Woodland Workdays
Woodland Restoration Project
LandHealth is restoring a woodland on an old industrial site to an ecologically healthy woodland.
The woodland restoration project is on LandHealth’s Nursery site which was once a railroad yard for the Pennsylvania Railroad. The wooded area covers approximately one of the four acres that is leased by the LandHealth Institute at 49th Street near Parkside Avenue. This restoration project has been a part of Marion Rector’s service work for the Pennsylvania Master Naturalist program (PMN). Steve Jones, also a PMN, provides oversight and guidance of the restoration. They have worked alongside dedicated volunteers to make the woodland what it is today.
Over the years that the land has been out of use, invasive species have grown unchecked and are choking out many of the trees and understory vegetation. It is an ecology out of balance. Throughout the forest, there is industrial debris (rebar, concrete, beams, etc.) and trash in the woodland.
Despite the poor ecological condition, the woodland provides the West Parkside community with many environmental benefits — absorbing CO2 from traffic and industrial plants, cooling the air, and attracting insects, animals, and birds. We intend to keep it wild. We are improving the ecology so that invasive species don’t continue to destroy the large overstory and plant diversity is increased and provides improved food sources for wildlife.
We are removing walls of invasive vines and are replacing them with native trees and shrubs. A generous grant from Weaver’s Way Coop environment committee will help us purchase new plant material and will be planted by volunteers in the Fall.
Beyond working on the woodland’s health, we removed 28 bags of trash from the site, built a trail and a stump circle and started educational programs. We want LandHealth’s nursery to be a place that builds and strengthens community and connects them to nature. The woodland is structured to do just that.
The stump circle was an idea that came about at the very beginning of Marion and Steve discussing the project. While they were accessing the space which at the time was an impenetrable forest, they noticed a small clearing where nothing was growing. This gave them the idea to make it an endpoint of the trail where people could gather together in a small tree stump circle.
