East Hempfield Township is bringing a breath of fresh air to a Lancaster, PA park, with new amenities and enhanced greenspace. Noel Dorwart Park was predominantly a parking lot and a large lawn space before the project began. With help from the Alliance’s Forests Team and dedicated volunteers, the park is receiving shade trees, stormwater practices, and a native meadow. Follow along to see more about the work done at Dorwart, and plans for future installations.

Reforestation

two people smile while they plant a large tree

Alliance staff and volunteers plant large stock trees.

About 250 trees were planted on roughly one acre of the park. Species planted include:

  • Red bud
  • Swamp white oak
  • Black tupelo
  • Elderberry
  • Black haw
  • White oak
  • Hackberry
  • Spice bush
  • Serviceberry
  • River birch
  • Black locust
  • American hornbeam
  • American sycamore
  • Black cherry
  • Persimmon, and others!
a person smiles while watering a tree

Owen Lambert, Alliance Watershed Conservation Field Technician, helps water and maintain the planted trees.

Due to high deer populations at the park, tree shelters for smaller trees and caging for larger trees is necessary. The larger stock trees are being routinely watered due to the soil quality in recently regraded areas. Additionally mowing and vegetation control are needed to reduce competition with invasive plants. Every tree needs a little bit of help to get established! In addition to the sheltered seedling trees, larger stock trees were installed to more quickly establish shade and habitat near the playground area.

 

Walkability for Residents

Credit: ELA Group, Inc.

Dorwart Park is also near one of the largest environmental restoration projects of its kind in Lancaster County, the Blue Green Connector. The vibrant greenway offers people walkability to the improved park.

“Noel Dorwart Park is truly beloved by the community and will become the premier trailhead for the Blue Green Connector — Lancaster’s newest trail system and a major restoration effort along the Little Conestoga Creek. The new trees and meadow installed by the Alliance build on a growing collection of improvements that are all centered around connection: connecting people to nature, neighbors to one another, and the community to the health of the watershed and surrounding landscape. From the natural playground, to the pavilion that doubles as an outdoor classroom for K–12 students, to the stunning labyrinth and the interpretive signage about healthy habitat and clean water, every element invites people to engage with the environment in meaningful ways. This partnership has not only restored ecological health to the park, but also represents an important investment in the wellbeing, resilience, and connectedness of our community.” – Emily Landis, Director of Education & Environmental Strategy, the Steinman Foundation

 

Another Meadow in the Making

an orange butterfly sits on a pink flower

A monarch butterfly feeds on the nectar of a common milkweed plant at Chino Farms in Queen Anne’s County, Md., on July 15, 2016. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)

The park’s half-acre of meadow is slated to be seeded in June. The butterfly milkweed planted in the meadow area will also host one of the country’s most iconic migratory pollinators, the monarch butterfly. Although parkgoers may not see a brilliant show of floral fireworks this 4th of July, the meadow area should light up in the coming years. Species in the meadow include:

  • Little blue stem
  • Partridge pea
  • Blazing star
  • Coneflower
  • Asters
  • Wild bergamot
  • Butterfly milkweed
  • Mountain mint
  • Coreopsis, and other grasses and herbaceous flowering plants!
a group of people plant trees in a lawn area

Volunteers plant younger trees in the park’s open lawn area.

This initial work is a great stepping stone for more, similar projects. By installing various best management practices in such a high-profile location, it normalizes the implementation of clean water projects and educates the public about what pollution reduction work looks like. Further projects in the Little Conestoga watershed are in the planning phases at this time, and Dorwart park can be used as a reference.

Thank you to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for funding this project, and our partners at the Steinman Foundation and East Hempfield Township. Finally, another huge thank you to our volunteers who have helped make these projects possible so far.

Learn More About the Alliance’s Forests Efforts