River bank planting well ahead of schedule

FARMINGTON – A well-organized crew of volunteers worked through this morning replanting an embankment for erosion control along the Sandy River.

Volunteers including Foster CTE Center’s forestry program students, town employees and community members worked on a warm, summer-like Monday to plant hardy seedling varieties across the steep bank of the Sandy River. The work is part of a project to prevent further erosion in a long-term effort to protect the Whittier Road above it.

The first project of its kind ever to be attempted in Maine, the work to stabilize the collapsing river embankment next to Whittier Road, near the intersection of Route 156, was completed last fall.

The bank armoring project included embedding layers of huge pilings, tree trunks and rocks up the side of the steep embankment. Once completed, seedlings were planted by the town, but the majority of those did not survive through the winter.

On Monday, the planting crew led by Peter Tracy, chair of the Farmington Conservation Commission, was pleased with the replanting progress. By the end of the first day of work about two-thirds of the 380 juniper, alder and dogwood seedlings had been planted. It was originally thought that it would take all week to finish.

“It looks like we might get this finished tomorrow,” Tracy said.

The town’s Public Works Department supplied the water with its tanker, as high school students, town officials, fire department members and community volunteers worked in a well coordinated effort to get each seedling planted, mulched and watered.

Volunteers are encouraged to show up and help again on Tuesday. The work starts with a safety instruction and assignment of jobs at 8 a.m.

Once the planting is completed, keeping the bank’s seedlings watered through the summer is the next task ahead.

The $452,000 project, funded in large part by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, requires the bank to be successfully revegetated.