Report of Mary Scott Nature Park workday May 4, 2019
The GNPS membership chair sent an email to GNPS members who live in zip codes near MSNP asking for volunteers for workday. We had one new person join our work group.
On May 4, 2019, six Friends of Mary Scott Nature Park worked to dig out, pull out, remove nonnative plant material. There are eight yard waste bags filled with kudzu, winter creeper, E. ivy, Vinca, Bradford pear seedlings, bamboo, and some Youngia japonica awaiting collection and composting by DeKalb County Sanitation.
The removal of Vinca at the western entrance uncovered some Trillium which we’re hoping are reseeding.
Many of us worked in the southeastern corner of the park which has reverted to a tangle of the worst of the non-native flora that we battle since the February workday. Today we dug out bamboo runners, kudzu roots to the magma, stubborn winter creeper, porcelain vine, Microstegium, etc. A patch of May apple was uncovered. How delightful. Also we found some jewel weed which we hope will shade the weeded soil to slow return of the nonnative flora. Privet that was cut in February is resprouting. We will have to address the issue on the June workday.
Baptisia and Itea were blooming in the Briarcliff Road entry bed. Plants have been dug out, and wire protection cages have been removed from the entry bed by parties unknown.
Identification of Japanese chaff flower was the last activity of the day. It is back with a vengeance. This will be the third year of the chaff flower wars.
Trash was collected along the trail and placed in the park garbage cans for county park collection.
During the winter rains, sections of the gravel trail were washed out. Retention barriers need to be added to the edges of the trail to contain the gravel.
The next scheduled workday will be Saturday, June 1, 2019, 2-4 pm when we plan to continue removing nonnative plants. Please bring your gardening gloves, soil knife/trowel, and kneeler to help.