by Trish Rudder
About 650 more small seedlings will be planted at the Berkeley Springs Depot lot this Thursday, October 3 from 3-4:30 p.m. with the help of volunteers.
Town of Bath Councilwoman, Rebecca MacLeod who co-chairs the Streetscape committee for the town, said this is the last community planting day of the season for the Town of Bath and the Warm Springs Watershed Association’s “We Plant for Pollinators” project at the Berkeley Springs Depot.
This project is transforming a former brownfield into pollinator habitat that also serves as an innovative, natural stormwater control feature, MacLeod said.
“Our goal this fall was to plant about 1,600 seedlings of 31 different perennial species,” said MacLeod, the project coordinator. “So far more than 950 seedlings have been planted with the help of 16 different volunteers preparing, laying out, planting and irrigating the beds.”
The work is easy because the plants are very small and are being planted on hugels — mounds constructed of soil and compost on decaying logs, designed to absorb storm runoff.
The compost for the plantings was donated by Good Luck Stables.
MacLeod said volunteers should bring trowels, gloves and water. Free t-shirts are available for the volunteers, and Cacapon Mountain Brewery, across from the Depot, will give half off the price off the volunteers’ first beverage.
The project is funded through the Chesapeake Bay Trust and the Town and County Hotel Occupancy tax.
More information is available by contacting pendle35@gmail.com.
