Dark Hollow Woods Committee to host meet-and-mingle event for Oakmont community

The Dark Hollow Woods Committee wants to mingle with the Oakmont community.

Leaders of the committee have been overseeing a plan to restore Dark Hollow Woods, a 40-acre nature reserve that has fallen victim to erosion and invasive species. A master plan detailing each phase of the restoration across 50 years was introduced in June 2024.

On Oct. 30, Assistant Borough Manager Phyllis Anderson and other members of the committee will speak with attendees about how much of the project has been completed, what’s next and how the community can help.

The event is from 5 to 7 p.m. at Local Remedy Brewing. Anderson said the brewery was chosen as the location since their tables are made from repurposed wood from trees removed from around the community by the borough’s shade tree commission.

“Come one, come all. Bring your family. Bring friends,” Anderson said.

The meeting is being held in hopes of raising awareness for the ongoing project and its need for active volunteers. In its current phase, having a green thumb wouldn’t hurt.

The committee was recently awarded a $100,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development to install a 20,000-square-foot pollinator garden featuring native plants in the reserve.

“Once the engineers come back and tell us about how to install the plants, we’ll need volunteers to help plant them,” Anderson said.

The grant is one of 14 the committee has applied for since its creation in August 2023.

The reserve also will undergo a stormwater remediation project. Anderson said bids were opened Sept. 29 to remedy the amount of drainage coming from the Fairways of Oakmont housing complex.

Work will include grading of swells and storm inlets and the restoration of disturbed areas and sediment controls. The total projected cost is $190,000.

The project already has been awarded $30,000 from the gaming economic development tourism fund. Anderson said the committee is waiting for a decision regarding a second grant application to see how much the project will cost the borough, if anything.

“More than likely it’ll just be contractors doing the remediation work,” Anderson said. “Volunteers may be responsible for cleaning up the area before work starts.”

The final project on the horizon during this phase of restoration is the installation of a riparian buffer. The buffer is a strip of vegetation that’s planted along a stream or river to protect the water from pollutants and provides habitats for wildlife.

While some native trees already have been installed, there’s still work to be done.

“If we do not start work in the fall, then it will begin in the spring of 2026,” Anderson said. “Volunteers will be needed to help plant the native vegetation along the buffer.”

The committee was awarded a $49,000 DCNR grant to fund the project.

“It appears we’re moving very slowly, but we want to inform the community and the list of volunteers we already have that we’re still working to get volunteers to actively participate,” Anderson said. “We just need the projects to begin.”