On June 5, a team of Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards joined young volunteers from Triple C Camp for the first of three scheduled service projects. At Greenleaf Park, the CATS worked with 20 seventh graders and three of their counselors for more than two hours to improve the trail next to the fern garden and to extend it through the park’s entire riparian area. They put down landscape cloth, covered it with mulch donated by Charlottesville Parks and Recreation, and replaced metal rods along the fern garden with bamboo stakes, giving the edging a more natural look. Each of the campers went home with a bamboo walking stick.
Project leader Camille Wilson noted, however, that golden bamboo is a highly invasive species in our region. “While many cultures value its attributes, it cannot be contained,” she said. “Parts of the woods at Greenleaf Park have been overtaken with bamboo. We did our part to remove some from the woods and repurpose it.”
She thanked other members of the CATS crew: Will Hueston, Allen Ingling, and Kathy Nepote.
The remaining Triple C Camp projects are scheduled for the mornings of July 10 on the grounds of the Virginia Department of Forestry and July 24 at the Ivy Creek Natural Area. Visit the CATS website for more details and registration information.