Saw Mill River Planting & Restoration

Outputs

• Removal of approximately 30 pounds of invasive plants from the work site.

•  Planted:

  •  20 Black willows

  •  20 Pussy willows

  •  6 Flowering dogwoods

  • 6 Red osier dogwoods

  • 13 Silver maples

  • 10 Red maples

  • 15 River birch

  • 20 Pin aaks

• Established and conducted a maintenance schedule for watering and weeding the site (weekly through summer, every other week throughout the fall until mid-November).

Outcomes 

• As a result of this opportunity, through conversations with Groundwork Hudson Valley staff with expertise in trees, we learned about the importance of planting native trees, and restoring biodiversity when planting.

• As a result of planning for stormwater management, a significant mass of invasive vines blocking the growth of trees and shrubs at this site was removed (8/6/25).

• As a result of the enthusiasm for this project, we served the need for biodiversity in plantings sites, and exceeded the initial plan to install 50 trees by actually planting of 110 trees (8/13/25).

• As a result of this work, a half-acre plot of land along the west bank of the Saw Mill River was reclaimed for stormwater management by increasing its capacity to absorb floodwaters, and protecting the river's banks from erosion. 

• As a result of this project, long-term effects will be observed over the coming years as the trees grow and establish their stormwater services.

Process

1. Research site-appropriate native trees to plant

2. Source and order trees from a local native tree supplier

3. Source and order pump, batteries and hoses that allowed us to water from the river

4.  Prepare the site by removing the invasive plants covering the area

5. Plant the trees throughout the half-acre plot according to plan

6. Apply protective cones on trees to prevent damage from deer

7. Create a schedule for maintenance, including watering and weeding throughout the late summer and fall of 2025.

Lessons Learned

• Significant time was needed to remove invasive plants to prepare the site.

• Researching the appropriate species for planting and restoring biodiversity is crucial.

• Regarding working with youth teams: 

  • Teamwork is crucial for projects of this scale; without all the staff collaborating, this whole project would not have been possible.

  • Keeping the team morale high during this strenuous project requires a suitable work environment and ensuring every participant of the project performs at their peak, which allowed the project to run smoothly and with very few hiccups.

  • Seeing our project unfold in real time allowed us to make revisions for future projects, e.g. enhancing time-management, and properly preparing the selected site to ensure effective invasive plant removal.

  • Overall, this project helped us to gain a better understanding of how our youth think and act, which allows us to better understand how to create good project management, increase engagement within these and future projects, and by extension with volunteers from the community.  

Students Involved

• 3 Project leaders aged 15-24

• 23 Project participants aged 15-24 (excluding leaders) 

Thank You's

Many thanks to Mayor Armacost for believing in our youth-led project. Thanks as well to Harrison Nesbit, Community Adaptation Manager at GWHV for sourcing the trees, Victor Medina, Director of Green Jobs at GWHV, for project guidance, and to Bloomberg Philanthropies for funding this project.