Preparing for the October Work Day

Some work days at JK Black Oak require minimal preparation, while others require a lot of planning and work in advance.  The upcoming October 5 work day falls in the latter category.  Preparing for it actually began in the fall of 2023 when volunteers collected seeds from native plants in the east meadow. In the spring of 2024, these seeds were used to propagate plants that will be planted (along with local ecotype plants purchased from the Earth Sangha nursery) during the October work day.

Before any planting could take place, however, the site in the western meadow had to be cleared from invasive trees and shrubs.  Removal began during the December 2023 work day by volunteers armed with handsaws and loppers. By the summer, the ground had dried out enough so that the stumps could pulled out by tractor and the area mowed with a rotary cutter purchased to use for meadow restoration.

Next, large sheets of heavy-duty black plastic were put down in the planting area. This will solarize the area under the plastic, killing any weeds that remained so that the new natives can be planted in bare soil.

The final piece of the preparation efforts was to find someone to provide and deliver wood chips at no cost.  The wood chips will be used to suppress the growth of nonnative plants around where the natives are planted.  Huntlands Landscape Architecture and Black Pearl Management collaborated to organize the delivery by Treelife of several truckloads of chips.

That leaves just a few more things to organize before we can plant.  Purchases of equipment and plants were funded by a grant from Microsoft in collaboration with the Society for Ecological Restoration