Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy People and Wildlife Living in Harmony |
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Phillips Farm Habitat Restoration Project
Waterford, VA
March 1, 2008
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“A seed hidden in the heart of an apple is an orchard invisible.” - Welsh Proverb |
On the first day of March, 46 volunteers showed up to plant over 400 shrubs and remove invasive alien plants along the banks of the South Fork of the Catoctin Creek in a project designed and planned by Jeff Wolinski, a local Consulting Ecologist. Jeff spent the day before preparing the site and removing the invasive alien plants that he could get to with his bush-hog. |
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Thirty-six Gray Dogwoods in two-gallon pots along with about 400 live sapling stakes, comprised of Buttonbush, Silky Dogwood, and various Willow species, were planted in an area threatened by erosion caused by excessive storm-water runoff. Only shrubs were planted in the riparian buffer as the Waterford Foundation wants to preserve an agricultural landscape that has existed for almost three centuries on the historic Phillips Farm. Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy paid for the plants through a grant from Kimley-Horn’s charitable foundation. |
Upon completion of the project, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy’s Stream Monitoring Chair Meg Findley and member Darrell Schwalm demonstrated stream monitoring near the mill. They were pleasantly surprised to find a number of stoneflies, which are generally good indicators of water quality. Overall, they informally rated the stream as “fair” for benthic macroinvertebrates, and were encouraged with the potential this may hold for stream recovery if good stewardship practices increase. |
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This was the first segment of what we hope will be a long-term project to restore the stream-side environment along the banks of the Catoctin on the Phillips Farm to a healthy state. |
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The day after the project, Mimi Westervelt, the liaison between the Waterford Foundation and Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, wrote to Joe Coleman, who coordinated the event: “I think yesterday was a grand success on a multitude of levels — from habitat restoration to environmental education and the partnership forged between Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and Waterford. Deep thanks for your support, your impressive organization skills, and the excitement you’ve helped us generate for protecting and restoring natural resources on historic Phillips Farm.” |
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