On Monday, January 16, tree protection in Buddy Attick Park was the main focus of Greenbelt’s Martin Luther King (MLK) Jr. National Day of Service. The Co-existing With Beavers volunteer workday saw 40 volunteers cage big trees along the trail around Greenbelt Lake in an attempt to protect the trees from hungry beavers. The MLK program is part of the Department of Public Works (DPW) Conservation Stewardship program which includes Weed Warrior and other events throughout the year to involve the community in caring for Greenbelt’s public lands.
Beavers
Beavers chew on tree trunks for food and to collect wood material for their dams and lodges. Tree caging, wrapping a 3- to 4-foot-high wire fence around a tree trunk, is a great method to discourage beavers from felling native trees in areas frequented by the public. On MLK Day of Service this year, large trees close to the trail were targeted for caging, while smaller trees were left uncaged. This prevents beavers from felling large trees, which can pose a public safety threat, while leaving the smaller trees for the beavers, enabling people to safely co-exist with the beavers at Buddy Attick Park.
Working with Nature
Environmental Coordinator Kevin Carpenter-Driscoll explained how to put the cages around the trees and remove the vines so the DPW trucks could haul away the debris. He talked about the priority of DPW to work with nature and the wildlife in our environment. Our world is an ecosystem where all life has a part to play. Beavers are ecosystem engineers, meaning they directly change their environment. They build dams, which create wetlands by blocking waterways. Wetlands are critical habitat for many different species of plants and animals. Humans can fish in the lake fed by the wetlands.
Volunteers
Among the volunteers were students from Eleanor Roosevelt High School (including the basketball team) and students from Dora Kennedy French Immersion School. Councilmembers Ric Gordon, Kristen Weaver and Silke Pope together with Mayor Emmett Jordan also worked. Students receiving service credits brought papers to be signed by Carpenter-Driscoll. Family members also pitched in to help. In all, a festive day.
