Do something good for Rock Creek Park (and for yourself) at upcoming invasive plant removal events

by Kathy Sykes

Fall is a great time to enjoy Rock Creek Park – and to save it.

The park recently celebrated its 150th birthday, and its birthday wish was for volunteers to come join in the fun of removing harmful invasive plants and vines. These plants can take down trees and crowd out native plants such as jumpseed, spicebush, and asters.

The volunteers also get a lot out of it. Getting outside is great for one’s mental health. It’s also therapeutic to yank out pesky invasives including English ivy, wintercreeper, porcelain berry, Japanese honeysuckle, and non-native viburnums including linden viburnum (Viburnum dilatatum) and Japanese snowball (Viburnum plicatum).

English ivy blanketing the forest.

Most Sundays from 10 a.m. until noon, you’ll find me leading volunteers at the Reservation 630 West “mini-oasis,” a Rock Creek Conservancy demonstration area where volunteers of all ages are working to remove invasive plants, making it possible for native plants to regrow and adding to the biodiversity necessary for thriving forests. We meet up at the corner of Tilden Street and Reno Road near the Reservation 630 trailhead. Dates and registration links are on the conservancy’s volunteer calendar.

The calendar also lists Thursday afternoon events (1:30 to 3:30 p.m.) at the mini-oasis. While the government is shut down, we’re welcoming furloughed federal employees as well as anyone else who wishes to volunteer in this lovely park.

Volunteers and the results of their work after one of Kathy Sykes’ invasive plant cleanups.

Most Park Service land is off limits during the shutdown for invasive plant removal, but we can remove the trash. So on Saturday, November 8th from 10 a.m. to noon, I will be leading a litter cleanup at the park behind the Politics and Prose parking lot.

Once the government reopens, invasive removals will resume in that park, which the Rock Creek Conservancy has dubbed Broad Branch-Nebraska [Avenue] on the Alley. Tentative dates through year’s end are November 15 and 22, and December 6, 13 and 20. Volunteers can register here.

There is also a volunteer opportunity for those who prefer planting to pulling weeds. We’ll be planting oak tree seedlings at Linnean Park on Sunday, November 16 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. We will meet at 3200 Broad Branch Terrace (at Fessenden Street). Register by emailing me at [email protected].

Want to pitch in but can’t make it to the group events? Work on clearing your own yard and street tree boxes of invasive plants such as English ivy (Hedera helix), lilyturf (liriope spicata), vinca or periwinkle, Japanese pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis), heavenly bamboo (Nandina), Pampa Grass (Cortaderia selloana), Japanese or Chinese silver grass (Miscanthus sinensis), or fountain grass (Pennisetum spp. and Cenchrus setaceus). And if you’re visiting a nursery and see that they carry invasive plants, please encourage them to sell the plants native to our area instead.