The Greening of Broadneck

Broadneck got a whole lot greener this weekend thanks to two big tree-planting projects by volunteer groups.

Gray skies and temperatures in the mid 40s didn’t deter the Cub Scouts from around Anne Arundel County who descended on Broadneck Park Saturday morning to plant 125 trees at the park’s eastern edge.

About 112 Scouts from the Four Rivers District took shovels in hand at 8 a.m. and by 9:30, they had transformed two grassy hillsides near the dog park. Boy Scouts from Arnold Troop 995 and Troop 712 of Ft Meade also pitched in along with moms and dads and employees from Annapolis-based Towne Park.

The trees -- dogwoods, sycamores, oaks and other native species -- were provided by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ Tree-mendous Maryland program.

“It’s a win-win-win for everybody,” said project coordinator Kirk Platt, chair of the Four Rivers Community Service Committee.

The new naturalized area will save the county on mowing and maintenance costs and provide a buffer between the dog park and nearby athletics fields, Platt said. Scouts who participated earned their World Conservation Patch.

The only downside seemed to be the mud: lots and lots of heavy, cakey mud from Friday’s rains that clung in thick clumps to shoes and boots.

“It’s a little muddy out here,” said Bianca Sell, as she helped her son Aden, 8, set a white flowering dogwood in place. Aden, with Pack 723 at Windsor Farm Elementary School, lifted up his mud-encrusted boot to prove it.

“Three buckets for anyone who needs it!” called Gabriel Thomas Wigmann, 9, from atop a three-foot pile of mulch provided by the National Forest Service. The Cub Scout with Pack 773 said he was an experienced hand, having helped plant several trees around his family’s home in Pasadena.

Scout mom Stephanie Fisher of Hanover said the morning was both productive and fun. “The kids love it. They got to get muddy and we didn’t yell at them,” she said with a laugh.

As she guided her sleek red vizsla, Daley, toward the dog park entrance, Katie Cesafsky of Annapolis took note of the Scouts’ good deed. “We really appreciate all the efforts to make it a little nicer here,” she said.

Besides the benefit to park users, projects like this also have a long-lasting impact on the young Scouts, said Mark Horner, Cubmaster with Pack 474 of Glen Burnie. “They can come back to see what they’ve done when they were younger. These trees will be here for a long time,” he said.

That the new trees remain standing is something the Chesapeake Bay Foundation is also counting on. More than 100 volunteers turned out Sunday afternoon [4-10] to do a major reforestation at Holly Beach Farm near the Bay Bridge, which the Annapolis-based conservation organization uses for its education programs.

The group planted 1,000 native trees and shrubs to prevent erosion and create more habitat for wildlife at the historic 300-acre property. The environmentally sensitive site includes gently rolling fields, woodlands, restored wetlands and three acres of shoreline along the Chesapeake Bay and Whitehall and Meredith creeks.

Corporate partners included Washington Gas Energy Services and Sterling Planet which provided much of the manpower for the day. Harry Warren, energy company president, presented a giant check for $100,000 to CBF officials and Alden Hathaway, Sterling Planet senior vice president, donated a check for $50,000.

“We’re never going to have enough government money to clean the bay,” said Dr. Beth McGee, senior water quality scientist with the CBF. “We need more creative partnerships with private organizations to get the job done.”