New trees were donated and planted at Harcrest Park in Penn Township in April 2020. The tree donation program has been discontinued. Butler Eagle File Photo

PENN TWP — The board of supervisors voted unanimously at its meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 13, to discontinue the tree donation program at Harcrest Park.

Supervisor Doug Roth said that the township had lost money on the venture and was left with trees that sometimes died as soon as they were transplanted to the park, despite efforts to nurture them.

“The trees are dying occasionally, and when they die, we have to dig them out and go get a new one,” Roth said.

Under the program, the township offered the public a chance to donate a tree to the park. A resident would contribute $350, and the township would transplant a tree of the resident’s choosing from a nearby plant nursery. The tree would then bear a plaque with a special message.

Due to the nature of transplanting trees, the township could only plant the trees during specific times of year, depending on the type of tree. For deciduous trees — such as maple, birch or ash — that time period is during early spring or autumn.

According to Roth, who is also a member of the township’s parks and recreation committee, the amount of money the township received in donations didn’t offset the costs of removing and replacing dead trees.

“We got a beautiful red oak a couple of years ago and put it in the ground,” Roth said. “We got it from the nursery, watered it, did everything we thought we did right. And shortly after that it died. So we had to pull the tree out, dispose of it, and get another one planted.”

According to Roth, the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources recommended the township discontinue the program. The proposal was first brought up at the township’s most recent parks and recreation committee meeting on Jan. 24.

“I hate discontinuing these programs, but we just can't keep losing money on it,” Roth said.

However, Roth and the parks and recreation committee have found a new source for trees for the park. Through the Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership, Penn Township placed an order for 150 free hardwood trees earlier this year.

As the name suggests, the 10 Million Trees Partnership, which started in 2018, aims to plant 10 million trees across Pennsylvania. The partnership is placing special emphasis on central Pennsylvania, which is part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Unlike the trees planted through the donation program, these trees would be grown from the ground up as seedlings.

“They're only probably 18 to 24 inches tall, but we can get those trees for free,” Roth said.