Volunteers to Plant Hundreds of Native Trees at Upper La Platte River Natural Area

On Saturday, November 7 from 10 AM-12:30 PM, the Intervale Center, Lake Champlain Land Trust, Lake Champlain Basin Program, and Healthy Living Market and Café will partner with community volunteers to plant 300 native trees at the Upper La Platte River Natural Area at 480 Thomas Road in Shelburne, Vermont. Volunteers will restore an acre of riparian buffer on the center’s conserved land to prevent soil erosion and runoff and to enhance a unique wildlife habitat. Since 2002, the Nursery has planted over 185,000 native trees in Vermont, restoring about 925 acres along rivers and streams to protect water quality.

“We’re really excited to complete our second planting project at the Upper La Platte River Natural Area in partnership with the Lake Champlain Land Trust and Lake Champlain Basin Program,” said Travis Marcotte, Intervale Center Excecutive Director. “This project will protect Lake Champlain and restore a special place. We are so grateful for Healthy Living’s support of our water quality work. The whole Healthy Living team truly understands how important clean water is to good food and strong farms.”

Nicole Driscoll, Director of Marketing at Healthy Living Market and Café, said, “Healthy Living is thrilled to support this restoration planting project as part of our continued partnership with the Intervale Center and Intervale Conservation Nursery. We love supporting our community and the organizations who serve them - when we grow together, we thrive together. And we all know you need good, clean, protected waterways for healthy farms and healthy food."

The Intervale Center is seeking volunteers to participate in the November 7 planting project. For more information or to sign up, community members should contact Alis Sevakian at alis@intervale.org.    

About the Intervale Conservation Nursery

The Intervale Conservation Nursery, a social enterprise of the Intervale Center (www.intervale.org), was founded in 2002 and is dedicated to growing native, locally sourced trees and shrubs for restoration projects throughout Vermont. All plants are grown in an ecologically sound manner without the use of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. The Nursery works with landowners, farmers, watershed organizations and government agencies to restore and protect Vermont’s waters. For more information: www.intervale.org

About Healthy Living Market and Café

Healthy Living Market and Café is a premier grocery store for local, organic, and natural foods with stores in South Burlington, Vermont and Saratoga Springs, New York. Founded in Vermont in 1986 by Katy Lesser, Healthy Living Market has been committed from day one to creating a premier grocery store experience to sell the finest and cleanest food at the fairest prices possible while supporting local farmers and producers. Healthy Living is committed to enriching its communities it operates in, providing great jobs to its staff and educating its guests on how to live healthier lifestyles through a variety of cooking and educational classes at its learning centers. For more information: www.healthylivingmarket.com