Manor Adds to the Canopy

Dozens of volunteers got their hands dirty and their shoes a little muddy on Monday afternoon — Earth Day 2013.

Volunteers from the Sisters of Saint Basil the Great, Manor College and Saint Basil Academy helped plant understory trees on the 1-acre grounds between the Sisters’ convent and Manor College.

Susan Harris, a watershed specialist with the Montgomery County Conservation District, helped direct traffic. According to Harris, the tree-planting event is one component of a larger project happening on the campus.

“Through this area, we’re establishing a ground cover,” Harris said. “In early April the area was leveled out and we covered it with top soil, put a native woodland seed-mix down and then put a biodegradable netting down temporarily to hold the soil and seed-mix in place.

“Today, we’re planting 85 understory trees and shrubs,” she continued. “Here, we have a very healthy canopy layer and a healthy forest environment has multiple layers.”

Understory trees are exactly what they sound like. According to Harris, the trees and shrubs will mature to about 20 feet — well under the existing super-tall trees. Some of the trees and shrubs planted include redbuds, serviceberry, holly and different evergreens.

The Sisters recently received a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection “Growing Greener” grant, as part of the Jenkintown Watershed Improvement project, which is being spearheaded by the Montgomery County Conservation District, according to Manor spokesman Steve Greenbaum.

See more about the Growing Greener grant here.

Harris said in addition to the woodland restoration, the grant will help fund several other projects on campus including the “daylighting” of a section of storm piping by removing it from a concrete culvert and putting it in a vegetative swale; putting roof gutters and downspouts on the Sisters' barn; and creating a cistern to capture the rooftop water.

The project will be funded through June 2014.