Wesleyan Students Remove Invasive Plants in Ravine Park

A dozen intrepid Wesleyan students participated Saturday in an invasive plant removal workshop as part of the community service volunteer events offered by the university. This was just one of many opportunities students had to involve themselves in service to the Middletown community; other students provided labor to such organizations as the Buttonwood Tree, Community Health Center, Traverse Square after school program, and the Amazing Grace Food Pantry.

After marching down Home Avenue to Ravine Park, the students learned about the various impacts urban wildlands such as Ravine Park have endured. They also learned to identify a sampling of the native trees, shrubs, and plants that live in the ravine.

The group also learned about non-native invasive plants and why their control is important. They learned how these plants establish themselves very quickly in disturbed areas, spread rapidly, and crowd out native plants. Middletown's Connecticut River Coastal Conservation District has prepared a guide for homeowners with information on their identification and control:

http://conservect.org/ctrivercoastal/Resources/tabid/232/Default.aspx (Hard copies are also available at their office at deKoven House.)

Over the years, this volunteer project has removed the greater part of the invasive vegetation along the Marion Banks Nature Trail that used to make the trail seem like a tunnel at times. The group focused mostly on the multiflora rose and, to a lesser degree, the Japanese knotweed and barberry.

Thanks to their efforts, the park's native vegetation has a chance to recover. The native spicebush, which blooms early in the spring, is displaying its beautiful red berries now, and soon the warblers will be passing through on their way south. Have a look!