Join us from 9-12 Saturday April 13th in North Stonington at the Herman E. Sheets Family Forest to help plant bare root oak seedlings!

This spring we begin the second phase of a larger, multi-year restoration effort, in which volunteers, together with Avalonia staff, will work to get more than 300 red oak (Quercus rubra) and white oak (Quercus alba) seedlings into the ground. 

Nearly a decade ago, the combined stressors of Spongy moth and drought served to weaken and ultimately kill many mature stands of oak in the region.  Sadly, this preserve was no exception.  With natural regeneration being limited, we instituted a restoration plan, a part of which includes planting and then protecting seedlings from deer browse.

Staff and volunteers will provide a brief tutorial, but, other than that, no special skill set is needed! Bring a shovel/spade, gloves, sturdy footwear, bug/tick repellant, and drinking water.  If you don’t have tools, extras will be available. Work at your own pace, stay as long as you like, and consider hiking the beautiful trail system afterwards.

We will meet at the Puttker Road parking area (across from 94 Puttker Road) at 9:00 AM and shuttle the short distance from there to a convenient access point.  There is limited off street parking, so please consider carpooling to the event. Rain date of Sunday April 14.

This restoration effort is funded, in part, by a generous grant from the North Stonington Garden Club.

For more details, contact Director of Stewardship, Tobias Glaza at [email protected]

P.S.  You will see this opportunity referenced again in the context of a forthcoming Avalonia-wide Stewardship Day post.