Tree Protection Workday

in Buddy Attick Park

MLK, Jr. Day of ServiceMonday, January 1910:00 am –1:00 pm

City of Greenbelt Department of Public Works in partnership with

Chesapeake Education, Arts & Research Society (CHEARS)

Greenbelt Forest Stewardship ProjectProviding knowledge and care of our remnant woods

Welcome!

• Introductions• Erin Josephitis,

Volunteer Maryland Coordinator

• Brian Townsend, City of Greenbelt Horticulturalist

• Volunteer Registration Forms

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service

What is Public Works?

Mission Statement• Public Works serves the community by preserving, maintaining and improving the city’s

infrastructure and amenities. The department is focused on providing professional and personal response to the needs of citizens while maintaining Greenbelt as a unique and satisfying community in which to live and work.

What is CHEARS?

CHesapeake Education Arts & Research Society

Mission

• To promote the health of all life in the Chesapeake Watershed through education and action projects organized and implemented by volunteers.

• Founded in 2006

• Community driven environmental action projects

Beavers in Buddy Attick Park

• American Beaver (Castor canadensis) • Length 50”• Weight 40-60 lbs., max. 70 lbs.• Largest member of the Rodent family

in North America• Can stay underwater for up to 15

minutes• Eats soft inner layer (cambium) of

many trees• Benefits ecosystems• Problems behind Greenbelt’s urban

landscape • Parents live with kits and yearlings,

but two year olds are staying around to help with kits and lodge maintenance

Protecting Trees from Beavers

Integrating G.I.S. with Tree Protection

English ivy

• Origin: Europe, Western Asia and Northern Africa

• Widely planted due to its evergreen foliage and dependability as a year-round ground cover

• One of the most abundant and insidious invasive plants

• Infests natural habitats

• Reservoir for bacterial leaf scorch (Xylella fastidiosa), a harmful plant pathogen

Source: NPS.gov

English ivy Prevention & Control• DO NOT plant English ivy

• Vines climbing up trees should be cut to kill upper portions and relieve the tree canopy

• Portions rooted in the ground needs to be treated with herbicide or cut repeatedly

• No biological control available for English ivy

Managing English Ivy (Hedera helix)

Before & After

Future Volunteer Opportunities

• Tree Protection Volunteer • President Lincoln’s Birthday, Thursday, February 12, 2015 from 10

am – 1 pm

• Presidents’ Day, Monday, February 16, 2015 from 10 am – 1 pm

• Saturday, February 28, 2015 from 10 am – 1 pm

• G.I.S. Volunteer • Available on an individual basis

• Email Volunteer@CHEARS.org to set up a training date

• Special Events Committee Volunteer• Earth Day Saturday, April 18, 2015

• Walk / Bike to School Day Wednesday, May 6, 2015

• Green Man Festival Saturday, May 9 – Sunday, May 10, 2015

Thank you for serving with us!