Continuing the Mission

“There’s something about putting a tree in the ground and making things right.”

–overheard at the Flight 93 Memorial during preparation for

Plant a Tree at Flight 93 weekend.

Once again—as has happened for the past six years—Penn State Altoona students, faculty, and alumni participated in the annual Plant a Tree at Flight 93 events the last week of April 2018, working alongside students and faculty from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, the US Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), and National Park Service staff to prepare seedlings for the following two days of planting. Their contributions are appreciated: as OSMRE’s Scott Eggerud said to the assembled group: “We couldn’t do this without you.”

Joe Pizarchik, former director of the US Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) and Penn State Altoona alumnus; students Melinda Spence, Michael Begany, and Alicia Dolan; Laura Rotunno, associate professor of English and Honors Program coordinator; and Doug Page, associate teaching professor, History

As in years past, the tree prep crew is in charge of unwrapping packages of bound seedlings, sorting and counting them, then dipping them in a root preparation, and placing them in 112 buckets that have been lined with peat to keep the roots moist. Those buckets are then distributed among Plant a Tree volunteers from schools, businesses, and the community for a weekend of digging and planting.

The goal for the entire Plant a Tree project is 150,000 trees; by 2017 101,000 had been planted, with 14,000 additional in 2018. They span 37 species and already include over 7,000 American chestnut trees. The plantings have been successful—overall combined survival rate for the trees and shrubs is above 70%. Visitors driving the Ring Road to the Memorial Plaza can see the young trees sprouting across the hillside in an area that seven years ago was just scrubby vegetation.

The reason for the memorial—the efforts of the 40 people on board Flight 93 to prevent one more terrorist attack on September 11, 2001—is never far from the minds of those who work at the memorial. Adam Shaffer, park ranger with the National Park Service, says, “Planting trees at Flight 93 is incredibly important because we are helping heal the mining landscape and in doing so, we are fulfilling the mission of the memorial to forever honor the passengers and crew.”

As the Plant a Tree project comes to fruition over the next few years, NPS workers have begun to set their sights on dealing with other issues, such as invasive species, which will also require volunteer labor. The autumn olive, Shaffer says, is particularly troublesome and will require being cut down by bow saws, followed by at least one application of a herbicide. In other words, as progress continues, there is more work to be done.

Therese Boyd, ’79

 

Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed