WDIY staff and volunteers joined Coopersburg Borough officials on Friday at Meadow Park for the planting of 15 large, native bare root trees. The effort coincided with WDIY's Fall Membership Drive where funds were raised to cover some of the costs.
Helping with the planting was WDIY Executive Director Margaret McConnell, WDIY Membership and Development Director Shamus McGroggan, WDIY volunteer Bob McKellin, WDIY volunteer Cindy McKellin, WDIY volunteer Mike Flynn, WDIY volunteer Susan Myerov, WDIY volunteer Christian Martinez, WDIY volunteer Kathleen McGroggan, Coopersburg Borough Council Member Christine Norman, Coopersburg Borough Council Member Dick Terlaak Poot, Adam Purfeerst from Coopersburg Public Works, Frank Szabo from Coopersburg Public Works, and Jesse Sheets from Coopersburg Public Works.
WDIY chose to use some of the funds from this year's Fall Membership Drive to plant trees in memory of former on-air host and Board Vice President Don Miles who died of cancer earlier this year. Miles spent his career as an environmental attorney and was well-known in the area for his volunteer work with both the Pennsylvania and Lehigh Valley chapters of the Sierra Club.
Coopersburg's Meadow Park has been undergoing a revitalization effort that began earlier this year. Native herbaceous plants and grasses were installed as a riparian buffer in September through a mini-grant award, but according to Rebecca Hayden of the Watershed Coalition of the Lehigh Valley, the effort only included small container stock. The large native trees in WDIY's campaign included species like red maples and white oaks that will add to the canopy of the park.
Funding for the planting, transportation, and care of the trees was provided by Coopersburg Borough as well as WDIY member donations during the station's Fall Membership Drive. WDIY members who donated at the "Friends of Don Miles" level will have the opportunity to have their name or a loved one's name placed on a memorial sign at the site of the planting. WDIY plans to have a public unveiling of the trees and the signs later this fall. More information on this will be announced shortly.
"We are grateful to TreePennsylvania and their Bare Root Tree Program for their collaboration on this project. We hope WDIY's members and anyone who lives close by can attend the unveiling ceremony for the trees and memorial signs later this fall."Shamus McGroggan, WDIY Membership and Development Director
The purchase of the trees was funded by a grant from TreePennsylvania, a statewide, private nonprofit organization. TreePennsylvania offers grants to nonprofit organizations and municipalities through their seasonal Bare Root Tree Grant program. Funding for TreePennsylvania's Bare Root Tree Grant program is provided, in part, with a grant from PA's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. More information may be found on their website, www.treepennsylvania.org, or by contacting Jessica Cavey, Program Director at grants@treepennsylvania.org.
"We are grateful to TreePennsylvania and their Bare Root Tree Program for their collaboration on this project," WDIY Membership and Development Director Shamus McGroggan said. "We hope WDIY's members and anyone who lives close by can attend the unveiling ceremony for the trees and memorial signs later this fall."
The last time WDIY was able to use a Membership Drive to plant trees was in 2011. "Our last tree planting effort focused on areas like Allentown and Easton," said McGroggan. "When this opportunity to help with a park revitalization in Coopersburg came up, we recognized it as the perfect opportunity to help a place that wasn't included in the station's previous projects. We have many listeners and members in the Coopersburg, Upper Saucon Township, and Center Valley area, so this is an effort that can be enjoyed by those individuals and their families long into the future."