Residents invited to public planting along Route 8

Tawnya Panizzi
Friday, May 17, 2019 11:13 a.m. | Friday, May 17, 2019 11:13 a.m.

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Etna will host a public planting session at 9 a.m. May 18 at the Route 8 intersection of Kittanning and Butler streets.

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Western Pennsylvania Conservancy provides flowers for volunteers to plant at the Route 8 intersection of Butler and Kittanning streets.

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Volunteers have taken on the beautification project at Route 8 and Butler Street. There will be a public planting at 9 a.m. May 18.

Residents are invited to a public beautification project Saturday along Route 8 in Etna.

Volunteers will converge at the intersection of Kittanning and Butler streets to plant rows of colorful petunias and other posies to brighten the congested throughway.

More than 400 flowers will be planted, beginning at 8 a.m.

“I usually get a lot of positive comments from passing motorists when I’m weeding and cutting the grass through the summer,” said resident Bob Snyder, garden steward and borough zoning officer.

Flowers are provided by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. Snyder said he expects a large turnout of people ready to dig in the dirt. He has a 14 volunteers signed on from Forms + Surfaces in Etna, along with about 10 others who typically turn out for the project.

Manager Mary Ellen Ramage encouraged gardeners and outdoor enthusiasts to join the event. Flowers this year will sprout in colors of silver, purple and pink.

“Let’s decorate our front door,” she said. “We need your help. Spend a few hours and then watch them bloom all summer long.”

Coffee and donuts will be provided.

Volunteers should bring gloves and a small shovel if they have them.