Park Conservation
Members from our University of Louisville Chapter recently joined with other local volunteers to do some clean-up at a golf course that is adjoined to Seneca Park.
They circled the entire pond and picked up trash from the grass, the water, some surrounding woods, and a nearby water garden. They kept the recyclable materials (mostly discarded bottles) and trash separate so that they could be disposed of properly. They were also taught by a very knowledgeable staff from Olmsted Parks how to identify invasive plants. These included Bush Honeysuckle, Burning Bush, and vines. Volunteers were provided with gloves and garden tools, then spread out to cover more ground, removing the invasive plants as they went. The stumps were sprayed with a biodegradable herbicide that works by stopping photosynthesis.
Chapter President Leigh Winnicki recalled, “My favorite moment was liberating a tree from a suffocating vine with which it was competing, observing the thickly ingrained scars that it had left on the tree and knowing that I had freed it. It was also special to watch people from age 20 to 60 gather together on a sunny day and help a local park. I became friends with an elderly man named Glenn and was taught how to identify Dogwood trees by a seasoned gardener.”
To learn more about the University of Louisville Chapter, click here.
