If you visited Bill's Woods this year, you have noticed big changes. Volunteers have removed non-native species and done extensive planting to replace the mid-level and understory vegetation. This spring the Campus Natural Areas Committee granted the Friends of the Campus Natural Areas (CNA) a five-year permit to help restore the east end of Bill's Woods, uniting two separate projects, the Picnic Point Entrance Project and the Upper Bill's Woods Planting Project. The Friends of the CNA will work with the CNA manager and other groups to restore this expanded area. In order to support this expanded project, we need your support! But first, what has been done...
Picnic Point Entrance Project
The Friends of the CNA volunteers have spent two years restoring an oak woodland at the southeast corner of Bill's Woods. Volunteers have been gradually removing buckthorn and honeysuckle and replacing them. These non-native invaders produce hundreds of berries that are scattered by birds, creating thickets that shade out native plants. In Bill's Woods, as in much of the CNA, many of the native woodland wildflowers had been killed by this thick shade. Friends of the CNA volunteers began by removing female, or “berry-bearing,” buckthorn. In their place they have planted native ecotype shrubs and small trees, including nannyberry, pagoda dogwood, hazelnut, and red elderberry. In addition, volunteers have planted hundreds of native local ecotype woodland wildflowers.
Unfortunately, two summers of drought have made it difficult to keep the new shrubs alive. Several dedicated Friends of the CNA volunteers have spent many hours carrying water in gallon jugs to the dying shrubs. Without the help of grounds personnel who volunteered their time with the watering truck, most of the shrubs might have died. Even so, in August about 46% of the shrubs were dead. Most of the wildflowers probably survived because many woodland wildflowers die down in the summer and consequently were dormant during the worst of the drought.
Upper Bill's Woods Planting Project
Friends of the CNA efforts to reclaim a severely degraded area have successfully returned native vegetation to this area. As recently as 1999 this area was covered with dumped material and supported only invasive weeds. Now over 100 species of native plants occupy the site. Native butterflies and bees flit around the prairie/savanna plants in summer and fall. In the wooded portion a wide variety of native woodland plants cover the ground. Erosion has decreased dramatically. Non-native, invasive weeds, though still present, are no longer the dominant plants present. See “Hopeless Field” on page 5 [of this newsletter issue] for additional project details.
Success Due to Generosity
The success of these restorations is due to the generosity of people with their time, money, and plants. Over $5000 has been spent on plants for the two projects. Glenda Denniston and Mary Trewartha and their many volunteers have worked tirelessly planting, weeding, and watering. Tom Helgeson and others cleaned up Upper Bill's Woods. People donated plants. Kathie and Tom Brock donated pounds of prairie seed.
Other groups also worked in Bill's Woods. Classes did assessments. Volunteering students fulfilled their service learning requirements. Eventually CNA manager Cathie Bruner plans to build a trail to enhance environmental education that will link the Bill's Woods Project, the geology soil pits, and other interesting features.
We Need Your Help
We need donations of money and local ecotype plants as well as the help of volunteers to expand and maintain this larger restoration. The Friends of the CNA has spent over $5000 beginning to restore two small sections of Bill's Woods. Now the project has more than tripled in size. The Friends of the CNA needs your donation to keep this project going (see form on page 5). We need to buy additional shrubs and wildflowers and pay an employee to water next summer. Please send a donation to support our restoration work in Bill's Woods!
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