Green Forests Work

06/11/2026

From May 26 through June 4, 2026, Green Forests Work staff worked with the adult crew from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Outdoor Corps on various tasks to complete the Tioga Reforestation Project. This crew of 6 people, along with Smerkar Services and two environmental interns from Juniata College, cleared invasive shrubs and plants from areas that weren't accessible to the machinery used to prep the site last fall. Altogether, they cleared nearly 120 acres on state forest property and private project within the project areas. They also seeded areas prepped for tree planting with a pollinator seed mix totaling approximately 40 acres.

On Thursday, May 28th, DCNR Secretary Cindy Dunn and Deputy Secretary John Norbeck visited with the crew and worked alongside them for the afternoon.

05/12/2026

On May 5, 2026, a group of 15 volunteers gathered to plant 850 native shrubs and trees along the shoreline of Marsh Creek at Marsh Creek State Park in Chester, PA. Green Forests Work—who provided trees, tools, and a helping hand—teamed up with Pennsylvania State Parks, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and friends of Marsh Creek State Park to make a positive impact together.

05/11/2026

On April 17 and 18, 2026, 90 volunteers planted approximately 1,200 trees across two acres as part of the Tioga Fallbrook Mined Land Reforestation Project. This collaborative effort brought together Green Forests Work and our valued partners, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Repsol, Ward Manufacturing, Tioga County Conservation District, The Reinfried Family, and Commonwealth University-Mansfield. Funding for the Tioga County Conservation, a 200-acre planting project, came from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Countywide Action Plan grant program. Professional tree planters from Williams Forestry & Associates planted the additional acreage.

05/11/2026

On May 2, 2026, a dedicated group of about 30 volunteers came together to plant 2,100 trees over 3 acres of formerly mined land at Reeds Run in Indiana County, PA. Green Forests Work provided trees, site preparation, and tools. Volunteers were from our partners at Emma Munson Foundation, Inc, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, AWARE, Rosebud Mining, Indiana County Conservation District, and Jaxsang worked side by side to help restore the land.

05/04/2026

Komatsu and Green Forests Work (GFW) celebrated Earth Day and the eighth year of our partnership by planting what will likely be the final phase of the mined land restoration work on the Mower Tract of the Monongahela National Forest.

On April 29, Komatsu employees planted more than 1,200 red spruce, balsam fir, and alder seedlings around created wetlands to restore forest connectivity and biodiversity, and improve water quality. Over the years, Komatsu's financial support and equipment have been instrumental in the removal of unwanted vegetation, site preparation, road and pond decommissioning, and wetland creation, so it has been fantastic to have their employees on-site to see the results of their investments.

The red spruce ecosystem restoration work on the Monongahela National Forest has exemplified the power of partnerships, and wrapping up the mined land restoration work was bittersweet. Over more than a decade, the US Forest Service, GFW, Arbor Day Foundation, Komatsu, Mennen Environmental Foundation, the University of Kentucky, Proteus Foundation, Appalachian Headwaters, World Centric, Argosy Foundation, Pisgah Banjo Company, and dozens of other partners restored approximately 1,800 acres of formerly mined lands through the planting of more than 1.1M trees and the creation of hundreds of wetlands. This work has included planting more than 50 native tree and shrub species and sowing and planting dozens of native grasses and wildflowers.

04/24/2026

Green Forests Work, Kentucky River Properties, Blackhawk Mining, the University of Kentucky, and many partners from the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative celebrated Arbor Day by planting 2,800 native trees on a former coal mine in Perry County, Kentucky, on Friday, April 17, 2026.

As part of the Flooding in Appalachian Streams and Headwaters (FLASH) Initiative, University of Kentucky researchers and extension specialists engaged students from Breathitt County Middle School in the event to demonstrate the connection between trees and the hydrological cycle. Reforestation of lands reclaimed from grasslands is one potential solution to mitigate flooding in headwater streams affected by mining activities.

In addition to the 60 students from Breathitt County, students from the June Buchanan School, Letcher County High School, the University of Kentucky’s Honor College, and a group of middle school students from Washington, D.C., participated in the event. An excellent day to celebrate nature and our forests.

04/22/2026

Nature finds a way....

On May 16, 2025, a deadly EF4 tornado touched down along a 60-mile path from Somerset to London, KY, reaching wind speeds of up to 170 mph as it passed through the community of Mt. Victory.

This location was home to a long-term restoration site that contained several rare wetland plants. One species found at this location is the white fringeless orchid, a federally threatened species.

In 2009, concern about orchid decline in wetlands found within the 250-acre nature preserve led to a study to shed light on a potential cause. Findings suggested that a young, regenerating forest from logging in the 1990s was both drying them out and shading the forest floor.

Historically, it is believed that these systems were maintained by disturbances. As such, a project began to reintroduce disturbances and observe the orchids’ response. Small trees in two of the wetlands were thinned to reduce water use and create canopy gaps, and the felled trees were used to create debris dams that slowed water. It worked!

Flowering orchids increased from just a few plants in the two wetlands prior to restoration to several hundred after. Efforts were subsequently initiated by OKNP to thin the uplands and reintroduce fire.

Next, seed was collected from flowering orchids and grown into seedlings. Last spring, those seedlings were returned to KY and transplanted into three wetlands, two were at the Mt. Victory site.

That was April 29th, 2025. Less than three weeks later, nearly every tree in the preserve was broken or lying on the ground. The wetlands were buried under a mat of mangled trees and woody debris, and all seemed grim.

This April, we took on the task of reopening the site and assessing damage to both the naturally occurring and transplanted orchids. With an excavator and chainsaws, roads were cleared and large trees were removed from the wetland interior. Lo and behold, orchid leaves were emerging from both the restoration areas and the transplant plots!

On this Earth Day, we marvel at nature's power, honor the resilience of natural systems, and strive to respect our planet.

Link in bio to read the study.

04/06/2026

03/18/2026

Last week, the Cumberland River Compact completed its largest mine-land reforestation project to date in collaboration with Green Forests Work, with Williams Forestry crew planting 108,800 seedlings across a 169-acre site near Hazard, Kentucky, in 3 days! Watch and read about the work below.

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03/09/2026

Exciting progress! It's been a busy couple of weeks for Green Forests Work. Three of our projects have been planted with a total of 258,325 trees! We also had our first volunteer planting of the season on Saturday, with students and faculty from Radford University planting 1,000 trees at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.