Tuesday, November 19, 2013

November 2013 "Save A Tree" Work Day Successful!

On November 17th a group of 15 highly experienced "Gold Level" bittersweet battlers met at Riverfront Park (with Town approval) to cut vines along the river trail. The trail is south of the drainage swale (which is just south of the new boat house location) and runs along the river toward the water treatment facility behind Town Hall. It is a potentially beautiful trail, referred to by many as one of the hidden gems of Riverfront Park.

This was our first experiment with the newly created "Gold Level" designation, which indicates a participant has been vetted and approved to work on our more challenging bittersweet projects.

If you have strong experience with bittersweet eradication (participating in our 9/28/13 Work Day, for example) and are interested in joining the Gold Level team please drop an e-mail to information@gpip.org briefly outlining your experience. Once approved you will be added to the Gold Level list and notified of Gold Level "Save A Tree" events.

First cut vine of the day was a 30+ year old specimen.
The view is slowly improving!
Evelyn versus the vines.

Where's Jan?
 
Lynn and Wayne work along the river.

Dick G. opens up the trail.

What's going on here??

Saturday, September 28, 2013

2013 WORK DAY EXCEEDS ALL EXPECTATIONS!

Congratulations to the over 74 intrepid bittersweet battling volunteers who worked today at Riverfront Park!

The results exceeded all expectations, with 100% completion of Areas 1 thru 10. Many non-invasive plants were revealed under the vine cover, struggling to survive. They will provide an excellent basis for the restoration of the understory.
In addition to the original work site, a number of battlers moved to the tree nursery and removed bittersweet from the rare native trees in the nursery that are awaiting replanting in different areas of town (for more information on the tree project CLICK HERE ).

Everyone enjoyed removing vines from the majestic trees and native plants in the work area, knowing they have saved them from a long slow death by bittersweet. It was also a real pleasure to hear the positive comments and appreciation expressed by people using the walking path adjacent to the site.
Above: Just one of the many Work Day debris piles.
The rings on many vines indicated over 30 years of growth.
We saw enough tree and habitat destruction to believe it!
The highest kudos and thanks to every volunteer, to the Parks and Recreation Department, and to Greg Foran and his crew who also worked hard today to carefully and sparingly treat the cut stumps of the vines. It was a great day!

Stay tuned for "GPIP Bittersweet Work Day: The Video."