Weekend work parties

We had two work parties this weekend, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. On Saturday, we had a cool group from Arbor Heights Community Church, as well as some of our regular volunteers. On Sunday, the youth from Students Today Leaders Forever (STLF) joined us for a few hours and brought some yummy fried chicken to share with us.

Overall, it was a great weekend for invasive removal. Over the two days, we removed a total of 1800 sq. ft. of Himalayan blackberry, 400 sq. ft. of English ivy, 250 sq. ft. of Scotch broom, and 1 cubic yard of trash. On top of that, we spread 1,125 sq. ft. of mulch. Needless to say, it was very productive weekend.

Thank you to Amy Denio and Ben Yarges who shared their musical talent with us while we worked.

STLF volunteers hauling away a pile of Himalayan blackberry

3/21 at 14th & Holly

We began the day at the 14th and Holly site removing Himalayan blackberry along the trail. We were able to remove 1,000 sq.ft. of Himalayan blackberry by the end of the day. Local clarinetist Amy Denio came out to perform while we worked. She is pictured here sitting on one of the rocks that will be used for a new trail in the greenbelt.

Once we finished removing blackberry, we began planting. Our crew leaders held a short demonstration on proper planting techniques, after which we were able to plant 77 plants including 61 sword ferns and 16 myrtles.







We ended the day putting mulch rings around the plants and more plantings along 12th and Holly. We planted 85 understory species at this site.

Crew leader demonstrating shrub planting