Schuylkill Headwaters Association is seeking volunteers to help plant trees at the Silver Creek AMD Treatment System in New Philadelphia on Saturday.
Cataia Ives from the organization said that the goal is to use the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative approach, which is to replant abandoned mine lands with native hardwoods.
Silver Creek is an abandoned mine drainage treatment system that consists of a series of ponds and wetlands to treat water coming from the mine pool.
Completed in June 2010, the system was built through a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency 319 program.
It treats approximately 1,200 gallons of water per minute, removing metals and raising the pH of the mine drainage before it flows into Silver Creek.
The volunteer tree planting event will take place from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday.
Lunch will be provided.
In August, students from Penn State Schuylkill volunteered their time to build a trail around the Silver Creek AMD treatment system.
The trail was built for community use and to help teach acid mine drainage conservation practices.
Ives said anyone who wants more information or who wants to sign up to volunteer should call her at 570-622-3742 ext. 119 or cives@schuylkillheadwaters.org.
All volunteers are asked to meet at the treatment system.
To get to it from Port Carbon, volunteers should drive through New Philadelphia on Route 209, then just before leaving town, turn left onto Pine Street and continue straight.
Ives said it'll lead to a dirt road where volunteers should follow, then they will eventually see the treatment system on the left.
If it is too muddy for cars, volunteers will be carpooled back to the site.
