Some areas along the creek have steep banks subject to erosion by stormwater runoff.  Vegetation is needed to help stabilize these banks, but because of the slope, it is very difficult to dig holes for plants without further eroding the slope. Instead, a common practice involves cutting stakes of dormant shrubs like dogwood and willow and inserting the stakes directly into the bank. You can see a few of the stakes that were place in a bank this year. 

We have planted some willow, birch and other appropriate plants into an area near the trail and in future hope to produce live stakes of our own. 

Penn State has a video with a great description of how to do live staking.