Teen volunteer champions ivy pull project at Tryon Creek

Maddie Tritico pulling ivy for her Girl Scout Gold Award

Submitted by Maddie Tritico:

 

I have been a park goer at Tryon Creek State Natural Area for as long as I have been a Girl Scout. This year I am a senior in high school and want to achieve my Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award you can receive in Girl Scouts. To earn this award you have to create a long-term sustainable project that helps your community and helps you grow as a person and as a leader. For my Gold Award I created a monthly Saturday program at Tryon Creek where volunteers may come and help pull ivy.

Ivy pull volunteers at Tryon Creek

Ivy is a highly invasive species that has a very negative effect on trees. It keeps water from reaching the trees; can put so much weight on the trees that it causes them to snap; acts as host to a bacteria called Leaf Scorch; and prevents sunlight form getting to plants on the ground, such as the Trillium. Tryon Creek State Natural Area is no exception to this invasive ivy.

 

Taking a break to have some fun...

The Friends of Tryon Creek host "Stewardship  Saturdays" every week and "Stewardship Fridays" ever other week.  The purpose of these events is to involve volunteers in the effort to help pull ivy. Sadly this isn't enough. If you can, please come and help the trees. This planet does not belong to one person, it belongs to everyone and it is our job to help take care of it.

 

Maddie and her hardworking group of volunteers

Community makes National Public Lands Day a smashing success at Tryon Creek

Lewis and Clark students and community members mug for the camera before hitting the trail to pull ivy

Saturday, September 29th, was National Public Lands Day. It is the largest volunteer event of its kind in the country, as thousands of volunteers show their support of public lands by participating in stewardship activities from coast to coast. The Friends of Tryon Creek were pleased to host just such an event at Tryon Creek State Natural Area. Volunteers rolled their sleeves up and got their hands dirty pulling ivy in the park from 9 a.m. to noon.

REI's Gayle Hoybook distributes free tees to volunteers.

REI was a great supporter of the event. In addition to providing stewardship volunteers with awesome free t-shirts, they served snacks and beverages (to keep their strength up. Those ivy pulls are a lot of work!). The Friends' tip our hats to REI and their strong support for the Friends' environmental stewardship and conservation programs.

3rd & 4th grade Girl Scouts lend a hand doing stewardship at Tryon Creek

Volunteers big and small lent a hand at the event, including Girl Scouts from Troop# 45660 who attend Arco Iris Spanish Immersion Charter School in Beaverton. Their troop leader, Regan Schutz, noted that her group "had a lovely time, and our guide was amazing.  The girls were really interested in learning more about why English Ivy is so destructive to our forests, and they absolutely put their best glove forward when we got down to pulling!  It's amazing how empowering it is to actually get down and work--easy to forget what it's like to be 8 and 9 years old.  Working together for something bigger than themselves, I really felt a shift that day in our (relatively new) troop!" Way to go, Girl Scouts!

The National Public Lands Day stewardship effort at Tryon Creek was very successful. "We had a fantastic turnout of volunteers", says Sarah Kreisman, Volunteer Coordinator for the Friends of Tryon Creek. "It is so wonderful to see how much our community values their public lands."

Thanks Volunteers! We couldn't do it without you!