Oak Crest Farms residents work to change their environment

What started out as kind of a long-shot attempt to beautify open spaces has turned into a galvanizing community project for residents in the Oak Crest Farms development near Lewes.

The community has undertaken two projects and plans to unveil them to the public during a Saturday, April 26 gala event at the Oak Crest Farms clubhouse. 

The first project was completed in early March with the planting of 11 mini-forests. Oak Crest Farms resident Phoebe Schwarz helped spearhead the initiative, which came about thanks to a $60,000 water quality grant from the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. Schwarz said assistance in grant writing and project coordination came from the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays. She said 65 volunteers, including members of Boy Scout Troop 1 in Lewes, helped plant the trees March 8.

Schwarz said while the community had approved the idea and was optimistic the grant would be received, residents had also begun collecting their own trees to plant if funding did not happen. East Coast Garden Center in Millsboro also helped donate supplies, she said.

Each mini-forest contains 126 plants, and each area is numbered and monitored by CIB. Schwarz said the fencing around the plants was designed to keep deer from getting in and feeding. After three to five years, Schwarz said, the intention is to remove the fencing, as the trees will eventually grow to as high as 80 feet. 

“We were pleasantly surprised how efficient it all was,” Schwarz said. “We had pilot holes we had augured. We had put flags out. We had presorted the materials.”

While Oak Crest Farms received state help for the mini-forests, plans to put in a pollinator garden in the same area required a bit more work on the community’s part. Schwarz said the community applied for a grant for that project as well but did not get it. However, now motivated, the community decided to tackle the project themselves. 

“The community was so excited about it, we went ahead and self-funded it,” Schwarz said.

Some help came from East Coast Garden Center and Center for the Inland Bays, but the garden was largely a community project, with homeowners donating plants, birdhouses and signs for the 75-plant garden. 

“It’s just been this huge outpouring of support for doing something that will have a lasting environmental impact. It’s really brought the community together. It’s been a real win-win, with people getting to know each other, getting dirty in the soil,” Schwarz said.

The plants were specifically selected to attract pollinating insects like butterflies and bees; Schwarz said a resident has even offered to create a beehive at the site. 

“We’re just at the tip of the iceberg with all the ideas and energy,” she said. 

Among the new ideas for future projects, Schwarz said the intention is to take brush and tree limbs that have been collected and turn them into a dead hedge that will serve as a habitat for insects and small animals. The hedge would be located within a tree line to give cover. 

The community plans to show off its creations from 12 to 3 p.m., Saturday, April 26, when Oak Crest Farms will host an open garden event. Schwarz said it will include display boards about what has been accomplished so far, birdhouses for sale, prizes for kids and refreshments. 

“Hopefully, we’ll encourage other community people to say, ‘I can do this too,’ and save up some land,” Schwarz said.