Union County Conservation District sells 3,800 tree seedlings this year

Union County residents bought 3,800 tree seedlings from the county Conservation District this year, a tally that points to steady demand for practical conservation plantings across the county. The seedlings were picked up April 15 and April 16 at the Union County Government Center on North 15th Street in Lewisburg, turning the sale into a local distribution event for landowners, homeowners and others looking to put trees in the ground.

The size of the sale matters because the district’s tree program is not just a catalog order. Its annual materials describe the seedlings as useful for Christmas trees, windbreaks, landscaping, erosion control, ornamental plantings, shade and wildlife habitat. In a county with a strong agricultural and rural character, those uses translate into real-world outcomes: trees can help hold soil in place, slow runoff, buffer fields from wind and add cover for birds and other wildlife.

The Conservation District has long framed that work as part of a broader conservation mission. Formed March 6, 1957, under Pennsylvania’s State Soil and Conservation Law, the district says it promotes the protection, conservation and sustainable use of natural resources through education, awareness and cooperation. It also says conservation districts help people care for soil, water, wildlife, trees and other plants, with technical assistance on erosion, water quality and flood prevention.

That broader role helps explain why a tree sale can be a useful indicator of local priorities. The district’s program list includes erosion and sedimentation control, Chesapeake Bay-related nutrient and sediment reduction work, ag-land preservation, watershed support, environmental education and equipment rental. Selling 3,800 seedlings suggests that residents are looking for low-cost, hands-on ways to improve property and manage land, not just talk about conservation in abstract terms.

The 2026 sale drew from a catalog that included American elderberry, Chinese chestnut, shagbark hickory, chestnut oak, silver maple and American persimmon, along with other species suited to habitat, shade and farm or backyard planting. Orders were due April 1, and the pickup window at the government center ran from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on April 15 and from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on April 16. The district, whose board expanded from seven to nine members in 1997, continues to use the annual sale as a visible sign that conservation in Union County is still being measured in seedlings, not slogans.