Crow’s Nest: Volunteers and Vines

By Daniel Barringer, Preserve Manager.

Photo: Cody Hudgens

Our December workday was cutting vines in the woods north of Hopewell Road. This area definitely had a vine problem but most of it was concentrated along the road edge, so we were able to make short work of it. Winter is a great time of year to spot the semi-evergreen leaves of Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) and we also clipped bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) and a little bit of barberry (Berberis thunbergii). As you drive along Hopewell Road you might not notice the absence of invasives because, well, they’re absent. But that doesn’t mean that they weren’t once there! We’re grateful to the dedicated staff and volunteers who make this work happen.