From left to right; Peter Bellomo and Nicholas Bellomo of the PA Outdoor Corp., Vincent Cotrone, forester with Penn State Extension and Michael Sarno of PA OUtdoor Corp., assess the health of a tree whil examining one of the many trees in Brandon Park on Monday. KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

More than 400 trees in Brandon Park have been inventoried in two days by students with the Pennsylvania Outdoors Corps.

Two crews fanned out to map the trees in the 42 acre park considered a crown jewel in Williamsport.

The youth teams from the Jersey Shore area first identified the tree species, took measurements using tape and documented the condition of each tree.

Their documentation of the trees will be put on Open Free Map, a website for the public to access, said Chad Eckert, city forester and a certified arborist.

The work by the crews, who are in a summer program created by Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration and the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, puts a “value” on the trees, Eckert said.

Asked how such value is measured, he said depending on the species and its size the crews’ inventory can determine how much water uptake each tree uses and that is valuable as the city tries to reduce the amount of stormwater getting into its drainage systems.

The tree system provides a natural means of taking the rain water into the tree and the soil.

The crews are going through the park section by section over the next two weeks.

“It helps me to know the trees,” said Andrew Hammond, a crew member who is planning on a career in law enforcement.

Among the trees inspected Tuesday were the honey locust and the unusual tulip tree, named for the shape of its leaves which resemble the flower.

The students looked up to see a notch in one tree with a mulberry tree growing out of the trunk of a different species of tree.

There is also a small grove just off Market Street called the “Island” that is a clump of different trees, including Evergreens.

Eckert, who has a forestry degree from Pennsylvania College of Technology, said the park offers an abundance of trees to peer at including a Red Bud, which has purple flowers and many sidewalks and drives where those in vehicles can pull over and rest and observe nature.

Eckert said over this summer and spring and last summer during the height of the pandemic the park provided a safe location in which to walk or run, recreate and play.

Lauren Imgrund, deputy secretary of the DCNR, visited with the crews earlier this week. She gave the teams literature, including detailed books and told them their college or work experiences could weave nicely into potential careers with the department. Meredith Hill, director of the Pennsylvania Wilds, asked each member to become an “ambassador” of the PA Wilds.

The crews, if there is time, may help the city public works or streets and parks department with mulching and pruning in other locations, Eckert said.

The crews were welcomed by Mayor Derek Slaughter, Adam Winder, acting general manager of the public works department and City Council.