Reedy Creek Coalition

OWL ORCHARD COMMUNITY GARDEN

Owl Orchard Community Garden at 44th and Reedy

What is the value of a Riparian Tree Planting?

“Riparian” means “located on the bank of a natural watercourse,” in this case our own Reedy Creek.  Riparian tree plantings (also called “Riparian Buffers”) offer many benefits for humans and wildlife.  These include:

• They trap sediment.  Runoff from lawns and roads is trapped in the buffer rather than being allowed to enter the stream.  Sediment is the greatest cause of decreased water quality in the Chesapeake Bay.
• They trap nutrients and pollutants.  These include fertilizers, pesticides, and animal wastes from lawns and roads.
• They provide better habitat for fish and aquatic invertebrates by reducing fine sediments, lowering water temperature, increasing dissolved oxygen, and supplying organic materials such as leaves and woody debris to serve as food for the invertebrates.
• They provide shelter and food for other wildlife including birds, mammals, and reptiles and amphibians.

Ideally, a good riparian buffer should range from  25 to 100 feet in width on each side of the stream.  Our newly planted buffer will be about 75 feet wide.  It will be to the right of the utility pole in the picture below.  Space to the left will be available for community gardening (see bottom of hill to the left in the photo) as well as fruit trees, some of which have already been planted.

Owl Orchard Community Garden

We already have enough volunteers for this tree planting project but another tree planting project at the Richmond Wastewater Treatment Plant on Friday, December 7th, could use your help!  If you might be able to help with that, please contact Hands On Greater Richmond.