ORLEANS COUNTY – The Orleans County Natural Resource Conservation District (OCNRCD) is hosting its annual plant sale. The fundraiser is an opportunity for community members to purchase quality bareroot trees, shrubs, berry bushes, and other plants, while supporting the district’s conservation programming. One of the goals of the sale is to encourage individual self-sufficiency and land enhancements to private property.
New this year, customers can purchase rainbow and brook trout for stocking private ponds. Also available are wildflower starts, grown by students in the Future Farmers of America (FFA) organization at North Country Career Center. This NCCC student-led organization is the largest FFA organization in the USA. FFA supports agricultural education and leadership.
Plant supplies are limited. Orders are due by Friday, April 14. Orders can be placed online at the OCNRCD website at vacd.org/conservation-districts/orleans-county/. Orders are picked up by customers on Saturday, May 6, at the Orleans County Fairgrounds in Barton.
For over 20 years, the Vermont Conservation Districts have been offering their communities a variety of bareroot plants for sale, including fruit and nut trees, evergreens, and a selection of native wetland plants and shrubs. Planting a property can provide the benefits: food for the birds, beauty to the land, vegetation for wet areas, shade, habitat for wildlife, carbon sequestration, and erosion control on lake shores and riverbanks. Some of the species for sale, such as ferns, dogwood, Indian currant, willow and plum trees, are helpful for stabilizing soils, gullies and riverbanks. Planting along streams, rivers and shorelands can help prevent soil erosion. Land erosion can lead to the build-up of nutrients and phosphorus in our waterways, which negatively impacts water quality.
Contact OCNRCD for a catalog and order form: Sarah Damsell, (802) 334-6090 ext. 7008 or [email protected]
