Help plant more trees in Pennsylvania!

Beginning May 25, Pennsylvania will be competing with the 49 other states in the “Plant a Tree” campaign sponsored by Odwalla fruit juices. Help Pennsylvania become the top vote-getter and score the most dollars for state park trees. Lead the charge by voting for Pennsylvania on May 25. It costs nothing to participate and takes only a few seconds to vote. Votes will go fast so log on early! For some fun, view Pennsylvania’s “Plant a Tree” campaign video here.

Spotlight On...

Yellow Springs Farms, Meadowood Nursery, Edge of the Woods Nursery—purveyors of native plants and technical advice for making your landscape a welcoming home for birds and other wildlife. Be sure to check their web sites for spring plant sales and other upcoming events. Additional plant sales can be found here (choose “native plants” on the “select calendar” drop down menu).

Conservation Resources

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And the winner is...

Haine Middle School, Cranberry Township, Butler County, is the grand prize winner of Pennsylvania’s Earth Day 40 Schools Challenge for its unique project to provide residents with rain barrels to conserve water. Northern Cambria Middle School (Cambria County), Avon Grove Charter School (Chester County), and St. Marys Area Middle School (Elk County) received honorable mentions for their conservation projects. Twenty-one schools took part in the Challenge, honoring the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. The grand prize will turn Haine Middle School into a park for a day on June 3 with a variety of educational activities. Learn more about the school projects here and don’t forget to take the Earth Day 40 Challenge for individuals or groups—going on now through June 1!

Learn more about Marcellus

On state forest land, natural gas drilling and exploration in the Marcellus Shale formation has been a topic of great public interest. A new website has been developed to provide rock-solid information about these activities, including the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ policies, environmental issues, mitigation practices, statistics and charts, frequently asked questions, and contacts for additional questions.

Bike to work in May

May is National Bike Month and the League of American Bicyclists is promoting Bike-to-Work Week 2010 from May 17-21 and Bike-to-Work Day on Friday, May 21. Join thousands of other Americans in taking the fun, fit, and green way to work. Go to www.Bikeleague.org for a calendar of Bike Month events, an event planning guide, information on bicycle friendly communities, and other stuff bound to get your wheels spinning. Will you be one of the brave Pennsylvanians to put your mettle to the pedal?

Did you know?

An estimated 215 million pounds a year of fertilizer are applied to the hundreds of thousands of suburban lawns in the Chesapeake Bay watershed (More than 1/3 of the watershed is in Pennsylvania). Each spring, rains wash fertilizer off these lands and into the streams and rivers that flow into the Bay, polluting it with excess nitrogen and phosphorus. Protect the blue crabs and all the seafood by waiting until the fall to fertilize. Nourish your yard with conservation ideas.

Congratulations to Marilynne Cornell from Philadelphia, the winner of the monthly drawing from the SEEDS subscription list. Ms. Cornell receives a copy of the book It’s Easy Being Green: A Handbook for Earth Friendly Living.