Invasive Plant Removal, Native Plantings @ Shortridge

“One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds. Much of the damage inflicted on land is quite invisible to laymen. An ecologist must either harden his shell and make believe that the consequences of science are none of his business, or he must be the doctor who sees the marks of death in a community that believes itself well and does not want to be told otherwise.” –Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac (1966), pg. 197

“No one made a greater mistake than [she/] he who did nothing because he [/she] could do only a little.” -Edmund Burke

While on sabbatical during the 2022-2023 academic year, I made it my business to remove non-native, aggressive (aka, “invasive”) plants at two sites: Shortridge Park and the Maybrook Reserve. The benefits of doing so are many:

  • slow biodiversity loss
  • acquire practical, direct knowledge of invasive plant management
  • become intimately familiar with plants; encounter wildlife
  • exert agency and instill confidence in myself to make positive change
  • be outdoors
  • get exercise
  • meet and work with like-minded people
I use hand tools only and shun power tools of any sort, especially those that are gas-powered. The energy I need is food and water.

Maybrook Reserve

Maybrook Reserve, winter 2021. I noticed that no one was monitoring or managing the woods. I began my effort to repair the world by removing the corrugated pipe strangling many trees planted years ago.
A colony of Alnus glutinosa, European Black Alder, winter 2021-2022.
After felling the alders, I used kudzu vine to make a stand on which I fashioned fascines.
I ended with seven fascines that will likely be fitted with live stakes and installed in early spring/late winter 2024 along Shortridge Creek.
In winter, I removed vines with a bow saw, mallet, and crow bar.
Clearly, I ventured deeper into the forest than many had gone before. Shown is a non-native wisteria and my 24″ bow saw.

Shortridge Creek

Shortridge Park. Summer 2023. Before plant removal.
Shortridge Park. Summer 2023. After plant removal.
Shortridge Park. Late Summer 2023. Before removal.
Shortridge Park. Late Summer. After removal.
Shortridge Park. November 2023. Dan Mercer, who helped remove many invasive plants, along with Stacey Hirsch, acquired 500 plants from Ten Million Trees Pennsylvania, 100 of which he generously committed to Shortridge. Some plants include buttonbush, silky dogwood, willow, black oak, sweetbay magnolia, river birch, and many others. The flagged tree in the background is Alnus glutinosa, European Black Alder, which has distributed thousands of seeds and several stands of mature colonies along the creek. Joe Marco, Lower Merion Township Arborist, and crew, along with Dave DeAngelis, Supervisor, Parks and Recreation, have been supportive in numerous ways.