Grant partnership adds trees to municipal park
By Kate Shunney, The Morgan Messenger
PAW PAW, W.Va. — Many hands helped make quick work of the planting of 13 paw paw trees and seven elderberry bushes in Paw Paw’s municipal park near the Potomac River access last Wednesday, October 22.
Students from Megan Bradfield’s science class at Paw Paw High School got their hands into soil and mulch, along with Frank Rodgers from the Cacapon Institute, Ace Moreland and Tyson Spenser of the Paw Paw town crew, Paw Paw town manager Ron Davis, volunteers from the Martinsburg-Berkeley County Shade Tree Commission and Environmental Program Coordinator Josephine Saikali of Region 9 Planning & Development all helped to settle the new trees and shrubs in place on the clear morning.
Plants and supplies were paid for with a $5,000 Chesapeake Bay Trust grant for Community Engagement and Restoration, said Saikali.
The planting is latest portion of a larger concept plan for the town’s newest park, which includes a walking track and recreation space. The Town of Paw Paw was looking to plant paw paw trees – the town’s namesake – in the public space as a recognition of its history and the growing popularity of the native fruit tree.
Read more: https://www.morganmessenger.com/2025/10/28/putting-more-paw-paws-in-paw-paw/