Digging in the Dirt: March Planting and Chapter Projects

NCWF staff,  Charlotte Wildlife Stewards joined Charlotte-Mecklenburg Stormwater Services volunteers planted 70 native trees in March.
NCWF staff, Charlotte Wildlife Stewards joined Charlotte-Mecklenburg Stormwater Services volunteers planted 70 native trees in March.

March planting and chapter highlights

North Carolina Wildlife Federation staff and Community Wildlife Chapter volunteers did a whole lot of dirt-digging, planting, litter collecting and bird watching in March to promote healthy wildlife habitat and get people outside. Director of Conservation Partnerships Tara Moore shares updates below. 

Concord Planting with Boys and Girls Club: Concord Wildlife Alliance volunteers led a tree planting where 30 trees were planted at McGee Park, a frequented public park along the Carolina Thread Trail. 15 Boys and Girls Club kids joined the volunteers to plant the trees and had a great time getting their hands dirty while learning about the native trees they were planting. Trees planted included redbuds, serviceberries, maples, pines and oaks.

Charlotte Tree Planting: Charlotte Wildlife Stewards joined Charlotte-Mecklenburg Stormwater Services volunteers for a tree planting at Chantilly Ecological Sanctuary to benefit the local wildlife and people frequenting this picturesque park. Seventy native trees were planted, including tulip poplars, river birches, black gums, flowering dogwoods and more. Volunteers ranged from teenagers to adults, and all enjoyed the planting on this chilly spring afternoon.

Neuse River Hawks Optimal Equity Planting: The Neuse River Hawks have been contacting developers in their area to encourage them to use native plants in their landscape designs. Recently, they planted 65 native plants around their headquarters building to enhance habitat and more will be added in April.

Pollinator Garden Install at Yates Mill County Park: NCWF’s South Wake Conservationists worked hard on March 14 to clean up an old pollinator garden at Yates Mill County Park and supplement it with other native pollinator plants.

Wilmington Bird Walk: Island Wildlife teamed up with the team at Wild Bird Garden for a bird walk at Greenfield Lake in Wilmington — all donations were earmarked for the new Cape Fear Bird Observatory. Sightings included yellow-throated warblers, a red-shouldered hawk, a barred owl, rusty blackbirds, an osprey, anhingas, cormorants and more. Photo credit: Curtis Krueger.

Celebrating Wildlife: After postponing it for two years, the Gaston PAWS chapter hosted its annual banquet. It was a massive success in bringing together conservation-minded folks from across Gaston and Mecklenburg counties.

Durham Planting: Bull City Trailblazers partnered with Village of Wisdom and Emerging Minds Academy to install raised planters to support local wildlife and educate local youth on wildlife and the environment.

Lake James Annual Cleanup: The Lake James Area Wildlife and Nature Stewards gathered for their annual trash cleanup to remove over 8,000 pounds from both shorelines and roadways near Lake James State Park. Large, bulky items like tires and wood planks were collected and removed, as well as harmful small plastics that can suffocate wildlife. All volunteers felt success look forward to the next cleanup.

Tree Planting along the Neuse River Trail Greenway: NCWF partnered with Raleigh Parks and Recreation and We Plant it forward to plant 170 trees along the Neuse River Trail Greenway off of Thornton Road in Raleigh, NC. The project helped replace canopy that was lost to fallen Ash Trees after the invasion of the Emerald Ash Borer.

3 ways to support wildlife habitat

  1. Download our Habitat Restoration Volunteer Toolkit to learn how you can organize trash clean-up and planting events in your community. 
  2. Sign up for our weekly Butterfly Highway newsletter, which has everything you need to know about pollinators and native plants for your yard and where to buy them.
  3. Explore our Events Calendar to find out where NCWF and our Wildlife Community Chapters are hosting habitat restoration activities near you. 

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