Dozens of volunteers donned old clothes, boots, gloves and a little dirt Friday as they planted more than 750 trees and shrubs on three acres surrounding a former landfill to honor Earth Day.

The Oaks Landfill, south of Laytonsville on Route 108, was used for waste disposal from 1982 to 1995 and then for ash residue and rubble disposal from 1995 to 1997.

The 545-acre site is home to the 170-acre former landfill and the Blue Mash Nature Trail.

David Plummer, district manager of the Montgomery Soil Conservation District, organized the tree planting.

A $25,000 grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust paid for more than 300 trees and shrubs, a fence to protect them and excavation work.

The Montgomery County Parks Department purchased 300 trees with?reforestation fees, which developers pay when they remove trees from project sites. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Pepco also donated trees.

Before Friday's reforestation, trees were scattered across the site, but not on top of areas that are used to store waste. When the landfill was closed, it was capped with soil and a geomembrane to keep trash in and water out. Trees are removed if they start growing over the old landfill because their roots cause damage, according to the county Division of Solid Waste Services.

By the time it closed in 1997, Oaks had received approximately 7 million tons of waste.

dgaines@gazette.net