Although the pandemic has canceled many of their community service projects, members of the Twin Valley High School (TVHS) FFA were able to once again hold their Christmas tree recycling program.

As part of the annual event, FFA members collected trees from the community and brought the trees back to the high school for the wildlife, as well as to create mulch. "Twin Valley FFA has been doing this (activity) for over 30 years. It was started by my predecessor Ron Frederick," explained current FFA adviser Harold Dietrich.

The community was invited to drop off their Christmas trees at two locations in Robeson Township. "We collected at Robeson Elementary (Center) and at Plow Farms tree farm," Dietrich pointed out. "Most of the trees collected at the Robeson Elementary (Center) probably came from Robeson Township; however trees collected from Plow Farms could come from anywhere, but likely were purchased at Plow Farms."

On Jan. 9, 50 trees were collected from the drop-off stations and brought back to the school by FFA students with the help of adult volunteers, including students' parents and grandparents. "The trees were placed in the school district's woodlot, where they serve as winter habitat for birds and small mammals such as rabbits or squirrels," Dietrich explained. "In the spring, the trees will be chipped for mulch to be used in the FFA garden at the high school."

Dietrich said that the FFA has not seen an increase in number of trees collected. However, the number of trees collected did decrease two years ago with the introduction of the spotted lanternfly. "(The number) has not gone back up since," said Dietrich.

The TVHS FFA generally takes part in many activities, which have all been curtailed by the pandemic, including crafting and gardening with the senior residents of the Heritage at Green Hills in Shillington. Career Development Events (CDEs), which are contests where members compete to test their skills learned through agricultural education instruction, have also been postponed or canceled.

"We have not been able to do any face-to-face community service activities. We have not been able to do CDEs," noted Dietrich. "For all recreational chapter activities we must follow COVID guidelines - masks, (6 feet of) social distancing and no food or snacks. We also are not allowed any field trips or guests as part of the COVID restrictions. It has been very difficult to plan and execute FFA activities, because so much of what we do involves interactions with other people."

For more information about the TVHS FFA, readers may visit http://www.tvffa.theaet.com or join the Twin Valley FFA Facebook group.