The sustained efforts of the North Pond Gardeners can be seen in the increasing health and diversity evident in the emerging sedge meadow on the pond’s east side. Many land managers are forced to employ fire, grazing, and herbicide over hand pulling due to labor costs and shortages. Herbicide is costly and imprecise, especially over a large area, and even when effective on the target species, has additional undesired impacts. Grazing would be amazing, but would require livestock fencing and a willing shepherd, plus plenty of other complex logistics in an urban park.
Finally, fire, ordinarily a practical tool, is not effective against cheatgrass or quackgrass, two of the area’s primary invasives. The many hands of volunteers over the past 2 seasons have already made a tangible difference and demonstrated the high impact of hand weeding, especially where other methods would be undesirable or unfeasible. Take a moment to enjoy the verdant sedge tufts on your next walk around the pond.
We also want to thank our corporate partners, who assist with litter pick-up throughout the park from April to October, for playing a major role in making Lincoln Park a safer and more beautiful place for wildlife and human visitors. August and September groups included:
We’re already planning for next season, with the goal to get more people giving back in more places in the park. If you’re interested in helping, details on group volunteering and the other ways to contribute can be found on our website at Corporate Opportunities.
