Elizabethtown College has partnered with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay to participate in a lawn conversion project that will help reduce the state’s pollution levels for the Chesapeake Bay.
The lawn conversion project began on the grassy area by the Brown Building park lot on Friday, Oct. 29.

Members of the Etown SEEDS Ecology Club and other students helped, planting a total of 175 trees.

All of the trees planted belong to species native to Pennsylvania including American persimmon, sweet crabapple, American plum, black cherry, redbud, sweetbay magnolia and spicebush. Several of these species also provide fruit that helps support wildlife.

Associate professor of biology and faculty advisor of SEEDS Dr. Diane Bridge also volunteered at the event, and she explained the importance and environmental benefits of the initiative.

“Trees allow much more rainwater to infiltrate into the soil than lawn does, so they prevent nutrients from washing out of the soil and into streams. In the Chesapeake Bay watershed where we are, this can improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay,” she said in an interview.

She further explained that planting native trees provides both food and habitat for native species, and that the lawn conversion process will save energy and money because mowing and treatment to kill beetle grubs and weeds will no longer be necessary.

The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay is a nonprofit regional organization that is dedicated to protecting and restoring the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

According to Bridge, the funding that the Alliance has for the lawn conversion project came from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and USDA Forest Service. Etown administrators and faculty worked in partnership with the Alliance to develop a plan for a lawn conversion project on campus.

The organization enjoys working with volunteers and the nature of the activity made it a perfect event for SEEDS as well as the sophomore class of Student Senate since their officers chose sustainability as their theme for service. The Honors Club was also interested in participating.

No one could have predicted the horrible weather the day of the event, yet volunteers still participated in the project.

“We were initially a little concerned that students wouldn’t show up because the weather was so bad, but everyone honored their commitment and marched out to the Brown lot,” vice president of SEEDS Alex Gates said.

Despite the cold rain and wind, Gates described the event as “spectacular.”

“The rain was coming down sideways and none of us could feel our fingertips, but everyone was still laughing and having a great time. We blew through the plot in no time and made some amazing memories doing it,” Gates said.

The lawn conversion project is not the first sustainability initiative that SEEDS has undertaken. Gates discussed that the club partnered with the Student Wellness Advocacy Group (SWAG) to host a pawpaw smoothie tasting event in the Bowers Center Demo Kitchen earlier in the month. The fruit was harvested from pawpaw trees on campus.

She also mentioned that club members were able to save some pawpaw seeds to plant in the spring and donate to the Lancaster Conservancy, which will distribute them across Lancaster County in order to increase local native diversity.

“SEEDS is always planning new events and partnering with other clubs on campus to host events, so you can follow us on Instagram @elizabethownseeds or email us at seedsecology@etown.edu to get on the mailing list so you can stay updated and get involved,” Gates said.

The newly planted trees still need to be maintained, and Bridge said that students had the option to sign up for tree maintenance along with planting. Students will check the trees once a month starting this March, and they will need to weed around the trees, straighten the tubes protecting the trees and mark any dead trees so they can be replaced.

The College will continue to work with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay on further sustainability projects.

“[They] have a plan to convert the lawn next to the Brown Building parking lot to a native pollinator plant meadow next year. Students will have the chance to help with this,” Bridge said.