RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond’s Buttermilk Trail off Riverside Drive looked a lot different just a few years ago.
Gera Williams, in charge of James River Park System (JRPS) invasive plant management, showed CBS 6 how an invasive species once blanketed many of the trees along the trail.
“A lot of these trees would have been covered in English ivy. So we have the volunteers come out. We teach them how to identify different species and how to safely remove them from the trees so that we're not causing additional harm to the trees,” Williams said.
A walk through the park shows healthy trees with clean bark. But beyond the fence line where the park system does not care for the land, some of the trees are covered in bright green leaves on creeping and climbing stems.
The invasive species eventually steal nutrients from the trees and slowly kill native plants.
Williams described an invasive plant as having been introduced by humans, either accidentally or intentionally, and taking off with unintended consequences.
She said it’s up to humans to fix the problem.
“We can't just step back and let nature take its course because we've already stepped into nature,” Williams stated. “We have a responsibility to be part of that system and to steward this back into a more balanced ecosystem.”
March 2-8 is marked as Richmond Invasive Species Awareness Week (RISAW), which offers a variety of volunteer, educational, social, and recreational events for Richmonders to get involved in protecting our parks from invasive species.
In February 2015, local Master Naturalists and Tree Stewards met to begin forming a coalition to bring attention to the damage caused by widespread infestations of invasive plant species in the James River Park System and to intervene with strategic plans for their control.
Other examples of invasive plants found in JRPS include Japanese honeysuckle, privet, Amur honeysuckle, tree of heaven, Paulownia, princess trees, and Japanese stilt grass.
New this year is a photography exhibition at the Reedy Creek Visitors Center by local artist Em White, who for ten years has been documenting the James River and surrounding landscapes with her large-format camera and mobile darkroom.
As in previous years, the week will end with the Boogie for the Biosphere, a celebratory evening at Basic City Beer Co. showcasing the music of Afro Zen Allstars (admission is free; donations are encouraged). Visit the full RISAW schedule at JRPSInvasivePlants.org.
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