Intervale Conservation Nursery
Growing Trees and Shrubs to Stabilize Streambanks
Shrub willows are grown from cuttings in the ICN greenhouse. Shrub willows are commonly used for streambank restoration projects because of their ease of propagation and their ability to grow quickly and put down stabilizing roots.
Seed Collection of Native Plants
Leah Szafranski, Conservation Nursery manager, collects green ash seeds. After propagation and two season’s growth in the ICN field, these trees will eventually be planted along river and streambanks to improve water quality in Vermont.
Bareroot Seedlings
ICN sells bareroot seedlings in the spring to Conservation Districts, government agencies, and conservation organizations for use in stream bank restoration, storm water management, and natural landscaping.
Collaboration to Relieve Stormwater Runoff
ICN worked collaboratively with the Winooski Conservation District to plant ICN trees along a section of Potash Brook in South Burlington. This helps to alleviate the storm water runoff from Dorset Street and I-89 into Potash Brook.
ICN Shadehouse
Shrubs and trees take root and prosper under the care they receive in the ICN shadehouse.
ICN Planting Crew
ICN’s Planting Crew installs a tree tube around a green ash seedling to keep moles and voles from chewing on the bark. ICN’s Planting Crew works in the spring and again in the fall to plant riparian restoration and storm water projects.
ICN Volunteers
Many volunteers help ICN to accomplish its mission. Here, the Intervale Conservation Nursery educates high school students from the Governor’s Institute in exchange for volunteer labor weeding box elder seedlings.