Thanks to Zoe Koosie, President of our local homeowners association, John Batteh, Kirk Westphal, other board members, neighbors, and Jason with the City of Ann Arbor's Nature Area Preservation (NAP), one of our local parks received some attention this afternoon.
Jason had wood chips delievered earlier in the week and came prepared this afternoon with wheel barrows, hand tools, gloves etc and the homeowners association supplied coffee, snacks, and apple cider.
Jason explained that Glacier Park is public property and it is all of our responsibility to care for the park, not just the city's responsibility. This particular park consists of open space, active play areas, and natural areas. The planted trees need a bit attention and have wood chips spread around the base to protect the trunk from damage inflicted by lawn mowers and critters. The natural areas need invasive species removed - such as honey suckle and buckthorn.
Ideally, in a few years, a prescribed burn for the natural area would be in order. This would help the area to mature into a more natural life cycle and encourage wildflower growth. For now, just removing some of the invasive under brush would be a good start.
The 20 or so neighbors that came out were split into 2 teams (wood chips and invasive specie removal) and set to work after a quick tutorial.
Young trees benefit from a "donut ring" of wood chips. Each young tree should have about a 2 foot diameter of chips placed around the trunk and chips pulled away from the trunk. The chips shouldn't smoother the immediate trunk area. The chips discourage both critters and city lawn moving.
The Park looks great, thanks neighbors!
Astrid
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