December 13, 2019
Live stakes are branch cuttings of trees that grow well in wet areas. Students and other volunteers staked 2,000 18-inch branches from parent trees into the ground, which will grow into new trees.
In the future, faculty and students will harvest cuttings from these trees yearly to distribute to local stream restoration projects.
“Within 18 months, they will start growing again,” said John Miller ’21, an ecology major from Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania. “It makes you feel good. It makes you feel like you’re doing something important.”
Live-staking is an inexpensive and quick way to plant new trees, said Adrienne Gemberling, Susquehanna technical coordinator for the Chesapeake Conservancy.
“Forest buffers are a really good way to improve water quality,” Gemberling said. “This is a priority for the state of Pennsylvania.”
Students will also conduct research on the trees to determine which species fare best.
Susquehanna students, faculty and staff were joined by volunteers from the Snyder County Conservation District, the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Buffalo Creek Watershed Alliance and the Chesapeake Conservancy.