Wilson High School is sponsoring a trash clean-up and invasive plant removal on Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22, at the Soapstone Creek headwaters next to the Wilson aquatic center.
The event will start at 2 p.m. and continue to 5 p.m., and neighbors are welcome to drop by and help, or just view the progress made so far in reviving the area.
The project is part of a new course on urban ecology offered by Wilson during the 2014-2015 academic year. The goal is to remove the invasive vines and other non-native plants that have degraded the two-acre site, liberate the existing native flora (Mayapple is spouting vigorously right now, as shown in the photo below), and add appropriate plants over the next several years. Students are currently germinating aster and redbud seeds in the school greenhouse to beautify the border of the parcel.
Along with more regular removal of the trash accumulating there, this is a unique opportunity to transform this eyesore into a neighborhood amenity and mini wildlife sanctuary.
This segment of Soapstone is clearly visible on Civil War maps of Washington and is one of the few remaining natural features of the Tenleytown area. The urban ecology course is taught by Steve Dryden, a founder of the Rock Creek Conservancy and author of Peirce Mill: Two Hundred Years in the Nation’s Capital.
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