Translated literally as "Penn's Woods," Pennsylvania is home to an estimated 8 billion trees, or about 613 per resident. Trees provide humans with numerous health benefits, including improved water and air quality, shade and soil retention.

Beings of beauty, trees possess the potential to make Manheim Township a better place to live.

"Any time you receive 26 trees through a grant, to be planted in your green spaces, it's an obvious positive," said Kevin Kirchoff, parks crew leader for the Manheim Township Public Works (MTPW) department. "Every year, some trees are lost to stress or disease. (Manheim Township Athletic Complex) is a park we chose collectively in house, because there are not a bunch of trees there. This is a park that's used heavily, and it's a great addition to the park."

During the morning hours of Nov. 8, 2024, four members of the MTPW department and 12 volunteers associated with the Manheim Township High School varsity baseball team planted 26 trees along a pathway at the Manheim Township Athletic Complex, 2883 Weaver Road, Lancaster. The Pennsylvania native trees - six red buds, two white dogwoods, four pink dogwoods, two sweet berry magnolias, eight red maples and four sugar maples - were purchased through a $4,000 Make Pennsylvania Beautiful grant from the Giant Company.

"Here's the thing, there's not much work that's easy," said Kirchoff. "This was work that was challenging and rewarding. It wasn't that tedious of a project."

In the northwest portion of the Manheim Township Athletic Complex, MTPW pre-dug 26 18-inch holes along a walking trail that "needed some extra scenery," according to Kirchoff. The baseball team members unloaded the trees, took them out of their containers, placed them in the holes, filled the holes and then mulched around the base of the 12- to 14-foot trees.

"You've got to give them the proper space and depth so they can grow," said Kirchoff. "It won't take long for them to continue their growth and be an asset to that park. We tried to strategically look at where the athletic fields are because people like shade. Hopefully, in a few years, people will be able to utilize that."

The Make Pennsylvania Beautiful grant was acquired from the Giant Company through the efforts of director of public works director Bill Sauers and assistant director of public works Dave Salley.

"I was approached with it and asked what I thought," said Kirchoff. "We talked, and that's what we did. The question became, 'How do we get as many trees as we can with the funds provided?' We wanted to maximize the funds. Since I've been here, this is the first time we've been awarded this grant. Hopefully, it's something we can do year after year with trees."

For members of the Blue Streaks baseball team, the experience served as an opportunity to give back and to bond as a team.

"I think anytime you get to work with youth in the township, it's a positive," said Kirchoff. "It gives them some ownership, and it was a learning experience for some of them. It's that type of relationship that makes this community special; people care about where they live. I think teams are always looking for team-building opportunities. I knew that no matter who we reached out to at the high school, we'd get participants."

"This is a community that truly cares," Kirchoff continued. "There are good people who live in this community. There are good kids who live in this community, and they see how hard their parents work. They're not afraid to take on responsibility."

The MTPW department employs 40 workers, 15 of whom are assigned to the township's parks.

"There's not much that goes on in the township that we don't have our hands in," said Kirchoff. "We're responsible for setting up, tearing down and cleaning up at special events in Manheim Township. It's a great feeling knowing your work doesn't go unnoticed."

For additional information, go to http://www.manheimtownship.org.