The Tree Stewards wrapped up the winter season with a wide range of projects across our area.
In the Grove: On February 29, U.Va. students from the APO service organization and Madison House joined CATS volunteers at The Grove at McIntire Park. In addition to caring for young trees we have planted there in recent years, the crew created and mulched new trails and cleared out vines that were smothering older trees. The CATS team also took down an invasive “tree of heaven” (Ailanthus altissima) hiding in the overgrowth.
Back to School: On March 3, CATS volunteers returned to Jackson-Via Elementary School, where we have led an effort to clean up an overgrown hillside near the school’s playground and garden. The site has now been cleared of invasive species and debris and is ready to be re-planted with an appropriate mix of trees and shrubs.
More Parkway Pruning: Later that week, on March 7, the CATS pruning team went back to work along the John W. Warner Parkway, making judicious cuts that will help keep the roadway’s young trees healthy and attractive over time.
Tree Care at VDOF: Good social distancing practices were maintained when CATS pruners gathered March 12 for a workday at the Virginia Department of Forestry’s facility in the Fontaine Research Park. They trimmed up trees all around the VDOF grounds, including trees in the Arboretum that CATS established on the site. Tree Stewards Barbara White, Allen Ingling and Kathy Nepote carried out the job.
Return to Pleasant Grove: For our final winter workday on March 18, CATS volunteers returned to Pleasant Grove Park in Fluvanna County. They continued to provide basic care for hundreds of trees planted over the past five years along the border of meadows maintained for wildlife and wildflowers. Tree Stewards Allen Ingling, Toine Wyckoff, Walter Hussey and Kathy Nepote made up the team.