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Sparta High School Ecology Students Assist with Wallkill Riparian Restoration

As part of her AmeriCorps Priority Watershed Project, Kristine Rogers, and WRWMG employees, Nathaniel Sajdak and Eric VanBenschoten, organized a riparian restoration tree-planting day along the Wallkill River with 11^th and 12^th grade ecology students from Sparta High School.  In addition to planting and protecting 65 native, containerized trees and 250 black willow livestakes, the students also learned about the importance of tree installation for water quality improvement, riverbank stabilization, and pollutant filtration. Floodplain reforestation along this reach is essential because the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) currently lists the Wallkill River as impaired for temperature and aquatic life.  The goal of this riparian reforestation effort is to ensure the long-term enhancement and protection of the Wallkill River, while educating a new generation of students to become actively engaged in the protection of their local environment.