Apr 24, 2013 3 min read

Castle Shannon Borough is looking for volunteers to help plant trees from 9 a.m.-noon April 27. The borough was recently approved for a grant from the Western Pennsylvania TreeVitalize program that will enable 19 trees to be planted in Castle Shannon.

Volunteers are needed to help plant, water and mulch the trees that will be planted in several locations around the borough, including Park Avenue and Willow Avenue.

The morning of the planting, volunteers will meet at Emmanuel Lutheran Church on Pine Avenue in Castle Shannon. Interested volunteers can preregister by contacting borough offices at 412-885-9200 ext. 102.

All five greenhouses of Christoff’s Farm and Greenhouses, located at 41 Prestley Road, Bridgeville (across from St. Barbara’s Church), will be open to the public from 8 a.m.-noon April 27-28, and more than 100 varieties of perennials and grasses and 25 types of herbs will be available for purchase.

The farm will also be accepting down payments for its Community Supported Agriculture program, which begins in July and continues through the growing season. For more information, call 412-221-9275.

Giant Oaks Garden Club hosts an indoor gardening program with Dr. Mary Joy Haywood on May 2 at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Venetia. Haywood will give a demonstration on the best type of plants to grow in the home as well as how to encourage the plants’ best results. She will focus on pruning, proper light, fertilizer, soil type and watering. For more information, call 724-942-3508.

The Garden Club is also hosting a day trip to Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens in Akron, Ohio, on May 8. Cost is $91 and includes house tour, garden and lunch. For more information, call 412-833-8493.

Mt. Lebanon will celebrate Arbor Day and its status as a Tree City USA with a celebration at Lincoln Elementary School 2:30 p.m. April 26.

For the eighth year, Mt. Lebanon has met the requirements for Tree City USA status – to achieve it, a community must have a forestry commission, budget a requisite amount of public funding for forestry, and have an annual Arbor Day Celebration.

Lincoln Elementary School students created “Trees Where I Live” posters to publicize the celebration. Some of the posters are on display in stores along Beverly Road.

The celebration includes student poetry readings and musical performances, and a Lincoln School fifth-grader will read the Tree City USA proclamation.

Mt. Lebanon Commissioner John Bendel will give the welcome, and School Board President Elaine Cappucci will lead the Pledge of Allegiance. The event will culminate in the planting of a red leaf maple tree and the raising of the Tree City USA flag, which will fly at Lincoln for the rest of the year. Admission is free.

Penn State Extension is offering a series of food preservation classes. On April 30 at the Wilkins School Community Center, Regent Square, drying and freezing for herbs, fruits and vegetables will be discussed. And, on May 14 at the Buffalo Inn, the class will cover pressure canning for low acid foods.

All workshops take place from 6:30-9:30 p.m. and will include formal instruction, a demonstration, samples and recipes. Cost is $25 per class or $60 for all three sessions. For more information, call 412-473-2540.