4,000 trees remaining after this fall’s plantings.

Lead photo: Teacher George Claypoole shows Hillendale fourth-graders how to plant trees. Claypoole also instructed students on the importance of rain gardens, retention basins and trees as means of slowing stormwater discharge and soil erosion.