Park Reforestation Projects
Learn more about Reforest Montgomery's reforestation efforts on public lands in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Since 2008, the Montgomery County Parks and Planning Departments have collaborated to reforest nearly 80 acres of parkland with the Forest Conservation Fund to improve water quality and habitat. Use the map tour below to view just a few of our plantings around the county. Select a park either from the map or the list. For each park, click the arrows to scroll through images of the planting over time.
Layhill Local Park
Layhill Local Park. Click to expand.
This 1 acre expansion of the forested floodplain at Layhill Local Park in Aspen Hill was first planted in spring 2019 and then again in spring 2020 with a variety of 84 native trees and 51 shrubs. Species include eastern red cedars, sycamores, red maples, and tulip poplars, among others.
Reddy Branch Stream Valley Park
Reddy Branch Stream Valley Park. Click to expand.
This 4 acre reforestation project in Brookeville was conducted between 2008 and 2009 to improve stream and drinking water quality in the Patuxent Reservoirs. Previously, agriculture had occured right up to the stream bank and manure was dumped from neighboring properties.
Redland Local Park
Redland Local Park . Click to expand.
In spring 2022, nearly 300 trees and shrubs were planted over 1.78 acres at Redland Local Park. Montgomery Parks and Planning staff gathered to plant 21 of the trees by hand to celebrate Arbor Day.
Rock Creek Park
Rock Creek Park. Click to expand.
From 2008 to 2020, over 16 acres of forest were planted in Rock Creek Park and adjacent parks Parklawn Local Park, Ray's Meadow Local Park, and Meadowbrook Local Park to replace ash trees lost to emerald ash borer, manage erosion and flooding, and create a robust stream buffer along Rock Creek.
Rockwood Special Park
Rockwood Special Park. Click to expand.
A small stream bank planting of 19 trees and 9 shrubs was completed in March 2020 in this park that lines Belfast Road in Potomac. These young trees will grow to fill a gap in the forest along the road and help prevent erosion along a small stream that flows to the Potomac River.
Watts Branch Stream Valley Park
Watts Branch Stream Valley Park. Click to expand.
Between 2010 and 2013, 1,600 trees (over 8 acres) were planted along the main stem of Watts Branch in Potomac, just upstream from the Potomac Filtration Plant Intake.
Layhill Local Park
This 1 acre expansion of the forested floodplain at Layhill Local Park in Aspen Hill was first planted in spring 2019 and then again in spring 2020 with a variety of 84 native trees and 51 shrubs. Species include eastern red cedars, sycamores, red maples, and tulip poplars, among others.
The area where planting occurred is no longer being mowed, which has allowed sycamore saplings to begin to naturally regenerate, visible amongst the planted trees three and a half years after the original planting.
Reddy Branch Stream Valley Park
This 4 acre reforestation project in Brookeville was conducted between 2008 and 2009 to improve stream and drinking water quality in the Patuxent Reservoirs. Previously, agriculture had occured right up to the stream bank and manure was dumped from neighboring properties.
The stream valley has since returned to a forested condition. The Izaak Walton League organizes volunteer efforts twice a year to maintain this young forest.
Redland Local Park
In spring 2022, nearly 300 trees and shrubs were planted over 1.78 acres at Redland Local Park. Montgomery Parks and Planning staff gathered to plant 21 of the trees by hand to celebrate Arbor Day.
The trees were planted to fill open areas along the edge of the park. It will help to program the previously unused, mowed lawn space on a hillside. 15 species of trees and 4 species of shrubs were planted in order to promote diverse forest growth. This will help the forest face future threats like pests, storms, and climate change; each species will be impacted by threats differently, enabling the forest to be more resilient overall.
Rock Creek Park
From 2008 to 2020, over 16 acres of forest were planted in Rock Creek Park and adjacent parks Parklawn Local Park, Ray's Meadow Local Park, and Meadowbrook Local Park to replace ash trees lost to emerald ash borer, manage erosion and flooding, and create a robust stream buffer along Rock Creek.
Rockwood Special Park
A small stream bank planting of 19 trees and 9 shrubs was completed in March 2020 in this park that lines Belfast Road in Potomac. These young trees will grow to fill a gap in the forest along the road and help prevent erosion along a small stream that flows to the Potomac River.
Several of the trees planted are pawpaws, a species that thrives along river banks and is one of the few native trees to produce edible fruit.
Watts Branch Stream Valley Park
Between 2010 and 2013, 1,600 trees (over 8 acres) were planted along the main stem of Watts Branch in Potomac, just upstream from the Potomac Filtration Plant Intake.
Used for animal grazing for many years, this former pasture has now been reclaimed as a floodplain forest. The trees have thrived in the decade since the original planting.