Seedlings for Schools Program
With the support of the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the Seedlings for Schools program offers free seedlings for students to take home and plant with their families.
While these seedlings are often viewed like a gift to our students, this program is intended as a gift to Pennsylvania's biodiveristy and plays an important role in keeping our forests healthy and biodiverse. This biodiversity is not only importnat to Pennsylvania ecology, it also ensures that our forests will be available for nature and outdoor sports enthusiasts.
While our state forests and game lands may seem as wild as ever, ecological imbalances caused by the removal of local predators (e.g., wolves and mountain lions) have allowed populations of white tail deer to over graze our forests; this unchecked grazing prevents regeneration of those species that our deer prefer to eat. Hunters play an important role in helping to keep the populations in check, but since many areas are not suitable for this type of artificial predation (e.g. Gettysburg Battlefields), another solution was needed.
In order to prevent deer from continually browsing on saplings, you may see tall tubes that seem to be planted in the ground. While solutions like this are installed according to the plans of environmental engineers and are very effective, we can help by continually adding new trees to our environment! If you would like more information on the impacts caused by deer abundance, follow this link for some information from Penn State University's College of Agricultural Science.
CVSD intends to begin sending our 3rd grade students home with seedlings in 2024, as well as the experience needed to get them started. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to the Science Department Supervisor for more information.
- Questions? Please contact Howard Nursery 814-355-4434, or email [email protected]
- Hours: M-F 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.