YSU students, volunteers planting for a brighter future

On nearly 500 acres of Mill Creek Metroparks' Fordyce Wildlife Sanctuary in Beaver Township, a tradition of Youngstown State students and community volunteers planting trees continues.

"We're here planting trees for our students. "We've been doing this since 2020, and yeah, so we have a tree for every freshman," said Colleen McLean, an associate professor at Youngstown State University.

Equating to more than 1,700 trees, approximately 17 different species being planted across 10 acres this year, and close to 9,000 since this annual tradition began.

"This land was previously agricultural fields, so it's important we restore natural habitat here, that we provide habitat for wildlife," said Rachel Sobnosky, natural resources manager for Mill Creek Metroparks. "For the park, we not only ca