Mill Creek - (Bristol Oxford Valley rd) Levittown, PA
Invasive Knotweed and sticker bush removal then Native Reforestation, Riparian Buffer and Floodplain to prevent erosion and lessen storm water
Mill Creek (Bristol Oxford Valley rd) Levittown, PA - Tree Planting to Lessen Stormwater
Project:
300 native trees and shrubs as Riparian Buffer / Flood Plain
Remove Climbing Vines from old growth trees
Remove Sticker Bush
Remove 1 acre or Japanese Knotweed
Plant 350 Native Trees and Shrubs
Riparian Buffer (Plant trees along a waterway to prevent erosion and lessen storm water)
Flood Plain (After Knotweed is removed the area will be filled with Wet soil loving trees and shrubs)
3 acre property
Tended Trail loop around property
Parking for 5-6 cars
Little Fishing spot
Quick dog walk loop
Native grass and wildflower throughout property
Along Black Ditch, a tributary of Mill Creek in Levittown, Bristol Township PA we are installing a riparian buffer to help lessen storm water. We will be removing invasive shrubs then planting native trees and native berrying shrubs to spread the good native plants by feeding birds on this 3 acre county property.
Photo Gallery History of this Mill Creek Project
Tree source: Keystone 10 Million Trees
200 trees, 50 shrubs (were planted in the spring 2023)
75 trees, 25 shrubs (were planted in fall 2023)
With the help of Penn State Master Watershed Stewards, we treated an acre of knotweed with herbicide to enable native reforestation in the coming years.
2024 Volunteer Dates
3-16-24 Saturday (9 am - 12 )
4-6-24 Saturday (9 am - 12 )
5-18-24 Saturday (9 am - 12 )
6-15-24 Saturday (9 am - 12 )
7-20-24 Saturday (9 am - 12 )
8-17-24 Saturday (9 am - 12 )
9-21-24 Saturday (9 am - 12 )
10-19-24 Saturday (9 am - 12 )
Native Trees and Shrubs, Timeline, and Partners
Timeline Tree planting Spring 2023
2-16-2023
Land owner agreement with Bucks County
2-17-23 to 3-6-23
Site Preparation
Bristol Township helped clear area of Sticker bushes and downed trees, helped dispose of Knotweed with a donated Dumpster and 8 hours of Backhoe / Brush hog invasive removal.
4-14-23 to 4-23-23
Trees were planted
Partners
Bucks County Conservation District
Keystone 10 Million Trees
Bristol Township
Native Trees
15 Grey Birch
25 River Birch
25 American Sycamore
25 Swamp White Oak
20 Speckled Alder
50 Tulip Poplar
Native Shrubs
15 Silky Willow
15 Red Choke Berry
Bristol Township donated 8 hours of Heavy Machinery and and 2 dumpsters for Knotweed Removal.
We sawed the knotweed and shoveled out the huge Knotweed shrub bases.
Native Speckled Alder along the creek. (Medicinal tree - you can chew on the bark and it is like Tylenol)
We moved some nice boulders so you can sit on them along the creek.
Videos from Mill Creek at Bristol Oxford Valley Rd - Levittown, PA
Video: 3-21-2023 Spring
First Season Spring 2023 of the Black Ditch / Mill Creek, Riparian Buffer and Flood Plain
Video: 12-18-2023 storm
Lost many Shrubs in this storm 12-18-2023 at Black Ditch / Mill Creek, Riparian Buffer and Flood Plain
Video: 6-4-2024 update
Trees looking good alot of Wildflower, River Birch in the Knotweed area looks good too.
Project Updates
(4-6-24) - Livestakes and Tree Planting
On Saturday 4-6-24, Penn State - Master Watershed Stewards provided 250 live stakes of native shrubs. Along with the help from Bucks County Sewa, Master Watershed stewards and and other Excel Events volunteers, we planted 5 river birch in the flood plain where knotweed was herbicided last fall. In a seperate area 2 Persimmon, and blue berry where planted along the 3 acre nature trail loop on this property. At this site we planted half of the live stakes, 125 live stakes will help prevent the stream bank from eroding now, adding biodiversity and native food for wildlife. The Live stakes consisted of species such as:
Live stakes species:
Sycamore
Red osier dogwood
Black willow
Silky willow
Shining Willow
Pussy Willow
Silky dogwood
Sycamore
Nanny berry
Ninebark