Annual Tree Planting Event at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge

Annual Tree Planting Event at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge 

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (Service) is seeking volunteers to assist with its annual community-supported restoration efforts this fall at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge). Volunteers are integral to completing the Service mission of “working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.”

This year’s event takes place on October 5, from 9 am through 1 pm. It is a celebration of both National Wildlife Refuge Week, which celebrates the great network of lands and waters that conserves and protects Americans’ precious wildlife heritage, and National Public Lands Day (NPLD), which is the largest single-day volunteer effort for public lands. The theme this year is “Together for Tomorrow.” From trail maintenance to tree planting and more, volunteers of all ages and abilities across the country will roll up their sleeves and join forces for a common goal—stewarding America’s natural resources for future generations to enjoy. “Less than 1% of the Refuge’s habitat is aspen or deciduous shrubland,” according to Molly Dixon, the Wildlife Biologist at Turnbull. “This represents a loss of over 65% of these species’ historical presence on the refuge.

By participating in this ongoing restoration, we hope to restore the landscape to a more natural distribution of habitat types, which will benefit forest-dependent wildlife.” Volunteers will spend a half day assisting refuge staff planting native trees such as aspen, hawthorn, serviceberry, and cottonwood at various locations across Turnbull NWR. These plantings have been a regular occurrence on the refuge for the past two decades. Volunteers can also support local pollinator species by dispersing milkweed seeds and transplanting milkweed rhizomes in the pollinator garden maintained by the Friends of Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge.

These planting sessions are family-friendly and open to all ages. Large groups are welcome with advance notice. Participants are asked to wear appropriate clothing (long pants, closed toe shoes) and provide their own food and water. Refuge staff will provide all the planting equipment, including gloves. No prior experience is necessary to volunteer. 

How do I register? Scan the QR code on the flyer above or through this link https://www.fws.gov/event/community-tree-planting-event 

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