In this issue:
by Jay Johnstone, Ranger,
George Washington Memorial Parkway
October
was a very busy month in Dyke Marsh. Birds were fueling up on fish, insects,
berries and seeds and beginning their migration to a warmer, more hospitable
winter home. The trees were shutting down for the cold season but held
on to their colorful leaves due to the mild fall weather. The park was
also host to hundreds of high school students from T.C. Williams. The
students came to the preserve to conduct their field studies of the "Alien
Invaders" module of the Bridging the Watershed Park as Labs program.
The students assessed the plant species diversity in the swamp forest
and the impacts of the many invasive plants on the forest health. For
many of the students, the part of the field studies that made the greatest
impression on them was the thirty minutes spent cutting invasive vines
from native trees and shrubs. This hands-on activity gave students the
opportunity to connect with the marsh and participate in the preserving
the health of their park. By freeing a tree or shrub from alien vines,
the students learned first hand how to identify different plants, the
different methods of invasive specie control and the magnitude of the
invasive species threat to the integrity of native habitats. During the
five days T.C Williams students conducted the field studies, they removed
vines from over two hundred trees and shrubs. Not only did this work help
the ecosystem by preserving the upper canopy it also helped the park meet
management goals. Perhaps the most valuable result is that now there are
over two hundred local residents who have a stronger interest, understanding
and appreciation of the park.
Shortly following the BTW programs in Dyke
Marsh, the park sponsored an exotic plant control project at the preserve.
We worked closely with our partners the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program
(RSVP) to recruit participants. Some of the RSVP members had also become
Volunteer Senior Rangers and had joined the BTW field studies as mentors,
photographers and facilitators. The Senior Ranger added to our limited
staff during the school visits and helped the students key out plant species,
compute density and supervise plant cutting activities. These volunteers
also returned to the park for our "Free a Tree" exotic plant
control event and helped manage the 70 volunteers who worked for 4 hours
cutting vines from over 150 trees and shrubs.
While we are still working out some of the details and refining methods,
I think the addition of the invasive plant control is very beneficial
to the BTW module field studies. If you are interested in pursuing the
activity, you will need to work with your Natural Resource Management
staff to get their input and
ensure
they are comfortable with the idea. If you do not already have dozens
of clippers, loppers and hand-saws, this may be a good excuse to get them
now. We spent $300 of volunteer funds and use the tools throughout the
year.
The BTW program is designed to be able to
evolve and has built-in flexibility that allows for modifications. I look
forward to incorporating GPS tools, maps and habitat restoration plans.
This year, many of the students found invasive plant density above 75%.
With continued exotic plant removal and control, combined with native
plantings, future students should report a much greater diversity and
much lower presence of aliens plant.
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