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WRWMG Education Specialist Promotes Using Trees for Stormwater Management at Helen Morgan School

TreeHabilitate is a stormwater management educational program coordinated by the Sussex County Municipal Utilities Authority-Wallkill River Watershed Management Group (SCMUA-WRWMG). The TreeHabilitate program is providing trees to Sussex County students as an innovative form of stormwater management. Research indicates that trees provide habitat for native wildlife, remove pollutants, and increase the amount of rainfall captured and absorbed into the soil, protecting local rivers and streams from pollution. According to the USDA, a single 20 year old red maple can capture 1,014 gallons of stormwater runoff each year, and that’s just one tree!! Throughout Sussex County, the TreeHabilitate program is helping to reduce the cumulative volume of polluted stormwater runoff that is entering local streams in urban, suburban, and rural landscapes, as has been accomplished in the Chesapeake Bay through the Lawn to Woodland Program. During two days of classroom programming, the SCMUA-WRWMG Education Specialist worked with 5th grade students at Helen Morgan School in Sparta Township to teach students about the numerous benefits of trees. Each student was able to select a tree to be planted on his/her own property and will learn more about the number of gallons of stormwater runoff managed by the tree he/she selected using online modeling tools as part of a follow-up classroom lesson next month.