A total of 60 volunteers participated in our annual Earth Day at the Arboretum event on April 24. Co-hosted with UW Botanic Gardens and the Student Conservation Association, the work-service day was smaller than usual, due to Covid restrictions, but the volunteers accomplished a lot!
Horticulture staff from UW Botanic Gardens supervised five project groups separated throughout the park, and each project was limited to 15 people.
In the wetland lagoon area, volunteers spread more than 20 yards of mulch around collection plants. In the Mediterranean Collection along Arboretum Drive, volunteers removed about four Gator-truck loads of California bay laurel seedlings (rampant in this area) and stump sprouts.
Earth Day volunteers removing weeds in the Mediterranean Collection.
In the Holly Collection, volunteers removed about six yards of blackberry, ivy, buttercup, and other assorted weeds. At a site along Arboretum Creek in the Pinetum, students with the UW Restoration Ecology Network Capstone Program removed four Gator loads of ivy and English holly and planted about 20 new plants.
Finally, at the site of the new Fiddleheads classroom (near the Magnolia Collection) volunteers removed about four large Gator loads of ivy, blackberry, and holly.
Thanks to all the volunteers who helped us restore the Arboretum. We were sorry we couldn’t accommodate everyone who wanted to attend! Hopefully, next year’s event will be back to full capacity!
Volunteers weeding the Holly Collection.
Volunteers from the local company Glumac, weeding ivy in the future Fiddleheads classroom.
Volunteers in the wetland lagoon area posing on freshly mulched beds.
