Holly Hauling Work Party!
Nov 9th, 2011 by taggjefferson
The activity portion of our CSL project was a resounding success!
Our group arrived early to help arrange equipment, and were given a sharp rap by the reality stick as to the job ahead: clearing holly has almost no direct comparison to routine garden maintenance where dandelions or other weeds can be cleared with with just your hands. Holly is not only very prickly–necessitating heavy gloves–but often also requires large pruning shears, bow saws, shovels, and pick-axes to actually bring the tree down!
The day was split into two parts, with half of the Shad Valley students working on bring down the holly trees and bundling the trimmings, and half participating in a guided learning tours of the parks. The tour involved learning components on invasive species, introduction to the local flora and fauna, and neat wildlife tricks such as which coniferous trees made the best insect repellent.
Everyone worked very hard–especially the group that fought for three hours to bring down a particularly large tree–and the PSP volunteers were kind enough to extend a permanent invitation to future years’ Shad Valley students to help with the hauling as well. Big thank-you to all the volunteers and organizers of the day!