Santa steps in to help seedlings

Santa joined volunteers in the days leading up to Christmas to help plant thousands of seedlings at two nature preserves in Sussex County.

Santa and other volunteers carefully secured hardwood pine and shrub seedlings, all native species that are part of a reforestation effort at Bullseye-Ferry Landing Preserve off Route 24 in Millsboro and Perry Tract at Angola Neck Preserve. The cooperative effort among the center, The Nature Conservancy and the state Division of Parks and Recreation, calls for planting more than 30,000 seedlings on a total 37 acres at the two nature preserves.

“By doing that, we’re realizing a nutrient load reduction,” said Bob Collins, program manager at the center. Reforestation of former farmland will help trap nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous, the leading cause of water quality issues in the Inland Bays watershed. Scientists at the center estimate the reforestation projects will reduce phosphorous loads by about 15 pounds per year and nitrogen loads by about 590 pounds per year.

For more about this project and the Center for the Inland Bays, go to inlandbays.org.