Our first visit to my neighbor Mary’s home along the College Street Ravine went very well. We rung the trees of ivy, peeled it off the cyclone fence, raised the undercanopies on the trees for better access to the yard, and removed blackberries and other invasives.

We’ll head back on Monday morning for round two and some smaller, focused projects. One being, clearing up along the west side of her house where there used to be a greenhouse. Trees have fallen through it over the years and it’s been buried in overgrowth, so we’ll remove the obstructions, clear area around the old structure, pick up broken glass, and see what’s worth saving.

For those comfortable on the hillside, we can clear some areas lower on the hill for ivy rafts. We’ll build them out of downed wood and then pile the cut ivy on top of the rafts, allowing it to decompose on the hillside and get it off the other areas we need to work on.

Lastly, we’ll have plenty of ground ivy in the backyard to remove. I think we’ll find a good spot to start that work and clear enough area to cover on wood chips that we have queued in the driveway.

Come on out and see the progress, this will be a very meaningful and important series along the greenbelt.

College Street Ravine