The American Littoral Society partnered with the City of Vineland, Watershed Ambassador AmeriCorps members, Citizens United for the Maurice River, and Vineland High School to restore the riparian corridor along Cedar Branch in Giampietro Park through planting 1346 native trees and shrubs! Riparian buffers provide a space for stormwater to slow down before reaching a stream, allowing greater infiltration into the aquifer, less erosion, and potentially breaking down certain kinds of pollutants.
Cedar Branch is a tributary of the Menantico Creek, which is itself a tributary of the Maurice River. Historically this park was forested wetland along an un-managed farm field with two small seeps following through the area draining into Cedar Branch. Over the years the site was graded and filled but the natural topography and hydrology is still present with soggy stretches of mowed grass right up to the edge of the creek, where a single line of shrubs/trees buffer the stream from the adjacent land use. As part of this project, we assessed the riparian area and the adjacent forests in selecting trees, planted 3.3 acres along the creek and expanded out into the turf in areas that are especially wet to protect these lands from continued compaction. Lawn management is a major issue in this park, mowing when soils are saturated led to ruts, compaction and standing water. All trees and shrubs were tubed to protect from being eaten by deer, with the whole area staked and flagged off. The expanded forested riparian zone will help to lessen all these negative impacts, leaving the water cleaner and the stream ecology healthier.
Planting started in mid-March, with volunteers from Citizen United for Maurice River, followed by a large planting day with Vineland High School students, rounded out with a series of community volunteer planting days running through April. The last trees were planted with American Littoral Society Restoration Corps interns. Special thanks to the over 100 volunteers who participated in the planting events! We will use this site as training for next year’s Restoration Corps intern program, with interns monitoring tree survival, maintaining the tubes and managing any invasive plants that creep into the site.