On a beautiful spring day, the birds were chirping, the sun was shining, and over 200 volunteers gathered at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge for our Earth Fest event. Volunteers were from all over and all ages, and they had one thing in common: a love for the natural world and a desire to make a positive impact on the environment on Earth Day.
Volunteers were led by experienced conservationists from Turnbull who have been working on restoring the Pine Creek drainage for over 30 years. The project covers about ½ mile of Pine Creek and 12 acres of riparian zone. The project has quite the backlog of work due to the COVID shutdown - and our crew on Saturday was ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work!
We had a variety of tasks for the day! Some volunteers headed out to the Pine Creek riparian zone, where they planted trees and shrubs. Others spread mulch in the pollinator garden, which was designed to attract bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. Another group planted trees, saplings, and shrubs in the nursery. Everyone worked together seamlessly, with a shared goal of making the refuge a more vibrant and healthy ecosystem.
In total, volunteers potted close to 1500 trees (enough to cover 3.5 acres of restoration ground!), planted around 100 trees and shrubs, spread mulch in the pollinator garden, and removed over 60 tree cages. The impact of their work was significant, and will make such an impact on the Wildlife Refuge.
The Lands Council's Earth Fest was a huge success, and we are so thankful to everyone who celebrated Earth Day with us. We are also so thankful for our partnership with Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge. the volunteers had made a real difference. There is always work to be done, but these volunteers made ey knew that there was still much work to be done, but they left feeling energized and inspired to continue their efforts to protect and preserve the natural world.
