Tree Planting Events

Volunteers of all ages are invited to participate in tree planting events held throughout the year. Registration is required to participate in each event. Volunteers are asked to sign a consent form, and a parent or guardian must sign the form if under the age of 18.

Volunteer Consent Form

What to Wear and Bring for a Tree Planting

1. Work shoes or work boots that can get dirty;
2. Appropriate clothing and hats that can get dirty and are suited to the weather (cold, rain, wind, or heat);
3. Sunscreen and insect repellant (if needed) depending on the weather;
4. Work gloves; and
5. A shovel, if possible.

The latest updates for the event will be posted on the Delaware Forest Service Facebook Page: DelForestService and DelawareTrees

Mobile Tree Planting Unit

Our Mobile Tree Planting Unit (Urban & Community Forestry Trailer) will be on site at each event. This unit is comprised of planting equipment for volunteer tree planting events that includes shovels, rakes, hand tools, wheel barrows, water carts and more. Keep an eye out for our next event!

Educational Opportunities

Restoring riparian forests is a key strategy for improving water quality in the Chesapeake Bay, a “national treasure” and the largest estuary in North America, covering 64,000 square miles in six states and the District of Columbia. The Cypress Branch in southwestern New Castle County is one of the headwaters for the Chester River, a major tributary of the Chesapeake Bay that begins where Cypress Branch and Andover Branch join together in Millington, MD. The planting site is near the Cypress Branch, part of the Chester River sub-watershed of the Chesapeake Bay Basin. The new trees will help enhance wildlife habitat, fight invasive species, and improve water quality in the critical Chesapeake Bay.

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Experience at Blackbird State Forest

Harriet Tubman noted a place called “Blackbird” as one of her landmarks as she journeyed through Delaware, but her precise pathways are unknown. She may have referred to one or more free black communities that existed in the area. The 6,000-acre Blackbird State Forest evokes the landscapes freedom seekers, and their guides would have encountered. These rich natural resources both hindered and enabled enslaved people on their perilous journeys to the north. Blackbird is part of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Historic Byway.

“Conductor” Dee Patterson led a 90-minute walking tour to experience the natural world that shaped the inspirational life of Harriet Tubman to celebrate the 200th anniversary of her birth. Blackbird State Forest is part of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Historic Byway. Conductor Dee Patterson is an acclaimed storyteller, historian, and nationally certified cultural interpretive guide. As founder and CEO of UGR3DAY Underground Railroad Experiences Inc., she brings her research-based narratives, poetic storytelling, and creative energy to each visitor experience.

Stay tuned for more educational opportunities!