Central Bucks Students Join Forces to Transform Buckingham Wetlands

DOYLESTOWN, PA—Hard work by two groups of students, one in the form of fundraising and other in the form of labor, has helped improve a piece of land in Buckingham.

The project began when two groups of Central Bucks students reached out to the group Bucks Beautiful earlier this year with ideas for projects. A group of seventh-graders from Holicong Middle School started the process when it held fundraisers to plant trees in Buckingham. The group raised $225, an amount that Bucks Beautiful doubled with a matching grant.

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At about the same time, the CB East High School Key Club got in touch with Bucks Beautiful and offered to provide volunteers to plant trees, putting the project in motion.

Bucks Beautiful’s Community Engagement Manager Jennifer Finelli talked to Buckingham Township officials to find a location for the trees. They identified a parcel of wetlands located between the township building and Buckingham Elementary School.

The property was ideal for planting because it was infested with invasive plants like multiflora rose, oriental bittersweet and autumn olive. These invasive species were driving out native foliage, which was upsetting the ecosystem on the property.

The project next turned to Buckingham Township’s Environmental Advisory Committee for help. Jim Walter, a certified Master Gardner and the committee’s Co-Chair, got to work removing the invasive plants. He worked with Finelli, who is also a Master Gardner, to choose native plants that would be appropriate for the parcel.

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In June, the CB East students got to work installing new plants that included three varieties of summersweet shrubs and perennial swamp milkweed. Sweetbay magnolia trees were added to the mix for their ability to thrive in the wet environment, and one Redbud tree was planted.

The township donated leftovers from its native plant sale, adding irises, cardinal flowers, asters, wild bergamot, woodland phlox and beardtongue. The township also provided compost created from recycled leaves and Christmas trees.

In a statement, the township said that the planting project not only beautifies the area, but provides “a sustainable habitat for our pollinating insects, birds and small animals across the seasons.”

Bucks Beautiful provides grants for the development of community gardens throughout Bucks County. These include plantings at hospitals, war memorials, public parks, gateway gardens and town centers.

The organization also awards grants to area garden clubs that sponsor planters at nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

More information on Bucks Beautiful is available on the organization’s website.

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