On Oct. 14, students and faculty of Millersville University (MU) teamed up with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay (ACB) to plant several trees and herbaceous plants around the biology pond on campus. Volunteers planted over 200 trees and plants near the pond, which serves as both a location for research for university students and as an important piece of the area's ecosystem.

After renovations were completed around the pond over the summer, MU biology professor John Wallace noticed that most of the woody vegetation surrounding the pond had been stripped away. Wallace had just returned to campus for the fall semester and contacted ACB to enlist its help with the task of reforesting the area around the pond. Wallace, a former member of ACB, knew that the pond played an important role as a habitat for local wildlife and a way to reduce the effects of stormwater runoff. ACB provided the vegetation to be planted and will work with the university over the next three to five years to maintain the trees around the pond, and a grant from Lancaster Clean Water Partners will fund the other herbaceous wetland plants being added to the area.

The planting event attracted a group of over 50 volunteers, consisting of school faculty and students alike and including many of Wallace's own students. "One of the things we encourage is service activity for our students," said Wallace. "This was an opportunity for experience in environmental conservation as well as working with a nonprofit like ACB." Wallace said the students were elated to be a part of the project, and many have already signed up for other tree planting events.

The biology pond was established by retired biology professor Willis Ratzlaff in the mid-1970s as a place for both students and faculty to conduct research. Ratzlaff conducted his research on copepods, a group of crustaceans, in the pond. It has been a centerpiece for biology research and lab activities ever since. Studies on freshwater invertebrates, forensic entomology and fish population have been conducted at the pond over the last 50 years, and each semester, students perform surveys on biodiversity there. "Planting these trees improves biodiversity, water quality and various functions of the ecosystem both in and around the pond," said Wallace. "It manages stormwater runoff and reduces sediment and pollutants to nearby streams."

The remainder of the planting will be completed in the spring, and additional trees and plants will be provided by ACB. For more information, visit http://www.allianceforthebay.org.