Well the APB for an all-hands-on-deck effort was certainly well broadcasted, especially in the forums of higher education at Augusta University. It seems that I wasn't the only one dreaming of spring and bursting buds.
On February 3rd, I watched half amazed as able hands trickled into the park as our normal volunteer turnout rapidly doubled and then tripled. They came on bikes, they came in cars, and they came to play. All told, a little over THIRTY folks heeded the call to plant native trees in the Park this gorgeous morning!
Shoutout to the AU contingent for rallying the troops for this tree planting effort; the sheer manpower helped the Ivy League accomplish a ton in a three-hour block! After a briefing and orientation session, we developed a process and got to digging. Boy was it a beautiful sight and a nice companion effort to our eradication.
All told, we were able to get 32 saplings in the ground along the entire western half of the Park:
-18 Shortleaf Pines
-13 Tuliptrees
-1 bonus Swamp Chestnut Oak provided by Mary and GNPS
So you see, we're not just rampaging our way through the park's vegetation; we are transitioning from a broken, unhealthy and exotic-ridden landscape to a functioning native system that fosters all the birds and bugs that need this urban home as much as we do.
It was so inspiring and touching to see some folks plant a tree for the first time in their life. And man is that a powerful thing- it's hard not to be invested in something when you play a part in giving it life. As a result of this morning's work, many more people have a stake in the ecological wellbeing of the Park and a connection to its plant life.
Fortunately we had a surplus of native trees to distribute as a sort of form of rewarding the volunteers for their efforts: a win-win!
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Fast-forward to February 10th, and we're back at it. The last little package of trees-10 Flowering Dogwoods- finally came in. So in a sort of piggy-backed supplement to the previous weekend's planting, five of us convened to plant a total of 9 Flowering Dogwoods (one was a runt and has been potted for later) and two Longleaf Pine babies that I had been holding onto. Having perfected the process, we were done in an hour.
We were blessed with significant rain events as follow-ups to both of our planting efforts. Who can ask for a better scenario: awesome planting weather and then precipitation a day or two later to facilitate establishment!
How's that for some on-the-ground restoration!? I hope to get my hands on a few more trees of a few more species this spring, but that was certainly the majority of our tree-planting effort for this end of the year. Fingers crossed that we get some funds for bigger trees in the foreseeable future!
Great work everyone for the front end of February, and thanks for choosing to spend some of your free time beautifying and fortifying this urban gem!
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In looking at the remainder of the month, I think we'll just call this a successful February. I don't anticipate having another significant work event until March. Hopefully (I know I've said this for weeks) I can find some time in the meantime to get some English Ivy spraying accomplished.
Until next time!
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